Letting the neighbor borrow your tractor...

[PHPaul]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

"Says" and "Does" are two entirely different animals.

The "contract" may or may not be enforceable (I know which way I'd bet) but I guarantee that going to court over it would cost more than you're ever likely to recover.

I'm as helpful as the next guy, but I'd be WAY more likely to take my tractor and implement(s) over and do the work FOR him at an agreed-upon rate than let him use my equipment and deal with the consequences.

Then again, the two neighbors I've got could break an anvil with a rubber hammer so maybe I'm prejudiced.

 

[motownbrowne]

Well, how much do $$ do you have tied up in the tractor so far? It's different if we're talking about a $10,000 machine or a $35,000 machine.

Personally, I'd let him borrow it. Sounds like a nice guy who's handy to have around. As you point out, he doesn't really have enough need to purchase a tractor just for himself.

I think your idea about buying implements with the money he pays ($25/ hour of non-abusive operation seems like plenty) is a great one. If you buy used implements you can always sell them for what you paid for them if a large repair bill is encountered. That way it's like the money goes into a savings account, only it's much more useful.

One other possibility is that you could just go over there when he needs a tractor. You could still let him run it, but just be around during the operation. That way you're both there if something happens and you won't wonder what was actually going on during the failure.

 

[aarolar]

What happened to the old tractor?

 

[blueriver]

Anytime I'm asked "can I borrow your tractor" I say sure I come along with it!

Fastest way to ruin a relationship is when your friend breaks it ... well that always changes things.

 

[abeal]

Seems like a decent guy and it appears neither of you need one full time. I'd go for it.

 

[bspeedy]

Recipe for disaster in my opinion. Everything is great when everything is great. Something breaks / wears out / fails that is going to cost in the thousands and then see what happens. Also, a lot of the guys are saying that he doesn't need a tractor. I disagree. Seems like he needs one more than you do! Let him buy one and sell it when he's finished with it. People do it all the time. I don't even like to run my family's equipment even though I believe I am a much more careful operator. Something breaks on my watch (or I notice a problem) guess where the fingers get pointed.

Having said that, I was more than happy to spend many hours helping my new neighbors with a couple of projects before they bought their tractor. I'm not a borrower or a lender, but I try to help out a good neighbor when I can.

 

[PHILIP8N]

No way I would do 50/50. I would always have to have minority ownership so you can say no. If I am 50% owner of your tractor, I can take it, bush hog 50 acres of high stuff full of rocks and stumps at a property 25 miles away for profit. Or I can take it and let my brother use it to push limbs into his burn pile while it is burning. When I move, I will take tractor with me or make you pay unfair value for it, plus implements. Too many loop holes. Protect yourself. Philip.

 

[npaden]

Thanks for the input.

The 50/50 thing was his original idea. I didn't like the idea of it not being "my" tractor so I told him I didn't want to do that. Trying to decide some other equitable method of charging for it or whether I need to charge him at all is where I am at now.

What happened to my old tractor? It was a 1996 Kubota L4200 and it started pouring hydraulic fluid from the front axle when I was clearing snow with it a few months ago. Took it to the dealer and they said that the front axle needed replaced and it would cost $4 - $5k to fix. For a tractor that was worth maybe $9,000 in good working condition, it was close to being totaled. I found a used axle but it wasn't exactly cheap and it was in Oregon and I was still going to have to pay to get it fixed and there was a lot of uncertainty with how the gears were going to be so I decided to go ahead and upgrade to a larger tractor which I had been wanting to do for a while anyway. Got what I think was a great deal on a 2011 LS U5030C and they gave me $6,000 for my old tractor "as is" so I ended up making the swap.

I have always been one of those guys who said "you can't borrow my tractor, but I can come over and help you" kind of guys but this isn't a one time thing that is going to take a few hours and that's it. He's going to be using the tractor a few hours here, a few hours there, etc., maybe 50 hours or so this first year. After that it will drop way down. He won't be taking it and using it anywhere other than at his house.

One good thing about this being my tractor is that I can always say no if he ends up being abusive to it. Thanks again for the input.

 

[deezler]

I can relate to this. When I bought my property in 2012, we immediately offered some of the acreage, eventually, to our best friends who also wanted to build their forever home.

So it made sense to split a tractor 50/50 since we'd both be needing it for the same tasks, land clearing, brush hogging, driveway maintenance, snow removal, etc. I got most of my landscaping and our home build done a couple of years earlier than him, so I have put the majority of hours on the machine thus far, albeit only at about 100 hours/year thus far. (so I have benefited from the 50/50 arrangement). I got the loan and the tractor is in my name only.

However sharing the equipment does have its pitfalls. my buddy is not very mechanically inclined. he has done things like forget how to switch in and out of 4wd and just spin the tires trying to box blade. Or lose a pin off the 3-pt and keep brush hogging anyway. Or rip a coolant hose off and keep running the tractor even once it had no coolant!! But I cannot totally blame him, as we are doing rough work clearing a scrubby forest, and I've had some accidents also. But I am also the mechanic of it, and he is.... not. I have to remember and do all the maintenance.... which gets a bit old. I've also subsidized a lot of his fuel use, which I don't mind so much, but would rather split fairly. Things to consider.

In the future I do hope one of us can buy the other person out of our sharing agreement so that I can have my own machine again. But meanwhile I have gotten some incredible work done and only paid $5000 (1/2 the cost) for a low-hour, 30HP beast. I'm probably already cash-positive vs. paying for someone to install my driveway or landscaping.

In your case, if your neighbor is as generous as he sounds, and a good mechanic, I would probably do it if money is tight. You will rarely compete for hours on the machine, just plan ahead and keep each other informed. The earth could benefit from more productive sharing of equipment and less strain on our global resources.

 

[Creamer]

Just today we had a visit from some friends that lived next door to in Cincinnati 25 years ago. We were just starting out and they were 10+ years ahead of us. He earned good money and had a lot of toys but didn't know how to use them real well. I knew how to use them and helped him and he let me borrow all of his toys. It worked out very well for us - too bad my job situation changed and we had to move away. I have always been very appreciative of how generous he was and it helped me. It really depends on who you are and who he is but if you are both the type of people who focus on keeping the relationship it will be great - if either of you is not then be careful.