Tractor- An Expensive Toy, ...until the big one hits

bp fick · Dec 22, 2009

The story: When we took possession of our "life-dream" property last spring, I told my wife, well in advance, that a tractor would be part of the purchase expectation. The snow plow option on my Kubota wasn't cheap either. She being the city mouse and me being the country mouse. She reluctantly agreed after seeing the damage done to the drive and side yards by the contractor hired to hurriedly and carelessly plow the long drive during the one year the property sat vacant.

Snow here is a common fact of life. Over 130 inches per annum average.

This past week, folks in the east had their first blast of 20" snowfall in a good while. This week, other parts of the country are going to get blasted again. Some areas are getting a taste of what is normal life in other areas.

So the point of this little story is simple. The tractor might seem to be a somewhat self indulgent "toy" to some or certainly an expensive, but unnecessary "tool" to others, until the big one hits. Then the Tractor Guy becomes something of the neighborhood hero and plows everyone out.

Suddenly, it makes sense, life is good and all is right in the world once again.

Merry Christmas To All You Tractor Guys.

4gone · Dec 22, 2009

It took one snowstorm being at the mercy of a hired plow guy with our 320' driveway to convince my wife that the tractor was not just a toy. It was also much more versitile, useful and less expensivefor a whole list of tasks than maitaining a plow truck.

firefighter jim · Dec 22, 2009

Such a beautiful story..........will have to share with my wife. Merry Christmas

jpm1 · Dec 22, 2009

Where we live a tractor is far from being a "Toy" it's a part of the family, and a way of life. I clear 4 driveways when it snows, and sometimes more ranging from 150' to over 1500' long. Blowing and drifting becomes a problem rendering a plow truck useless! bp fick refered the tractor guy becomes the "Hero". . . not really so, it's just life here in the country. Without the tractor the wood would never make the furnace, nor would the driveway ever get cleaned needless to say the 37 plus acres of lawn to mow. A "TOY", I don't think so.

jimgerken · Dec 22, 2009

Or you could do it like I did: Work beside your wife for 20 years doing all the yard landscaping, shoveling and heavy work by hand and with wheelbarrow or maybe lawn tractor. THEN get a tractor, and she says "If I had known what this tractor could do, we'd have had one 20 years ago!".

JDGreenGrass · Dec 22, 2009

You are correct. I have a jealous neighbor who each time I speak to them they have a snide remark about the tractor. I take it with a grain of salt.

I know he won't have the courage to ask for help when the big one hits but, I am the type that will offer. Will be interesting to see if he will accept the offer.?? If he does accept, I am sure his remarks will "go away."

This is my first winter with the tractor and it has been a huge "helping hand."

Just a fantastic tool. One of the best investments I have made in my life.

CHDinCT · Dec 22, 2009

bp - have you started to lay the groundwork with your wife for adding the FEL?

I think you'd end up finding as much value from that as the front blade.

For me, when we bought our two acres of lawn/woods 20 years ago, a tractor was a definite necessity though I went with a used garden tractor to start, then added implements along the way - tiller, front blade more for dirt work than snow, dethatcher, aerator, leaf vacuum. Our builder, who put the road in and built 11 houses on it went bankrupt just about at the end of the development project. But for a few truck loads of topsoil, he left my yard and others unlandscaped. All kinds of mess everywhere. I pushed that first tractor to the limits and really could have used a bigger unit with a FEL. Just wasn't in the budget back then after buying a new house. Ended up paying landscapers to do the really big jobs.

A couple of years ago, with a bit more money in the bank, I started looking at used FELs for my garden tractor. When I saw them go for over $2K on ebay and thought about the fact it was not a quick change type and I could only use the FEL without any other implements on, plus being only two wheel drive, well, a SCUT started to look like a necessity vs a luxury. My wife has come around to appreciating what it can do and no longer questions my decision. Only wish I had pulled the trigger years ago.

bp fick · Dec 22, 2009

There are 6 homes on this 80 acre piece. Our lot sizes vary from 2 to 20 acres. I snowplow the private lane, three of my neighbors drives and my own drive. Two of my neighbors are in their 80's and another is laid up with recent shoulder surgery.

Chris- I have the BX with the front plow. John has the B7510 with FEL, for which I have the key to his barn, and Pete has a Massey Harris Colt with middle mount road grader blade.

jpm1- Tractors are not toys or indulgences here either. The are indeed a fact of life. Here, it's just neighbors helping neighbors. It's what we do. But my story was more about other areas of the country, I suspect.

The 200 acre piece across the road is a family tract and between the 5 or 6 homes over there, they have an 8N, a B series Kubota, a Mahindra and a Big Ol' Deere, that I know of.

Yup. Just a way of life.

RalphVa · Dec 22, 2009

I cleared our driveway with my 4010 and FEL mostly. Only used the back blade a little bit after clearing the 24" with the FEL.

Neighbor across the street was mucking around with a plow on a little bitty garden tractor. That blade wasn't going all the way down. He looks like he was on a toy bumping around over bumpy snow that he was packing down nicely.

For this snow, I wish I still had my old Gravely with its even older square chute snow blower. It would have cleared the 24" quicker than the FEL. I might have ended up with snow blown all over me though.

Ralph