How about an attachment "co-op" between members?

[mikim]

ctpres -- I can loan you my BB to try out -- it's a fairly heavy duty woods ......but a BB is one of those things you will always find a use for -- it and my shredder are the most used implements I have. It's currently sitting under the leanto in Paige. How soon do you need it? Do you have a way to lift it out of a truck? I'll PM you...right now

 

[JB4310]

Kyle,
A co op is a great idea, the local towns are trying it with equipment like street sweepers etc. Expensive equipment that rarely gets used, why should every town buy one and just leave it parked 99% of the time.

I was thinking about that with my log splitter, I can split a years worth of fire wood in a day or two at max since I don't burn that much. I feel guilty leaving that thing just sitting there 36x days out of the year when I know there are people that could really use it.

I guess it would be hard waving goodbye to your equipment that you take such good care of as some stranger drives out your drive way with it, especially when we know what our own family and friends do to our stuff when they borrow it .

JB.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

There are a handful of TBNers around here, but I think in some areas, there would be more. Its hard to believe, but there are still people who buy small tractors and have never visited this site. There are bunches out there with older small tractors that don't come on here but are out there in the woodwork.

Yes, I would think if you have to drive more than 45 minutes or an hour, it might be a bit too far to be handy.

I've priced the local rental and I think they are high. A 3pt tiller for about $100/day. A 35 hp tractor with shredder is $280/day. A walk behind trencher is about $118/day. A 5hp log splitter is $65/ 8 hours.

I could just see this as a kind of situation where a retired (or not) person with time on their hands could be a handy man by keeping stuff repaired and ready to rent. They could make a bit of $$ by hosting the coop after being voted on by the members.

I've even heard of garages that will rent you a stall with a lift and rent you the tools to do almost anything to a vehicle.

 

[ctpres]

ctpres -- I can loan you my BB to try out
Got your PM mikim. Still trying to decide if buying cheap or expensive is the the way to go. I probably have enough land work to justify buying and I'm sure the list of projects would grow as I learn how to use a BB. Will call later this week and yes I have FEL & 1/2 ton overhead chain hoist. Looks like about three/four hour round trip to Paige from Needville. What do you need?

 

[mikim]

What do you need?
Motivation. I retired the 1st and haven't done a darn thing since. I had some health problems in dec so couldn't do anything -- but I guess I've gotten a bit too comfortable sittin' on my duff cause I'm just fine now -- but havin trouble getting it going. I figure I can loan you my BB now and bank it for later? I need to get the house in town ready to sell before I start back at the ranch again. Once I can burn a brush pile I have in the back pasture and give it a little work with the BB ... then I may like to use your harrow before I sprig it. That's prolly close to a year away though. It's just under 3 hrs from Angleton to Paige --one way -- Eagle Lake is about the halfway point. We normally go Brumbelow road then through Fairchild to reach 90 on spur 10 - using the backroads is faster and less hassle.

 

[mikim]

Kyle -- who rents tillers?....That rental place on 290 W has a place in Bastrop also and I asked in there and they said no.

 

[jinman]

What do you need?
Motivation. I retired the 1st and haven't done a darn thing since. I had some health problems in dec so couldn't do anything -- but I guess I've gotten a bit too comfortable sittin' on my duff cause I'm just fine now -- but havin trouble getting it going.

Hey Mike. . . GET TO WORK! Only one of us is allowed to sit on his duff and I had that position first.

Dang, I wish you were closer, my brand new tiller has been used two seasons to till my 1/2 acre garden. You would be welcome to borrow it if you were closer.

I personally like Kyle's idea, but I think a few local folks sharing a few implements or borrowing back and forth is the way to go. As long as you all agree that if you break it, you fix it. I just think the large number of people it would take to make a coop viable is pretty rare in most rural areas. You also have to consider that some members will get an implement and then loan it to a neighbor, relative, or friend. What if they break it, or you drive by a jobsite and see your boxblade smoothing dirt around a new apartment complex on a tractor driven by somebody who isn't a coop member? A coop can be complicated and managing it would be a full-time job in my opinion. I think a coop rental where you paid a significant amount and got a rebate when you returned the implements on time and in good shape might have some credibility. Having more people who use the service and keeping a good cashflow along with making enough for regular maintenance would be the formula for success.

 

[mikim]

Thanks Jim -- for both the offer of the tiller and the jab in the butt....today is a trip to Houston for a granddaughter's b'day -- but this weather is suppose to hold all week so maybe I'll go to McCoy's tomorrow and git bizy.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Mike, take your time...you've earned it. Smell every rose on the way.

I rented a bush hog tiller from the location close to me 4 years ago. (just past the fairgrounds). The top mount on the 3 pt was so "wallered" out (is that a word?) elongated, that the thing just jumped up and down the whole time. Of course it didn't help that the ground was hard as a rock. Its best to till maybe 3 days after a good rain. If only we could get some rain. I would pick on weathermen right now but considering the circumstances, I better not. Anyhow, except for the worn out 3pt, it was a nice tiller. I should have offered to buy it and fix it myself.

Yes, a co-op would work best between friends, with top notch equipment that is 100% fixable. Sometimes stuff gets cracked and not noticed until a higher HP tractor gets hooked to it. Nothing that a bit of welding couldn't fix. Just a matter of if you can sleep at night with some welding on your equipment....I could

 

[Oldmax]

I have a friend of 30 years that if I need an implement he has I go get it and use it . If he needs somthing I have he comes and gets it . If we break it we fix it not take back broken & drop off. he is the only one I would trust with my tractor & I am the only one he trust with his. WE also trade back & fourth parts not htinking of value some times I come out sometimes he does. That Is a true friend & they are hard to find.