I'm puzzled

[mapper]

As I travel around the area that I live, I have noticed that there are a lot of tractors that are parked outside. In many cases they are parked outside of barns, sheds and shops. Why would you make a substantial investment in a piece of equipment then let it sit out in the elements.
I have always tried to protect my tractors and other equipment by storing them under cover, even when I was unable to keep the old 8N inside I at least had it tarped when it was not in use.
Does anyone have an insight into this behavior?

 

[bcp]

I spent most of my life in farming areas. Maybe 10 percent were kept in a shed with at least one open side. The rest were totally outside all year. This was everything from old beaters to the largest articulated monster tractors, combines, cotton pickers, balers, Cats, etc.

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe they put them away after it gets dark... :laughing:

People leave their cars out, too. I imagine its just a matter of space available at the time.

 

[crazyal]

I park mine inside simply because of the damage the sun will do to it. Faded paint isn't too much of a worry but the sun will eat tires. I've replaced too many tires with great tread but dry rotted to the point where even tubes will not work. Plus without a cab the last thing I want to do is clean a foot of snow off a tractor so I can clear the driveway. I think about half the CUT owners around here keep them inside (hard to get an accurate number as you usually only see the ones outside). As to farms around here, I see a lot outside but they are older tractors. The new stuff I only see working in the fields. I suspect that's because they store them inside.

 

[cat fever]

Mapper I share your concern. All of my stuff is inside.


Oddly enough my dad lives next door; he has 2 - 100' X 50' barns and his tractor sits outside most of the time. :confused3:

 

[mapper]

Crazyal, you make my point, the sun and weather age your equipment. Tires and hoses are expensive to replace. Most folks don't have money to waste. I can understand a bit when someone does not have somewhere to store their equipment but what really gets me is when it's parked outside of a building it could be inside of.
I asked my sister a few years ago what they did (she and her husband are full time farmers who who have made a living for a number of generations on a family farm) with their equipment. Her response was that they stored every bit that they could in covered storage when it was not in use. They do have quite a bit of old stuff that does not get used sitting outside, referred to as the "lemon orchard":laughing:

 

[oosik]

I see a lot of the really big tractors parked out in the fields. I've always thought its because they don't have covered storage. I've always parked my tractors in covered storage. My Ford 1700 rear tires were still in good shape, when I traded it in, after 27 years of use.

If you want to see what UV does - just check a garden hose that is left out all year. It will get hard, brittle and cracked. UV damage to tires can be brutal.

 

[Thomas]

Dealers leave tractors and attachments out in the open over months even years and still sell it brand new.

 

[jk96]

My last tractor set outside for 8 years until I traded it in. Only issue I could see after 8 years was some slightly faded paint on the hood. The new one is sitting outside now. I'm hoping to get some storage built in a year or two but until then I prefer to have a warm car in the morning so the tractor will stay outside. My guess is that for most it's just a matter of space.

 

[Grandad4]

Learned from my wife's dad, who farmed successfully his whole life, to keep equipment out of the elements when it's not being used. No harm in leaving it out while seasonal work is going on, but when the plowing, planting, haying, etc. is finished, it gets put up where it belongs, not left out for weeks/months/years on end. It was a tight fit getting things back in the barn, but his equipment was always in good, ready-to-go condition and lasted a long time.

 

[KennyG]

Some things move easier than others. Lots of people have garages filled with stuff that GoodWill wouldn't take and $50,000 cars parked outside.

 

[motownbrowne]

Personally, I'd love to park in a shed. But, if I'm not gonna, I'd much prefer the elements to a tarp. Tarps blow around in the wind and wear through paint. They also make a better habitat for vermin. Also, in my opinion, not much looks more tacky than stuff covered in tarps. Tractors have hoods for a reason. The tires on my Ford 8n have been uncovered for 40 years and still hold air just fine. They're not pretty, but they function just fine.

 

[jk96]

Some things move easier than others. Lots of people have garages filled with stuff that GoodWill wouldn't take and $50,000 cars parked outside.

I helped a guy move once that fit this description. I couldn't believe we were actually keeping all of the crap he had instead of tossing it. Moved it directly to the new garage and car stayed outside again.

 

[MF283]

All my tractors have stayed inside when not in use. Personal vehicles outside:confused3: Yes, even the ZTR get's waxed once a year.
My current 07 JD sat outside i'm assuming til 2011 when i bought it, it looks as good now than it did then. I'd have so much more room in my barn if the tractor, ZTR & Gator werent in there, not to mention the wife moving her hobby stuff in that takes up room & never seems to get completed
Now that i've typed this, i've come to the conclusion that i need another barn:thumbsup:

Ronnie

 

[k0ua]

My new tractor had to stay outside for a few months until I could get up enough money to build its "Kioti den". It would not fit into the barn the previous tractor fit in. I sure did not like having it sit outside through the spring and summer, but by fall I had it in its new home. I have always kept my tractors under cover whenever possible. My first tractor on this property was kept in the basement. I had double doors to the basement and was able to get a B7500 inside for a couple years until I could buy a barn for it.

 

[k0ua]

All my tractors have stayed inside when not in use. Personal vehicles outside:confused3: Yes, even the ZTR get's waxed once a year.
My current 07 JD sat outside i'm assuming til 2011 when i bought it, it looks as good now than it did then. I'd have so much more room in my barn if the tractor, ZTR & Gator werent in there, not to mention the wife moving her hobby stuff in that takes up room & never seems to get completed
Now that i've typed this, i've come to the conclusion that i need another barn:thumbsup:

Ronnie

You do. The wife's hobby stuff went into the original barn I used to keep tractors in and now the tractor has its own barn. The "Kioti Den". The wife's happy and I am happy.

 

[motownbrowne]

About three properties over (thankfully) we have a neighbor who is a real prick. Obviously you're not gonna get his side of the story, so you'll have to take my word for it. His nickname in the neighborhood is King George.

Anyway, King George and his wife moved up from Chicago. Bought a big house that was foreclosed on. Big three car attached garage. Their adult daughter keeps 3 horses on the property. I'm not sure if she lives there or not. Anyway, classic horse people behavior, 3 horses on a patch of bare ground about 30' wide by 150' long.

Long story short I drove by one time a few years ago, and here's two hay racks parked in the driveway. And there's the whole family stacking small square bales IN THE ATTACHED GARAGE! I couldn't stop laughing. Drove by later and they had the thing packed to the gills full of bales. They've done the same thing every year since. So king George and his wife park their fancy cars outside all winter so their daughter can store hay for her horses. It makes me smile every time I drive past.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I park both my tractors in open on 2 or 3 sided sheds but at least they are mostly out of the elements. My daughter and husband parks their $15K Kubota in the garage along with her golf cart and tons of "junk" but parks both of their $50K vehicles out in the weather.

Wife car is 2003, always parked inside a garage and paint (other than parking lot scratches) looks new as does the Lexan head lights.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Puzzle me this- Why do folks pay to rent a storage shed to store junk that wouldn't sell for combined total of one months rent? If you look at majority of things stored in U-Store places, hardly any of it is worth more than a couple months of the rental fee yet the renters just keep paying the rent and stacking more and more worthless junk into the space.

 

[monkeyboy22]

Some things move easier than others. Lots of people have garages filled with stuff that GoodWill wouldn't take and $50,000 cars parked outside.

Sounds like part of a George Carlin routine.