How do you store your attachments? Stacking options?

[chrisclark]

We're in the process of purchasing a tractor and a couple of 3-point-hitch implements (mower, rear blade, hopefully a land plane). It seems like it would be a good idea to keep them covered so they don't get rusted from exposure to rain, snow, etc. How do you store them?

I've been thinking about getting a car port style structure and parking the tractor and implements under it. If we had 2 3-point-hitch implements, it seems that we could park the tractor and implements under the car port with 1 implement facing the same direction as the tractor (just back through the front opening to hook it up) and the other implement facing the opposite direction as the tractor (just back through the rear opening to hook it up). But if we had 3 implements, it would be a bit trickier. Would it make sense to stack them? I can imagine building a shelf out of 4x6 or 6x6 beams supported by concrete blocks and placing the rear blade on top of it. How high can a 3-point-hitch reach? Would we need to sit the implement on top of the shelf on something that can be moved with pallet forks?

I tried to diagram this below. The bumpy line of ^ symbols at the bottom is the ground; the straight line at the top is the roof of the carport (open or able to be opened at both ends). The implements are named and the < and > signs show the direction the 3-point-hitch attachment points are pointing.

---------------------------------- (roof of carport, open at both ends)

<blade
---------
<land plane mower> (3PH)Tractor
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thanks,
Chris

 

[k0ua]

I don't know but I am very interested in what you and others come up with. I would like to do something similar in the way of stacking. But I was thinking about using pallet forks to access them. I don't really have any good ideas, but I sure am willing to steal some!

 

[Looking4new]

My snow blower sits on a skid outside in the summer and the rear blade is on all the time. In winter the loader is outside on a skid. I grease the exposed hydraulic rams before I take it off for winter.

 

[chrisclark]

I just found this tread from 2003: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/30330-need-help-ideas-storage-shelving.html. I guess I didn't go back far enough in the forums.

Another idea I'm considering is building a low, narrow, long structure with side-by-side bays for the implements, sort of like this:

+------------+------------+-------+
| rear blade | land plane | mower |


I could just back up to the right bay, hook up the implement, raise it a bit, and drive off. It would keep them all low (within reach of my 3PH) but out of the weather. Perhaps just a tarp over the opening that I can fold back for access.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Looking4new]

So what you want is a 'driving shed'. Closed in on three sides with a door of sorts on the access side. Farmers build them all the time. Can use them for firewood storage, too.

 

[ESBkevin]

There is a youtube of a guy that puts all his implements on wheeled boggies. As he takes them off they are pushed away to store and the next is rolled behind/in front to fit. Neat, no heavy handling and quite compact storage. Stacking requires more machinery to lift. You could put benches/shelves over the implements for other storage/tools etc.

 

[TerryR]

Here's a somewhat smaller version I built several years ago. It has bays for four implements plus a small closed room with a toilet that's tightly closed and heated above freezing, so works great for storing seeds, garden chemicals, etc.


But since the "toy" collection tends to grow, you never have enough stalls. So I built dollies for each tool that both make it easier to hook up and lets me slide them in tighter to fit more in:








Terry

 

[oosik]

Count me in this arena also. I have the enclosed storage for only the chipper and grapple. The remainder - rear blade, land plane, disc harrow, etc etc are on pallets outside. Of course, the problem for me, is not available land to locate a building - such as Looking4new has - but $$$.
It becomes immediately apparent when storing implements that placing one in front of another in a shed is great until you need the one stored in the back. And without a concrete floor a rolling pallet is not possible.

So I sit here and fantasize and drool at pics of "driving sheds" like Looking4new just posted.

 

[jmc]

If you go back to that stack of cement blocks concept, think about lateral stability as well. My implements get "bumped" when attaching them.

 

[dlwford]

I have mine hanging from sections of heavy chain under a heavy duty bench so that they are at "attachment" level. Makes it easy to hook up if I don't get the tractor exactly in the right spot, inside a two stall drive in on the side of my barn. I hang my mower deck on the wall so water does not accumulate on it. The tiller is too heavy to hang so it sits on some scrap 4x4 treated timbers. In Alabama the humidity is so high, any steel in unheated areas will "condensate" and rust - I use "Slide, No Rust" - tool and die protector for a lot of things I want to protect in the barn. WD40 works too but - doesn't last.

Look at No-Rust rust preventive and inhibitor from Slide Products .

The paint job on most attachments is designed to get it out the door. A can of appliance epoxy when they are new goes a long way to keeping attachments looking new. Touch up the skins and scrapes before storing them in the fall.

My tractor runs better when she's clean and shinny!!

Big L

PS. Don't forget to unhook the chains or you will pull the whole barn down!!

 

[s219]

What you will find is that it can be a pain to hookup 3-pt implements unless both the tractor and implement are on level ground relative to each other. I fought with this a lot. That led me to make sure I put a concrete floor in the barn I built, so that implements could be on dollies to roll unto place behind the tractor for easy hookup. The other benefit to that is that the dollies can be rolled out of the way to store the implements off to the side of the barn. I store a box blade, rear blade, and wood chipper this way, and it has been working out great.

