Member of the Month: RadarTech
Your Name: RadarTech
Location: West North Carolina
Post Count: 3,956 (#56 of all-time)
How long have you been a member of TractorByNet.com? How did you find the site?
I have been a member a little over 2 years. I was searching for tractor info and Google had the most hits to TBN. After reading hundreds of posts for over 3 months, I joined and now try to contribute whenever I can. Sometimes my contribution is based more on comedy than experience, but life is like that sometimes.
What do you like best about TractorByNet.com?
It is such a wealth of great information and folk that aren’t easy to find. Technology, a fast paced lifestyle, and progress has replaced many of the corner hangouts for many of us and it seems that TBN has filled a gap for the tractor community.
What type of tractor do you own?
I own a Kubota L3400.
How long have you owned or operated tractors?
I have used lawn and garden tractors since I was fourteen, but took a long hiatus from 1990 until 2008. I joined the Marines, and living in base housing just did not need one. However, I did get to enjoy some nice toys from time to time – a D3 here and C Trac there, but mostly my experience has been on an old Sears 1971 model garden tractor, a little time on a Ford 8N, and my new Bota!
What do you enjoy most about tractors?
To me operating a tractor is just plain relaxing! Pushing dirt, working on the driveway and even helping neighbors is just nice. For those that have read some of my threads, I have a large number of older neighbors. Often I can be found scraping drives, pushing snow, or just trying to be neighborly.
How often do you use your tractor?
The tractor usage varies greatly based on the time of year and weather. The tractor was bought to maintain the rather tough driveway that we have, and to help around the house while it was under construction. Although, sometimes the tractor will go a week without even getting started and sometimes longer when I was busy.
Tell us about your property.
Currently we only have 1.3 acres, but we maintain about 5 and about 2 miles of driveway and trails. Our house is 3 bedrooms with an unfinished basement and a small and continually unfinished “tractor cave”. There is a thread on the cave on TBN. I wanted to finish it before winter, but it’ll have to wait!
Tell us about your vehicles (trucks, trailers, ATVs, etc.):
Currently the only vehicles on “the hill” are a 2010 Toyota, 4 door, 4×4 Tacoma, a 5×8 utility trailer, and an 2006 Polaris 300 ATV. The bad part is the tractor has more hours on it than the ATV!
What sort of modifications or customization have you done to your tractor?
It is almost 100% stock. The only changes are the addition of the two 55 watt magnetic lights on the ROPS.
What sort of tools, attachments or equipment do you use with your tractor on a regular basis?
We have a 5 ft generic box blade, a 6 ft homemade scrape, a 4 ft finish mower, parts and pieces for a homemade mortar mixer, and a post hole digger.
Although a generic set of easy hitch, 3-point arm devices similar to Pat’s are on the tractor, the box blade is rarely removed during the winter.
What do you mainly use your tractor for?
Most of time the tractor is used for driveway maintenance, but it is pressed into service for firewood relocation, tree removal, sod installation, and ATV trail maintenance.
What sort of terrain is common in your area?
We live in the Western North Carolina Mountains, so rocky terrain, steep driveways, and sudden drops are common.
What’s something most TractorByNet members don’t know about you? As a Marine veteran, I hold the Corps in high esteem even though I was transferred to a quiet job with the famed 1st Civilian Division nearly 11 years ago.
For those that are not familiar with this unit, there are hundreds upon hundreds of detachments stationed all over the world. While the locations of these units are not well known, you need to look no farther than Camp Lima Romeo. Ask me about that some time and we can share a laugh. You will find me telling old stories with fellow vets at our monthly Marine Corps League Meetings. I try to never miss a Marine Corps Birthday Dinner with our local League.
Also, for those that have missed it, I really do eat razor soup every single day. This is to ensure razor sharp wit and a sense of humor that JohnDeere3270 dragged out, made Cyril laugh and Polo– well he yuked at my jokes like only a stooge could.