Do attachments need to be protected from elements?

[Rail Dawg]

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

 

[Verticaltrx]

Ideally all equipment should be inside, but that isn't always practical. I would give priority to implements that have hydraulics or gear boxes as far as getting them inside. Something like a box blade is only going to suffer cosmetically from being out. Things with gear boxes can get water contamination, dried out seals, etc. Hydraulics aren't as bad, but the hoses can suffer from being out in the sun and water contamination could also be a problem in some systems. I try to keep all my stuff inside, but during the busy season when I'm using implements all the time I'll unhook them outside to make it easier to switch back and forth. Sometimes I'll let something sit outside a few weeks and don't lose sleep over it.

 

[gwdixon]

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

Anything with a gearbox gets covered around here. I do the whole implement but at least cover the gearbox area. The PTO shafts, if removable, are best stored out of the weather.

Box blades and other non-PTO stuff, can have the paint touched up and that should be enough. Paint is a great for weather proofing.

Fluid Film works very well on shiny non-painted surfaces like disc blades or plow shares.

Gearboxes can get water in them and the oil will get milky.

However, there are lots of implements that just sit out in the weather on farms and they work fine.

It probably depends on how much you care about how the equipment looks. If you take care of your tractor you likely take care of your equipment in the same manner.

 

[slowzuki]

Everything here stays outside in the snow and rain except: Haybaler and the disc mower. The haybaler does not like getting rusty, the discmower could stay out but it can't sit on grass without getting all rusted up so it goes on concrete.

I do have a brillion seeder now too that will go inside as the leftover seed will sprout and plug it up if it gets wet.

 

[hrcarver]

I try to keep things with an engine in a shed. The implements have their field. I do keep some of the more expensive implements like drills and planters in a shed, but the sheds usually stay full of tractors.

If you the have empty space, by all means use it, but 95% of implements will not be damaged from the weather.

 

[magicheater]

Ideally all equipment should be inside, but that isn't always practical. I would give priority to implements that have hydraulics or gear boxes as far as getting them inside. Something like a box blade is only going to suffer cosmetically from being out. Things with gear boxes can get water contamination, dried out seals, etc. Hydraulics aren't as bad, but the hoses can suffer from being out in the sun and water contamination could also be a problem in some systems. I try to keep all my stuff inside, but during the busy season when I'm using implements all the time I'll unhook them outside to make it easier to switch back and forth. Sometimes I'll let something sit outside a few weeks and don't lose sleep over it.

sound advice

Anything with a gearbox gets covered around here. I do the whole implement but at least cover the gearbox area. The PTO shafts, if removable, are best stored out of the weather.

Box blades and other non-PTO stuff, can have the paint touched up and that should be enough. Paint is a great for weather proofing.

Fluid Film works very well on shiny non-painted surfaces like disc blades or plow shares.

Gearboxes can get water in them and the oil will get milky.

However, there are lots of implements that just sit out in the weather on farms and they work fine.

It probably depends on how much you care about how the equipment looks. If you take care of your tractor you likely take care of your equipment in the same manner.

very true

I'm having an 18 x 20 carport built to house the tractor. I just want to keep it out of the sun and rain.

What attachments should also be protected? The Bush Hog? Post Hole Digger? Box Blade?

What differences have all have you seen both with and without protection from the elements for your various attachments?

Thanks!

sliding surfaces suffer without protection, paint fades w/o protection. Usability does not suffer but longevity may. Rust never sleeps...... and the time to compensate may become a bother.

 

[newbury]

As always there are a lot of tradeoffs involved. Money and time are usually two of the biggest. Ideally everything should be kept pristine new, but what are the results if they are not? I've a 1988 Ford Maxivan in Virginia, it got a paint chip down to the steel about the first year on a very visible place on top of the fender. I vowed to sand and spray paint AS SOON as the rust passed "surface rust". Where I came from in Northern Vermont that usually took about a year. It's still good, 20 plus years later.

I keep my tractor and implements in Virginia under shelter.

Now I'm down in Mississippi, here it seems they leave most everything out to rust. I guess it's their way of recycling. But I've lots of warehouse so I plan on keeping ALL implements out of the weather if they are not being used. Pole barns and tarps are cheaper than painting, rust removal, and implement replacement.

 

[JoeinTX]

"If you the have empty space, by all means use it, but 95% of implements will not be damaged from the weather."

