When did it Start for you, Driving Tractors?

[fruitcakesa]

I was late to the game of tractor although I've had a handful of JD crawlers since the 1980's: 420, 2-1010's and lastly a 350B, all of which I logged extensively.
They are all gone now, replaced in 2014 by my first tractor, the L4630 which is now being replaced by the M6040 which I also intend to use for more serious logging.

 

[Yooper]

Mine was a little different route. When I was fifteen, I got an idea to buy a chainsaw and cut wood in the good old U.P. of Michigan. Figured I would be the richest kid in high school and maybe one of the strongest. Neither one came true. But I did make enough to buy a 1938 Farmall H that I drove home from the dealer. Took an hour and a half but it was pure fun! My Dad had so much fun building a log winch using the planetary gears and bands from a late fifties Chrysler transmission. Even used the driveshaft for a boom so we could winch the logs up to the trailer and set them on. Still have that winch yet today. My younger brother now has the H to plow his driveway. Trying to keep it in the family.

 

[dandeman]

Wayyy back on a Ford 8N trencher setup.. same trencher as this one except did not have the crawler tracker option. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1i3djkdmHE

Way back before the days of lawsuits, kids (including me) having a much more free run about. Rode bicycles anywhere to watch roads, houses being built, wells being drilled.

Local well driller was installing water main in a new subdivision being built in the neighborhood where I grew up. The trencher installation includes an additional drive train unit installed behind the transmission that literally gears the tractor down to where it slowly bumps forward as the ditch progresses.

My job as a 9 year old complete with gruff training from the well driller was... (don't touch anything except the steering wheel (to keep a pointer on the front of the tractor aligned with a string line staked out where the ditch was to go) and push the clutch to stop the digger when told to.

 

[lugbolt]

1992 when I went to work for a JD dealer, who later sold the JD stuff and went full Kubota-and never looked back.

JD was going in a direction that none of the dealers were happy with (mass marketing) but many dealers had too much to lose by giving up at the time, and they stuck with it. Good for them and I genuinely wished them success. I personally don't miss JD one bit. Such a joke to deal with in a lot of ways. DTAC...don't even get me started. Warranty repair reimbursements (or lack thereof). Requirement to work on every stinkin' L100 series that came from Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, or whoever....and dealing with the folks who paid $1500 for a mower that is almost identical mechanically to a $750 Craftsman...they thought they should last forever as a demolition rock crushing feller buncher. And remember JD's L100 series? They used to be called Sabre and Scotts...same exact mower, with different coloring. Then the LX1xx series...some of the best residential L&G tractors ever built to this day (once you got past the PLASTIC hoods), and they replaced them with the cheaper built LX2xx series, air cooled engines, cheap decks, cheap frames, but they did have a more comfortable seat and steering wheel that made an operator feel like they were driving more of a sports car than a lawn mower, and that's part of how they sold/sell so many. Neighbor's got a JD X300 series mower and it's nice but it's still a pile of steaming feces compared to a similar Kubota T90 series. Tractors? JD's Plastic vs Kubota's metal? I seen where some of the compact JD's have now gone to metal hoods because owners were griping about the plastic breaking...rightfully so. What's funny about the LX1xx series is that rarely do you see one with an unbroken hood on it, and actually it's the hood-and it's cost to replace-that warrants many folks into basically disposing of the mower. That hood is about $900 if you buy all the parts. The mower ain't worth that with a good hood. Good job JD for running customers off. Oh and thank you

Yeah I been around JD. Too much of it. Much prefer working on/for kubota than JD.....

On a tractor of some sort on a daily basis now, though not doing real tractor work. Just doing real work on tractors. Kinda wish I had a use for some tractor work but at the same time it would mean maintenance and repair, and I get enough of that at work. That's why my old MF looks as horrible as it does....they say the mechanic's stuff is always the worst, and in my case that statement is true.

 

[Cfrazer]

I'm in the newbie camp, I've been looking for a used one for the last few years to plow my driveway as i got tired of the plow guy showing up when he wanted to and tired of raking up all the gravel from the yard after winter. thought about a plow truck but figured it would just sit all summer and not start when i needed it. Happened to be talking to a guy at work that mentioned that before he traded in his BX for a B, that BX would do all i needed - he suggested i go visit his dealer but i told him I've looked at new ones from JD, Kubota and I couldn't afford another car payment right now, haha. Then he clued me in on zero percent financing and to the dealer I went.

I just wanted the BX and snowblower, but the dealer talked me into the loader and my wife said if you're going to do this you can't be looking backward all the time so you have to get a front blower and you're not getting any younger so you need a cab as well, Great!!! So basically on my 51st birthday i got my new bx2670-1 with loader, front snow blower, weight box and curtis cab.

Now since then I am amazed at what this thing can do, I mainly bought it for plowing, even asked the mechanic at the dealer if it would hurt it to just sit half the year, I now have about 120 hours on it and have been using it to spread top soil, gravel, pull tree stumps, etc.. all these jobs i didn't have the capability to do before. I am a tad addicted to this though since buying i have added mirrors, backup camera, Pirahna tooth bar, Bro Tek wheel spacers, lights on cab, also rear blade to compliment the front blower in the winter.

My only regret is I should have bought this years ago......

 

[Creature Meadow]

cfrazer, nice and one of the only bad things about ownign a tractor is it does create more work. Without one many tasks can't be done or require hiring out.

My property is in much better shape now than before I had the tractor and it the long run is making maintaining much easier.

I have 3 nice size trees that are dead next to my garden that will require cutting down and bucking. Before the tractor it would be cutting up in small enough pieces to put on a trailer. With tractor the 100' one I'll cut down, buck into 10' sections and haul to the burn pile, easier on my back and in a 1/4 of the time.

Keep enjoying you new tool, service it as required and she/he will last a long time.

Jay

 

[Cfrazer]

cfrazer, nice and one of the only bad things about ownign a tractor is it does create more work. Without one many tasks can't be done or require hiring out.



My property is in much better shape now than before I had the tractor and it the long run is making maintaining much easier.



I have 3 nice size trees that are dead next to my garden that will require cutting down and bucking. Before the tractor it would be cutting up in small enough pieces to put on a trailer. With tractor the 100' one I'll cut down, buck into 10' sections and haul to the burn pile, easier on my back and in a 1/4 of the time.



Keep enjoying you new tool, service it as required and she/he will last a long time.



Jay

Boy did you hit the nail on the head, it seems like I can’t stop finding things that should be done. I’m glad to hear that it does finally all come together, right now I’m making up for years of neglect because as you say I couldn’t do and didn’t want to pay for some of it.

Ive gotten tons of helpful info from this and other forums so thank all of you for sharing your knowledge.

Carl






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[bucktail]

I was late to the game of tractor although I've had a handful of JD crawlers since the 1980's: 420, 2-1010's and lastly a 350B, all of which I logged extensively.
They are all gone now, replaced in 2014 by my first tractor, the L4630 which is now being replaced by the M6040 which I also intend to use for more serious logging.

I'd consider the crawlers to be tractors, but that's me.