Property out of town - Haul your tractor, or build storage - opinions?

[MossRoad]

Well, you have to make the drive out there and back, regardless, so you're going to spend time driving no matter which place you store the tractor. So you're real time spender is loading/unloading twice. Can you become more efficient in that task? Can you leave some things on the trailer? It takes me about 10 minutes to load/unload and hook up/drop the trailer. So that 20 minutes per day is time well spent for me. As mentioned, someone that's determined can steal anything quickly. We own remote property (only 9 miles away) and I used to leave my IH2500b out there year round. And the battery was stolen. And the lights were stolen. And animals chewed it up, etc... but it was basically not worth someone going to prison over, so they never stole the tractor itself. Anyhow, I'd never leave my current tractor out there unless I had a building or container to store it in with active burglar alarm system over cell phone with battery backup power.

 

[Rustyiron]

Get a container. It's not hard to modify the padlock area's (4 of them if you desire) so that a grinder is unable to reach the lock. Then if your really worried, wire in an additional battery switch or pull the ground wire and keep that with you.

 

[newbury]

By chance do you have a neighbor who would let you store the storage container on their property near their buildings or such. You might could have customer latch assembly to offer protection for the lock itself from a grinder.

That's the first thing I'd do.

Well, you have to make the drive out there and back, regardless, so you're going to spend time driving no matter which place you store the tractor. So you're real time spender is loading/unloading twice. Can you become more efficient in that task? Can you leave some things on the trailer? It takes me about 10 minutes to load/unload and hook up/drop the trailer. So that 20 minutes per day is time well spent for me. As mentioned, someone that's determined can steal anything quickly.<snip>

Why do you unload when you bring it home? I'd only unload if I knew I was not going to use for a few weeks. Otherwise throw a tarp over it and be ready to roll.

Get a container. It's not hard to modify the padlock area's (4 of them if you desire) so that a grinder is unable to reach the lock. Then if your really worried, wire in an additional battery switch or pull the ground wire and keep that with you.

Containers seem to be going for cheap again. I'm pretty sure I could get through a container well with a good grinder, either battery powered or with a small generator.
BUT - I'd get a container or build a "tornado shelter" and put several cameras around it to monitor any activity. Then if after several months or so of monitoring if I saw evidence of people checking it out I'd only use it to store handtools, a place to sleep overnight, a place to get out of the rain etc.

BUT if there was no activity or evidence of people trying to break in I'd take a chance on leaving more "stuff" there. If I felt it was a pain to load the tractor up and haul it home then I'd have to make a decision.

The container would come in handy anyways.

Heck in Houston you could probably put a 20' on your trailer, or get a hi-cube 40' for less than $2,500 delivered.

 

[MossRoad]

...


Why do you unload when you bring it home? I'd only unload if I knew I was not going to use for a few weeks. Otherwise throw a tarp over it and be ready to roll..

Because I use it several times a week around my home.

 

[AxleHub]

Because I use it several times a week around my home.

But your opening post said "and there are two acres here where I use the tractor from time to time, but it's usually because I'm lazy. The machine probably should live up on site..."

So do you use it "from time to time" at home or "several times each week" at home .. . . Because those two statements are not the same to most people ?

 

[aczlan]

But your opening post said "and there are two acres here where I use the tractor from time to time, but it's usually because I'm lazy. The machine probably should live up on site..."

So do you use it "from time to time" at home or "several times each week" at home .. . . Because those two statements are not the same to most people ?

MossRoad isn't the OP. He has just been in about the same situation.

Aaron Z

 

[oosik]

I think in your situation I would want the tractor/tools/attachments close at hand - where I live.

My location is very remote and I live here, year round. In the 34 years here, I've only had one situation where the two fellows may have been looking to steal something. I scared them so bad with my "crazy old man" routine that they have never came back.

Its also quite beneficial to be on first name bases with the County Sheriff & State Police. They will stop by and check in with me several time a year. It is known & seen by my neighbors that the police visit occasionally. Word spreads. Every little bit helps.

 

[stuckmotor]

If you store it, unless you can afford a new one, PLEASE INSURE IT. People will steal the color out of your eyes if they get a chance.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If me, I would put a container onsite and secure my tools there. Downside is the extra travel/work when you need the tools at home. Sometimes I have time/energy to do a task, but if you add additional time/travel then miss that opportunity.

That is why I have about 3 full sets of tools. Every time I was working out of town, I bought a set of tools to keep there. Nothing wrong with having too many tools though. I also now have 3 rolling cabinet tool boxes to keep everything in.
When I bought the land for my retirement home, the first thing I did was lay out where I wanted my house and shop then hired a dozer to level the area. The land then set for a couple years and all the dirt settled in nicely. I did have to do some more levelling with my tractor because my proposed shop location got compromised with an overhead electrical line so I had to back it up 50 more feet. This worked out for the best because it gave me a bit more turn around room which I now need for my motorhome.
I regress: After a couple of years of planning and design, I had my shop built, a 52 x30 foot structure. A few years later after completing my house and moving in, I added on another 30x14 wing. It seem you can never have enough storage/shop building. Build any outbuilding twice as big as you think you will need.

So, my suggestion is to go ahead and plan your site layout and at minimum put a container on site to store your tractor and some basic tools in. I would get a 40 foot rather than a 20 BECAUSE my experience says you will end up filling it with tools and equipment and may even need additional space. If you have the land area, put the container way off the road and back in the trees, hidden as much as possible and for sure completely out of your way of future building.
Just don't get it so far from your future house that it is a PIA to get too. The walks get longer and longer as you get older and it could be expensive to move that container later. A CUT or even small utility tractor isn't going to be able to move it, maybe a small dozer could drag it around a bit to relocate it.

As I said, I elected to just go ahead and build my shop in the spot chosen since I needed the storage anyway. That was the best $30K I ever spent. When my Crosby house sold (I had to sell it prior to building my retirement home), I rented a house for a year and much of my stuff wouldn't fit, so my shop became a storage area for my boat and dozens of boxes of "stuff" that would not fit in the smaller rental.

Costs continue to rise for building materials so anything that you can afford to build now is going to be cheaper than it will be several years into the future.

 

[newbury]

<snip lots of good stuff>
As I said, I elected to just go ahead and build my shop in the spot chosen since I needed the storage anyway. That was the best $30K I ever spent. When my Crosby house sold (I had to sell it prior to building my retirement home), I rented a house for a year and much of my stuff wouldn't fit, so my shop became a storage area for my boat and dozens of boxes of "stuff" that would not fit in the smaller rental.

Costs continue to rise for building materials so anything that you can afford to build now is going to be cheaper than it will be several years into the future.

And to the OP and anyone else planning similar stuff -

Think now of getting 2 long containers and building like the above (although I would have spaced them farther apart).

Before I lucked into my present "shop" situation in late 2011 I had a 15 foot by 15 foot workshop. I was planning on putting up a structure based on two 40 foot tall containers with maybe one across the back separating them, and 40 or 60 foot trusses across the top. Giving me a 40x40 "shop" area with 2 large storage containers that could easily be secured.

Now I have 5,500 sq feet of shop so that's not needed.