Member of the Month: D Cyril Colbeck

Your Name: My full name is D Cyril Colbeck, though I go by my middle name of Cyril.

It’s amazing how much it throws people when your first name is a letter.  Many times people try to reverse my first and middle names.  I’ve even had websites refuse to accept my first name and keep telling me that I must input my first name not an initial (lol).

Location: Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle.

Post Count: 5,386 (#39 of all-time)

How long have you been a member of TBN? I joined TractorByNet.com in November of 2009.  At the time, I had recently purchased my used John Deere 2240 tractor and was trying to resolve some of the issues it had.  A friend emailed me a link to a thread on TBN which pertained to what I was working on and it didn’t take me long to see the value of the site both for an information resource and as a medium for getting to know others who were interested in tractors and farming.

What do you like best about TractorByNet.com? This is a difficult question to answer as there are so many great things about TBN.  From the friendships I’ve built, to the tremendous amounts of information and feedback available through the members here, to the fact that TBN has their site laid out in an easy to use format which can be easily negotiated, as well as the concern and support that Muhammad and the rest of the TBN staff show for the site and its members.  All of which add to the experience of TBN and, in my opinion, help to make it one of the best sites on the web.

What type of tractor do you own? We have a John Deere 2240 MFWD tractor with duels and FEL.  Since putting on the duels, I just can’t say enough about how much it adds to the stability and traction over anything else I’ve done.

How long have you owned or operated tractors? I bought our 2240 in September of 2009 and it’s the first true tractor we’ve owned.  I’ve run Case 580 backhoes at work since the early ‘80s and was looking for the same for use on the farm, but everything I found was way out of the price range we could afford.  By the summer of 2009 someone suggested looking at tractors and I soon became sold on the versatility they offered us.

What do you enjoy most about tractors? Duel tires. A year ago I would have said having a FEL again, but today I think it’s definitely having duels to go with that FEL.

How often do you use your tractor? We use our tractor at least weekly and often more than that.  I find myself amazed at how often I find a need or at least a use for it now that we have it.  Since it’s a 30 year old tractor, we’re slowly restoring it back to a like-new operating condition and it’s difficult to schedule downtime to plan certain maintenance items.  For example, the MFWD solenoid hasn’t worked since we purchased it and repair requires draining the hydraulic fluid to do the work, so I’ve been putting it off until it’s time for a fluid change.

Tell us about your property: We have 17 acres located about 15 miles northeast of Seattle.  Not a huge place, but certainly enough to keep me busier than I’d like to be much of the time.

Tell us about your vehicles: We have a 2007 Toyota Tundra Crew Max, but my wife pretty well confiscated that as soon as we bought it.  I have to ask to use it unless it’s really needed for something farm related (hauling a trailer to the feed store to pick up hay or hauling cattle to the fair, etc).

Do you have any pets or livestock? We use the farm for raising Scottish Highland Cattle. We currently only have 5 head, but winter before last had 14 head and quickly decided to downsize for a few years to recuperate the budget.  My wife and kids also have 5 llamas, 3 emus, 2 rabbits, 2 cockatiels, 2 rats, 9 mice, 1 cat, and 3 leopard geckos.  Oh yeah, we also have a scorpion which my daughter caught in eastern Washington on Memorial Day Weekend last year.  We plan to release it back to the wild on Memorial Day weekend this year after observing and taking care of it for a year.

What sort of modifications or customization have you done to your tractor? The only real modification I’ve done to the tractor is to move the headlights from the fenders to the canopy so that they aren’t blocked by the upright posts of the FEL.

What do you mainly use your tractor for? I bought our tractor primarily for driveway maintenance, however, it gets used mostly for moving hay between barns in the FEL or moving trailers around the farm as needed.

What sort of terrain is common in your area? We’re located in Woodinville, Washington, near Seattle. The Seattle area is located along the east side of Puget Sound and sits between two mountain ranges, the Cascade Mountains to the east, and the Olympic Mountains to the west. Locally it’s referred to as the convergent zone.  The convergent zone is an area of approximately 10 x 30 miles where the prevailing winds wrap around the Olympic Mountains on the coast and then collide with the Cascade Mountains to the east of us causing the winds to converge and rise.  The rising air cools and creates clouds and rain when much of the rest of Western Washington is having sun.  That means it rains here a lot.

The Olympic Rain Forest which lies on the western slopes of the Olympic Mountains receives over 200” of rainfall annually.  Elevations range from sea level on the coast and at Puget Sound to over 4,000 feet in the passes which are only 40 or so miles to the east of us.  Most of the region is rolling foot hills for the mountain ranges.  With the mountains to the east of us creating a barrier for the weather off the Pacific Ocean, our weather remains fair compared to much of the nation.  Our normal temperatures range from being in the mid 30’s in the winter, to the 70’s in the summer.

What do you like or dislike about the area you live in? I love the year round greenery and mild temp of our area, but after 48 years, I’m finally getting tired of all the rain that comes with it.