Letting the wife drive the tractor

[NIXON]

Well , after all it's hers as much as mine . That , and if I tick Her off REAL BAD it's Her's Period /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif That , and there may be a time when she has to use it and I'm not around . So she needs to be familiar and comfortable on it . I'd hate to come home and hear ..... "I just pushed on this thingie and it went though the garage door /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif "
Any way this weekend we were moving some firewood to the house . As she was driving it it would cut out and occasionally die altogether . I got on and all was normal . Kinda odd .
She'd get back on and it would do the same thing . No warning lights at all . I was getting worried that the machine had some problems . So, I walked behind the machine as she ran it . I'd hear a click and the machine would start to die .
I asked if she was wearing her seat belt . "no , I can't stand up to see where I'm going" was the reply .
Proves the seat switch works anyway /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
So we had a quick lesson in adjusting the seat and wearing the seat belt .
But alls well that ends well . She's super impressed with the ease of moving things with the Fel . And , to be honest . She picked the 3130 over the 2910 when we were shopping John

 

[sandyc]

I too offered to let my wife play with, I mean drive by 2200. I also mentioned that she should know how it works just in case I am not around.......to this she said, without missing a stroke, "what makes you think I can't find someone else that knows how to use the tractor". OH well, more seat time for me. Guess I better enjoy it while I can!

 

[NIXON]

LOL ! And an excellent point ! John

 

[RonR]

I had my wife driving our BX2200 when we were removing some old buried irrigation PVC. She drove and operated the loader. All done at a crawl pace and hand signals.

I had the chain hooked to the PVC and I'd motion up and forward. When it was needing to be re-attached, I'd motion down.

The time saved with me not having to get on/off/on/off/on/off/on/off was WELL worth giving up the seat time! She enjoyed it; gave her some confidence too!

Enjoy.

 

[NIXON]

Ron , I've got to say the biggest enjoyment for me was the look on her face when she was operating the tractor !!
John

 

[JDgreen227]

Excuse me for putting my two cents into the Kubota forum but I just had to tell the TBN members what happened to me. Right after I retired in late 2002 I went out and bought a new JD 4210 without consulting my spouse. She knew I wanted a replacement for my old JD 318 but I kept it a secret for the next few months, in early April I had it delivered and moved it up into our big barn which she never had a reason to look into.

About a month later she retired from her job also and we went out to an expensive restaurant for dinner to celebrate and when we arrived home she got a really expensive gift as a surprise. The conversation naturally turned to how I could afford such a gift, being retired and on a fixed income. What I did was, I told her being retired gave me more time to plan my spending and I was able to budget my money better, and that I hoped that down the road I would be able to replace my old tractor.

She came out and told me well, I really think you need a new one but it has to be something I can drive...it was so hard to keep a straight face. And about two weeks later we came home from a spending spree for new furniture that we really didn't need and she remarked, we are really going into debt these days....and like a fool I said something like, you don't know the half of it.

She gave me a funny look and asked DID YOU BUY A NEW TRACTOR ALREADY.....I said well, basically yes, but.....

Her face lit up and she said I am so happy for you, let's go out and look at OUR new tractor. Am I one lucky fellow, or not?

 

[Boondox]

Getting your wife's input is definitely a good move. Tamara loved our old B1750 and used it all the time. But it was too small to do the things I needed to do. So I traded up to an L3010 a couple years ago and she hasn't driven it yet. "Too big and intimidating," she says.

My loss. Pete

 

[Jim_Becker]

I may put more hours on the machine than LOML, but she uses it a LOT, primarily with the FEL. There is no question that she knows the time and effort it saves and she had no problem whatsoever when I upgraded from the BX2200 to the BX22 last year...she even paid for it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[GV40U]

When the wife was young she drove her father's Ford (8N?) tractor. After we were married, she drove my IH 300 utility tractor -- no power steering, and difficult clutch for her. She is a small, light person and had to stand up to push down the clutch and use both hands to pull the steering wheel around...not safe nor convenient but she was a trooper. I sold that tractor in 1990 when we moved, still have the land. So now we are ready to retire and move closer to our property. I'm looking for a new tractor and she says, "I don't care what you get, I probably can't drive it anyway". Once a year, I've rented a JD 4400 hydro tractor and mower to mow the roadways and keep the blackberries under control. This fall I took her with me. She learned to use the hydro, 3ph, rotary mower and had the most fun with the front loader pushing the black berry vines over to mow and pulling vines out of trees. I plan to buy an L3130 HST with all the goodies when we move. After her experience with a newer compact tractor (power steering, hydrostatic trans., good brakes and easy-to-use controls) she is once again an enthusiastic tractor operator and she can't wait to start on her landscape projects. Seat time (sitting and watching her use a tractor) is almost as much fun as seat time on a tractor!

 

[NIXON]

GV40U, Hello, this is Cerberus's wife (Cerberette). When I was a girl, my Dad had a Farmall M. I was never allowed to drive it, Dad thought I would flip it.. I always wanted to drive a Tractor.. So when John said he wanted one I thought YEAH I will finally get to drive a tractor. I am a bit intemidated by it, but give me some time, and I will be as good as John. (I doubt it) he will have a lot more seat time than me. But I am glad he twisted my arm in getting it. His little lawn tractor (future bonfire material), kept throwing the belt, and he as he says it wouldn't pull a greasy string out of a dead cats butt... I know he hated it.. Well he has a lot of work to do to clear the land for his garage, but it will be so much easier with the Kubota.. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif