ROPS Protector

[HomeBrew2]

... Paint it when ya sell it. ....

As usual Russell, great comments!

I'm still waiting for ANY real evidence that a machine kept looking like an obsessive-compulsive owned it, with everything looking showroom new each and every day, is worth more upon sale than (like a grunt like me would do) a machine cleaned and touched up as needed just prior to entertaining offers to buy it.

So, can anyone offer anything other than dreams that all this daily/cyclical cleaning, waxing and mudpacks really equates to more dollars upon sale ... ?

Cheers to all the dirty, scuffed tractor owners out there ... and to the dirty, scuffed tractors as well

 

[rdsaustintx]

I'm still waiting for ANY real evidence that a machine kept looking like an obsessive-compulsive owned it, with everything looking showroom new each and every day, is worth more upon sale than (like a grunt like me would do) a machine cleaned and touched up as needed just prior to entertaining offers to buy it.

[Russell bows to the implement king]

No data to show that, but there was an EPA link in here a year or so back estimating total life for different types of diesel equipment - including light tractors.

The report had two columns for type of usage: residential vs. commercial. Residential lifetime operating hours were less than 1/10th of those for commercial use.

I think the worst thing you can do to most machines is let them sit unused.

Hey Brew, what about mounting some cutting teeth on the top of the ROPS? That way I can mow and trim trees at the same time?

Russell in TX

PS: Turn off your welder, I'm only kidding...

 

[N80]

I think you guys are missing the point. First, I never suggested in any way not to use your tractor. That would be out of character with how I have used mine. ( I've cracked my bucket, run a sapling through my radiator and driven a front tire off and this is in just a year.) So please don't label my tractor as a lawn or garage queen....it still lives outdoors. I don't wash it with every use, but I do rinse off caked on dirt and layers of dust and grass that hold moisture....again, since it lives outdoors. I have washed sap off the hood using soap before. But let's not mischaracterize me or the point I'm trying to make.

The OP asked about how to prevent scratches on his ROPS. What he got was (mostly) good natured humor, but a little of it was condescending. I think if he wanted his tractor to look scratched up, or didn't care, he wouldn't have asked how to prevent it.

I'm just suggesting that there is nothing wrong with keeping a tractor looking nice and the there is absolutely zero imperative not to do so. And keeping the tractor looking as nice as possible doesn't in any way mean that it isn't or can't be used for what it was made to do. In addition to that, scratched paint leads to rust and rusty ROPS will certainly attract the ROPS police.

Back to the resale thing. Folks are talking about how tractors are tough machines with tough jobs and are supposed to look like it. Well, the OP was talking about a BX23, not a farm tractor from the 1970s. Who do you think is going to be buying a SCUT like a BX 23? The answer is, of course, the same type of person who bought it in the first place? The type of person who probably likes having a tractor that looks nice. Paint it before you sell it? Yeah, that'll work. I see "new paint" on half the used tractor adds out there. What does that mean? It means someone got six cans of JD green and sprayed every inch of the machine green and even got a little bit on the JD yellow wheels and seat. Does it fool you? Wow, looks like new!

In any case, if you don't mind a beat up looking tractor, that's fine. But there's hardly any need to suggest that someone shouldn't want a nice looking tractor.

And there's another element to this. You ever been to an antique tractor show? How many beaters do you see there that aren't being sold for restoration? Somebody out there likes the look of a new tractor.