"Can borrow your tractor?"

[4570Man]

I won't loan out any two stroke equipment especially a chainsaw. It is all too likely someone will pour in straight gas. I don't let hired help use the chainsaw either. They can't seem to keep it out of the dirt.

 

[sixdogs]

I never loan tools to anyone who can't afford to replace them. I had a guy ask about using the tractor for some digging tonight. I sort of shifted the discussion to rentals but didn't want to just say no even though that's always what I tell them.

How do you guys deal with these types of questions?

I paid way too much to loan out my pride and joy.

I use your words... No, sorry "I paid too much to..."

Maybe I do a CurlyDave and help out but no loan, never, nada, ever. Don't feel guilty; just practice in the mirror. "No". It's easy.

Think about it. A, would you have the nads to ask to borrow an expensive piece of equipment from a perfectionist personality like one of us? B, would you expect them to say yes? C, if it broke and took $15,000 to make it whole again, would you we willing to pay it or search for wiggle room like 99.999% of people would do?
I've been at this for decades and history, experience and the woes of others have helped me to my conclusion. No tractor, almost never tools and no middle ground. Rental is a great alternative and a good suggestion.

Is his wife hot?

what is a great line.


EDIT--Actually, the only people you would be safe loaning stuff to are the guys who would never ask to borrow it in the first place.

 

[Looking4new]

The chances of me loaning out my tractor is the same as me loaning out my wife. Ain't gonna happen.:thumbdown:

I wont ask, then.
Personally, you can have my ex-wife.
In the words of Rodney Dangerfield, "take my wife, please."

 

[paulfun9]

I've let people I know well and trust borrow my truck; but I'd never let them borrow my tractor. Regular cars and trucks, most people know how to properly use them.
.

Have you ever really watched people drive? I have and wont let just anyone borrow any cars or trucks from me as well.

Like many here I do have one friend who I can trust to return things without breaking or damaging them when he uses them but he is the exception rather than the rule. Between us we have helped each other many times with everything from advice right down to labor and shared the cost of big ticket Items that we would not have purchased if we had to buy it ourselves.
We slowly developed this relationship over the years but it started when after a mishap I needed a trailer in a pinch and got rear ended while using it. I left a message for him that I had an accident and it would be 2 days till I could return the trailer. When I did it was completely repaired with brand new fenders on both sides new wire harness and a quick paint job of the hole trailer. Only one light and one fender needed replaced along with the side rail but how can one justify returning it with a mismatched set of rear lights and fresh paint covering the replaced rails and fenders only. So I made it all match and look like new for just a few dollars more. Needless to say he was pleased about the repairs but insisted he give me some money toward the extra work done. I refused and told him I wouldn't feel right about taking it as it was only a few dollars more and a few hours of time. The next weekend I came home from work to find a very presentable bumper to replace the one that was bent up in the accident. The note said I know you don't need repayment but I basically got this for free and figured you could use it. Thanks again for going the extra with the trailer. To this day I have never asked if he really found that bumper for free or not and wont ask but we have become best of fiends. Helped each other out with many different things over the years and are both willing to loan just about anything we have to each other and have co-owned many big ticket items. Problem is you wont find too many people like this around even the friends of our friends don't have the capacity to understand it but we don't feel right if something breaks and the returned Item isn't better than the item first borrowed. We don't sleep right if we owe someone money.
Its funny I could write a check out to my friend for any amount he needs and not worry about him not paying it back unless he died suddenly but if I lend a 100 dollars to any of my family I would likely never see it again.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Boy paul, you brought up a good point about loaning money. I always look at it as a gift and never expect to get it back. I don't even keep track if someone in the family owes me money or not, it's just not worth it. I don't loan out anything I can't afford to lose either. I do have one buddy that if he needs something it's his. We have worked on so many projects over the years that I don't sweat it. We have broken stuff but we replace it in kind or better without a thought.