I am putting in metal racking to store the implements for my Deere garden tractor in a stacked fashion. I have a tow-behind sweeper, thatcher, and core aerator. Right now they are outdoors rusting. With the rack, they will be stored one above the other on shelves in the barn. I can use the front loader / forks on my large tractor to lift them down when needed (which is only 2-3 times a year at most).

If you had a lot of space and room to maneuver, you could stack larger tractor implements on a rack as well. I have seen pictures of that done here on TBN, so a search may find some good info. I could only do that if the rack was directly opposite of my barn doors, since I don't have room to maneuver much in a 20x20 barn, and anything would have to be a straight shot in through the door. But that is my strategy if I run out of room off to the sides.

The problem with storing implements on the floor is that they waste all that space above the implement unless you get clever. I hate wasted space. So I am always thinking about ideas to either stack implements, or put in shelfs/hooks/hangers above the implements to use up the dead space.

Good luck!

 

[300UGUY]

Here's a somewhat smaller version I built several years ago. It has bays for four implements plus a small closed room with a toilet that's tightly closed and heated above freezing, so works great for storing seeds, garden chemicals, etc.
View attachment 413748

But since the "toy" collection tends to grow, you never have enough stalls. So I built dollies for each tool that both make it easier to hook up and lets me slide them in tighter to fit more in:

View attachment 413749

View attachment 413750

View attachment 413751


Terry

I like your design on the dollies, I have built dollies for mine, but I may steal your design, if I build some more.

 

[flusher]

Get a wide carport, say 20' wide by 25-30' long with covered sides. Orient it so you don't get a lot of wind-driven rain inside the structure. That way you would have room for at least 4 implements. Or buy two 10'W x 20' L carports with sides. You'll probably have to anchor those structures to a concrete foundation to handle the wind loads in WY.

Good luck

 

[Trails End]

I had a car port style enclosure built for my tractor and attachments, with dollies
for each attachment. This works great, except for the fact that I didn't have the
enclosure built large enough. Depth was determined to blend in with the depth
of the garage that it's attached to, but I should have made it twice as wide.
I've run out of space.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Inside storage is great for rotating equipment, however, I ran out of space in my shop and covered areas storing motorized things like my truck, wife's car, Goldwing motorcycle, boat, two zero turn mowers and a push mower. My attached garage houses another SUV, golf cart and RTV900 so basically all the equipment is stored outside. I place some bricks under the bush hog to keep the skids of the ground and the PTO shaft elevated so water cant run back inside the two pieces, both disk harrows are just set on the ground along with my landscape rake (chickens like to perch on it so it is covered with manure but I haven't used it in over 2 years)cultivator, light duty back blade and box blade.

Basically a gallon or so of paint is much cheaper than a storage shed and even without any touchup, all of the 3 PH equipment will outlast me.

 

[joeyd]

I store my implements outside on pallets and put tarps over them in the wet season, I fluid film exposed metal to help protect from rust. All I have to do is make sure I keep my QA pallet forks in front for when I need to change out.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I built this a few years ago. Earlier we built another barn, but quickly ran out of room. In that barn, which is high, I have pallet racking and keep buckets and such things on the racking. Or snow blowers and various mowers on pallets. Problem with that is that too often things are in the way of the racking and putting stuff high up is a delicate operation, best done with a spotter. I have destroyed racking when stuff got hooked in one way or another!

In general, I am trying to get rid of stuff, because there comes a time when more just becomes a pain! I just hate tripping over all manner of attachments that always seem to litter any available floorspace regardless of how much room you have.

The idea I liked with this new building is that it has total access from the front and although there is still always stuff in the way it seems, it is a much better solution then doors from one side or another. Also, the barn has one of it's two big doors under the roof eave side and unless I want to do a lot of extra snow removal work, that door becomes pretty much unuseable throughout the winter months and so largely does access to the racking so it has to be more for seasonal or seldom used stuff.

 

[Industrial Toys]

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this is the kind of chaos that always seems to exist inside any of my buildings. One thing about having more space though. There is always a good chance that there is someplace to put something and sometimes never in the same spot twice! I HATE, I mean absolutely hate stuff left outside.

Some other points occured to me. I have three or four hand pallet type trucks which I could not live without. I got them all used with minor repairs required or at auction. They are GREAT for moving stuff that you store on pallets out of the way. One is really narrow and that one seems to be my favourite and most saught after! Even better if you have concrete aprons and can move stuff outside temporarily.

 

[DocDryden]

Here is another tread from Dec 2014

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/327094-where-do-you-store-your.html

 

[SweBota]

I bought used pallet racks and shelves. I put everything on pallets and stack it with the forks. Flail mower is hard to store on a pallet so it goes on the floor under the rack, snow plow on first shelf etc.

/Marcus