Agree.

Go by any large farm today and you'll see equipment sitting stored outside. Equipment dealers, TSCs, etc., how many of them do you see with large covers over their equipment for sale?

Historically we've stored implements outside while tractors or combines stayed covered. Shredders, plows, sickle mowers, blades, dirt movers all stayed outside. Is it ideal? No. Limiting exposure to the elements is beneficial to the finish and "soft" parts of implements. Rubber, plastic, etc.

That said, we have a 50's vintage AC sickle bar mower that's spent it's entire life outside that is also 100% functional today. To my memory, the rubber belt has not been changed on it stretching back to the early 1980s.


Hey, if you've got the floor space to store your implements under cover, go for it. If not, don't sweat it. They'll be fine assuming you do normal maintenance and care and don't abuse them.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I use some small steel pallets to keep outside equipment off the dirt.

 

[buck12]

I keep tractor and all implements inside except my box blade. The box blade shows the signs of being stored outdoors but shop and shed space is at a premium. I also keep my 18' and 10' trailers outside. One day I hope to build a pole barn to at least have a roof over the trailers.

 

[TripleR]

Agreed, ideally everything should be under cover, but I don't live in an ideal world and some of our family farm stuff lives outdoors. Our renters use a section of our property to "store" their cultivators etc. and even their John Deere no till drill. We let them keep some tractors in our barn, so they prioritize.

 

[JD230511]

I keep all attachments inside.. The only one I have. The barn is 30x80 so I have plenty of room for 2 trailers 16' and 12', my uncles rv. And it takes up most of the room

 

[Car Doc]

I would keep all of mine inside if I could, they would all still look like new except for a few dents and scrapes if not for that.

I at least keep a loose tarp over anything with a bearing or shaft so as not attract undo moisture and let anything trapped to evaporate. All of them like blades and disc are kept off the ground on cinder blocks.

 

[grsthegreat]

I keep everything i own undercover..... i refuse to pay good $$$ and let something rot in the sun and rust in the rain.

I reciently sold my 14 yo JD870 tractor and it darn near looked new. Got paid top dollar for it also.

 

[buck12]

I keep everything i own undercover..... i refuse to pay good $$$ and let something rot in the sun and rust in the rain.

I reciently sold my 14 yo JD870 tractor and it darn near looked new. Got paid top dollar for it also.

It does make a difference when equipment and vehicles are kept out of the weather. I have a two car attached garage, a 24' x 28' shop, and a 16' x 20' shed and still don't have enough space. I keep three vehicles, tractor, most implements, atv, lawnmower, jet ski, tools, bicycles, and a lot junk out of the weather but my trailers and box blade have to remain in the elements.

 

[grsthegreat]

It does make a difference when equipment and vehicles are kept out of the weather. I have a two car attached garage, a 24' x 28' shop, and a 16' x 20' shed and still don't have enough space. I keep three vehicles, tractor, most implements, atv, lawnmower, jet ski, tools, bicycles, and a lot junk out of the weather but my trailers and box blade have to remain in the elements.

It does get a bit much. I have a 30x40 shop and a 30x60 barn all full of equipment. And each building have a lean to.

 

[creekbend]

I keep all my equipment under 2 sheds and in the barn. There are many farmers around that leave their tractors out in the fields at various times. I only have 30 acres, and since I live on the property, it is not an inconvenience to come back and put everything away. The majority of my equipment is around 7 months old, so I want to take care of it in the hope that my grandchildren can enjoy and use it for the next generation.

 

[hrcarver]

I am still using some of my grandfathers equipment that has never seen a shed.

Would something like a cheap thin deck bush hog make it 75 years? Probably not, but it will be completely worn out in 10 years if it is rusted out or not. Implements built from steel with a fractional thickness (1/4", 3/8", 1/2", etc.) rather than a gauge will last practically for ever.

 

[brewdog]

I keep everything inside the garage except my 6 foot york rake.

 

[flusher]

If it has moving or rotating parts, I cover those parts with a tarp--gear boxes on mowers, seed cups on grain drills and on drop seeders, cutter bar on sicklebar mowers, etc. And for those implements with hydraulic cylinders (wheel disc, bale squeeze), I retract the piston as far as possible and cover any remaining exposed shaft with heavy grease. The hay baler and 5-bar side delivery hay rake are in the equipment shed along with the 2-row bean planter.