 

[xring100]

i have two chainsaws. when someone asks to borrow a chainsaw, i go to the barn and bring out the 8" electric one that i got at a garage sale for $8 and offer it to them. if they get kind of pissed, i then ask them to have the chain sharpened before they have to use it. never had them ask again. don't loan out my good stihl saw or the tractor.

That is an excellent idea i like it

 

[fried1765]

Have you ever really watched people drive? I have and wont let just anyone borrow any cars or trucks from me as well.

Like many here I do have one friend who I can trust to return things without breaking or damaging them when he uses them but he is the exception rather than the rule. Between us we have helped each other many times with everything from advice right down to labor and shared the cost of big ticket Items that we would not have purchased if we had to buy it ourselves.
We slowly developed this relationship over the years but it started when after a mishap I needed a trailer in a pinch and got rear ended while using it. I left a message for him that I had an accident and it would be 2 days till I could return the trailer. When I did it was completely repaired with brand new fenders on both sides new wire harness and a quick paint job of the hole trailer. Only one light and one fender needed replaced along with the side rail but how can one justify returning it with a mismatched set of rear lights and fresh paint covering the replaced rails and fenders only. So I made it all match and look like new for just a few dollars more. Needless to say he was pleased about the repairs but insisted he give me some money toward the extra work done. I refused and told him I wouldn't feel right about taking it as it was only a few dollars more and a few hours of time. The next weekend I came home from work to find a very presentable bumper to replace the one that was bent up in the accident. The note said I know you don't need repayment but I basically got this for free and figured you could use it. Thanks again for going the extra with the trailer. To this day I have never asked if he really found that bumper for free or not and wont ask but we have become best of fiends. Helped each other out with many different things over the years and are both willing to loan just about anything we have to each other and have co-owned many big ticket items. Problem is you wont find too many people like this around even the friends of our friends don't have the capacity to understand it but we don't feel right if something breaks and the returned Item isn't better than the item first borrowed. We don't sleep right if we owe someone money.
Its funny I could write a check out to my friend for any amount he needs and not worry about him not paying it back unless he died suddenly but if I lend a 100 dollars to any of my family I would likely never see it again.

Way back in 1977 I bought a brand new Ford F-250 4x4 ($5680)
A few months later, a "friend" asked if he could borrow it to move some (free) firewood.
I agreed!
2 days later I got my new truck back.
The side rails had been dented from throwing log rounds in, and the tailgate was bent/destroyed.
I got the truck back with 1/4 tank of gas, and a six pack on the front seat.

 

[lennyzx11]

As some know, I got a pride & joy Kubota on Xmas. I wouldn't loan it without reservations except to two neighbors. I work out on the road and they have "kept an eye" on the place since I moved in. They have keys to my house where even my own family doesn't. From replacing my shingles, fixing busted pipes or letting the bug man in to spray, they never will accept anything but money for materials. I got my *** chewed out for picking up the dinner check every time if we go out when I'm home.
Three stories stand out.
One neighbor brought his JD 24hp w/FEL when I first moved in and helped me dig up the sewer tank lid. And then left it saying,"I know where it is when I need it"
It was there a few weeks and I did use it but babied it.
This week I made a PVC chain carrier for mine and picked up the extras to make him one. (I gotta go get some of that horrid green color though!"<laughing>
I met him on the road with a load of bags of concrete last week and offered to unload them (he just turned 76) but nope. Said he's going to use them off the truck building flower beds. But for the first time he asked if I could bring my tractor with that claw thingy down to remove the old cross ties. I filled it up and drove it over while he was gone. Went back the next day and his new truck is parked out in the driveway and the Kubota is inside the shop.

The second neighbor won't borrow it in no way. He takes better care of things than I ever will. His standard response to an offer?
"**** no! This way I get an operator with it while I supervise and go get the cold beers!"

Third and last case.
Brother loaned his rhino/gator out last month and had to go get it from one of his in laws. 20 something year old who broke it was in the house and didn't even come outside to help load it. One front wheel was hanging on by a thread. Cost him 300 bucks in parts to fix it himself. Inlaws never offered a dime up.

 

[s219]

S219 - "I remember what it was like before I had a tractor and can't stand to see someone else struggling without one."
Same here, ends up making me a lot of work every year..... LOL

Yeah, I seem to have inherited that trait from my father. It was like a second job for him. Now he's retired in Florida and is the go-to handyman for his little retirement community. I suspect he's loving every minute of it.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I always offer to help our 4 neighbors with my tractor but they've never asked to borrow it. They're all great people and we're lucky to have them as neighbors.

I do loan out my 2 man post hole digger to them all the time. I bought it before I got the tractor with post hole digger on it. They've used that old 2 man digger way more than I ever did and I never plan to use it again anyway. The last time they borrowed it, it developed a leak in a fuel hose. I told them the next time they borrow it they have to fix it first.

I plowed out a neighbors drive just the other day, it literally took less than 2 minutes. When I got home from work the next day there was a 30 pack of beer waiting by the side of our private road with a note thanking me. The other neighbor bought me one beer at the bar and I told him he was 29 short, lol

Kevin

 

[Kodiak45]

I always like to use the excuse that the tractor isn't completely mine, that I share it with my brother or it's a family tractor, perhaps even blame the wife. Not trying to be deceitful, but just avoiding confrontation. If I told them what I was thinking, it would be a laugh and **** no, not the nicest response.

 

[check]

I won't loan out any two stroke equipment especially a chainsaw. It is all too likely someone will pour in straight gas. I don't let hired help use the chainsaw either. They can't seem to keep it out of the dirt.

Very interesting point about hired help. As we all know, you have to be very careful when using a chainsaw not to touch the dirt or a rock or a piece of concrete, or a nail, or anything like that. Hired help seems not understand that concept very well, or not to care. So whenever I get someone working for me do use the chainsaw, I am right there to supervise, and I don't let them cut anything anywhere near the ground or near anything that could dull the chain.

And I don't lend my tractor. Period.

 

[check]

Have you ever really watched people drive? I have and wont let just anyone borrow any cars or trucks from me as well. Like many here I do have one friend who I can trust to return things without breaking or damaging them when he uses them but he is the exception rather than the rule. Between us we have helped each other many times with everything from advice right down to labor and shared the cost of big ticket Items that we would not have purchased if we had to buy it ourselves. We slowly developed this relationship over the years but it started when after a mishap I needed a trailer in a pinch and got rear ended while using it. I left a message for him that I had an accident and it would be 2 days till I could return the trailer. When I did it was completely repaired with brand new fenders on both sides new wire harness and a quick paint job of the hole trailer. Only one light and one fender needed replaced along with the side rail but how can one justify returning it with a mismatched set of rear lights and fresh paint covering the replaced rails and fenders only. So I made it all match and look like new for just a few dollars more. Needless to say he was pleased about the repairs but insisted he give me some money toward the extra work done. I refused and told him I wouldn't feel right about taking it as it was only a few dollars more and a few hours of time. The next weekend I came home from work to find a very presentable bumper to replace the one that was bent up in the accident. The note said I know you don't need repayment but I basically got this for free and figured you could use it. Thanks again for going the extra with the trailer. To this day I have never asked if he really found that bumper for free or not and wont ask but we have become best of fiends. Helped each other out with many different things over the years and are both willing to loan just about anything we have to each other and have co-owned many big ticket items. Problem is you wont find too many people like this around even the friends of our friends don't have the capacity to understand it but we don't feel right if something breaks and the returned Item isn't better than the item first borrowed. We don't sleep right if we owe someone money. Its funny I could write a check out to my friend for any amount he needs and not worry about him not paying it back unless he died suddenly but if I lend a 100 dollars to any of my family I would likely never see it again.

Gee, Paul, good for you. What a great friend! Wouldn't it be nice if they were all like that!

 

[Kodiak45]

I don't borrow anything I can't afford to replace in full, if only everybody had the same mindset. I've heard the term, "it's a tractor", or "it's a truck", the people that say things like this scare me. I'm getting ready to wax my tractor and touch up any rust and paint chips. Not everybody treats equipment like I do.

 

[Henro]

Some years ago, I lent my nearly-new post hole digger to a TBN friend who lives about an hour away.

We used to get to get together once in a while for breakfast at a mid point distance wise. Anyway, he gave me a piece of steel for my welding table, and so on...a good guy really.

Everything worked out OK, but it took six months before I had the PHD back in my possession. He only had to dig a couple holes. That kind of put the brakes on my desire to lend anything else out to anyone...

At that point I became one of the "I go with my stuff" crowd.

Like many others here I have occasionally done stuff for my neighbors...not expecting anything in return, but ending up with a case of beer that I did not ask for or expect.

Good neighbors are more valuable than good fences!

Bill

 

[ultrarunner]

Only two people I have ever known that return things better than when borrowed... one has been deceased 12 years.

Most borrow because they are cheap...

Being cheap doesn't bode well...

My neighbor had a big project and his saw quit...

I knew he needed to get it done so I loaned him my Stihl saw which is not the same as his pro model...

It came back to me Monday looking like new with 3 new loops of chain...

 

[JMER817]

While I was prepping the build site for my new house, my neighbor a 1/4 mile down the road came by and asked if I could spread some asphalt millings that he got for his driveway. I asked well how much did you get. His answer was well I'm not sure. I asked what a truck load 10 yards or something. He says oh yeah it's about 10 yards. He offered to pay knowing that I would turn it down. I said, just drop off a case of beer sometime. I drove my tractor down to his house a few hours later turn into his driveway and see about 35 yards of material. I spread it anyhow all along just shaking my head. When I was done he started bragging about the deal he got. He told me that he only paid $$ per yard. So he did know how many yards that he bought. It's 1.5 years later and still don't have my case of beer.

 

[ultrarunner]

Things like this are why one of my 80 year old friends said people are no good... with a few rare exceptions.

He said if you live long enough you will learn this for yourself.

I hope I never reach this conclusion... yet, the older I get the more his words ring true.

 

[sixdogs]

Woody Allen has a movie quote that is something like:

I love humanity; it's people I can't stand.


Actually, there are lots of good people. Unfortunately, they aren't the ones that want to borrow expensive equipment.

 

[Snowback]

Things like this are why one of my 80 year old friends said people are no good... with a few rare exceptions.

He said if you live long enough you will learn this for yourself.

I hope I never reach this conclusion... yet, the older I get the more his words ring true.

This is a sad truth in a lot of cases. I like to believe I'm one of the exceptions and have been burned by loaning or helping may times.

Last time I loaned out Max 25 and trailer to move some "small bushes" around, I got a call around 7pm asking for help. The guys had taken my 6,000 pound rated trailer to get trees and put about 10,000 pounds of palms and ferns on it. Then once back home they were trying to lift those monster ferns off with the sub compact tractor... not happening. Even dented brand new trailer fenders up trying to get at trees. When I showed up I just smiled. Helped drag the trees into place myself and licked my wounds on way home.

I'll still help anyone out who asks nicely. Probably get taken advantage of more often than not, but hopefully it's making the world a better place.

I do have one neighbor who used the Max to move some dirt around with a box blade. It got a little muddy, but he washed it until it was new, and brought 10 gallons of fresh diesel back when returning. That was a fair trade.

I'll be very hesitant to loan out the 2538 but will gladly help out with it in the right cases.

If anyone on TBN in and around Conroe TX needs a helping hand just hit me up. I'm a sucker for punishment!