Any "city boy" tractor owners out there?

[Tallbald]

Odd question I suppose. But I live on 1/2 acre in a subdivision in a town of 65K people. Rural all around town, and at one time I myself had 10 acres. Also grew up part of my youth on 300 acres of family farm. But yes I'm a city boy now in Southern Kentucky, but my fondest memories are of living with the land.
Some may recognize me as the fella enamored with his vintage 1980 L185, owned for ten years now, and which is in spring coming home from a relative's tract for restoration (refurb) and keeping here on my 1/2 acre spread.
Everyone here on the forum appears to have at least some acreage on which to play with their beloved Kubota's and other tractors. I get an occasional question like "what are you gonna do with a tractor in town?". My answer always starts with "anything I want to do", then I talk about driving my tractor around the neighborhood and in parades when I feel like doing so.
Any other city boys here with farm toys like I will have? Sure would enjoy hearing about you, your tractor, your uses and such. Thanks. Don.

 

[Lil Foot]

I'm kinda both city & country boy when it comes to the tractor. I live on a large house lot in Peoria, AZ (pop 165k) a suburb of Phoenix, AZ. (pop 3.25mil)
I also own 3+ acres in the mountains, where the tractor lives most of the time. When it visits the flatlands, the tractor earns its keep doing odd jobs- leveling, cleanup, moving & spreading gravel, etc. (neighbors are constantly asking me when I will bring the tractor down next)

 

[olthumpa]

. . . Any other city boys here . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooPBXfnIpYI

 

[ShaunBlake]

Yew goht haff uh acre?!! Man, yew gotta git a bigger trakter! Ah only gots uh liddle lessen uh thard uv acre 'n mah B6100 kaint even keep up, whut wit dee trees 'n roots an' all.

 

[coachgeo]

Well being in Southern KY you can get back to country real quick with just a short drive.

Bet also you can find a farmers co-op that could use a hand. One way to keep your hands green and your tractor happy chugging along doing real work.

 

[D2Cat]

Why not get a single bottom plow and start a business of plowing garden spots? I'd think you could charge from $25-$40 for a postage stamp garden spot. Do some bartering. Maybe get a vegetable supply.

 

[Tallbald]

Hmmm. Those are inspiring ideas! Don

 

[cerlawson]

Here is my house on 1/3 acre in town. The BX gets used for plowing that driveway and mowing the grass in summer. Sort of excessive machinery compared to neighbors. So I use it also to plow out a few neighbor widows.

However it helped my larger blue one for landscaping at the house.

Also a few neighbors got help with gravel, tree removal, etc. Funny how they know it needs to keep active.

 

[Greenhead]

Why not get a single bottom plow and start a business of plowing garden spots? I'd think you could charge from $25-$40 for a postage stamp garden spot. Do some bartering. Maybe get a vegetable supply.

If you got a 4' tiller you could charge premium prices and do new lawn prep.

 

[Kubota_Man]

I have about an acre. I live outside of a town of about 2,500 people in a mountain area. I consider myself as a country boy but I don't have a lot of land. I am happy with what I do have though. I help out the neighborhood when I can. Sometimes I get a few dollars, other times I get a beer, but most usually I get a huge thank you. So maybe I'm a hybrid of a city and a country boy.

 

[esloser]

I live on 1/2 an acre in a subdivision and have been seriously looking at the BX1870 with MMM and FEL for my yard. It's good to see that others have the same idea and have been using one on a lot that small. I am definitely an "Urban Farmer" - have chickens, do some raise bed gardening, and have some fruit trees and bushes scattered about. And, like all farmers, I should have a tractor! I'm currently using a John Deere x310 with pull cart to do most of the chores, but a front end loader looks better and better every day!

 

[OldeEnglish]

The house I live in has less than 1/4 acre and a majority of that is driveway. We just bought the house next door to us that shares our driveway so I guess we gained about an extra half acre to mow now (looking for a 3 pt mower). There is another neighbor down the street that has kubota so I'm not alone in the neighborhood. We have about 20 acres up on the mountain and my folks have about 8 acres in town with a 2910 to take care of it with (finish mowing and snow removal only). This past summer I did a lot of brush mowing with a hog on the 7100 and it did a fantastic job, as long as I kept it out of the mud .

Doesn't look like snow for a long time for us so little orange may not get used much this winter.

 

[lugbolt]

City boy tractor owners....aka hobby farmers.....

That's 90% of our customer base. Sometimes a little challenging to explain things to but by an large, they learn quickly.

I bought my first place in 2013. 2 1/2 acres, all flat, mow it with a G1900-S with 54" MMM. Month or so ago I traded my Kawaski Mule 3010 for a MF 1145 tractor, with 1246 FEL. Wish it were a Kubota but nonetheless, it's a tractor and most importantly a LOADER. A tractor is almost worthless without a loader, IMO.

The little MF has an interesting story. I was almost ready to pull the plug on a L2501HST/LA525 package. I found an ad on CL, guy had the little MF1145 for sale, and I thought to myself, why not ask? I wasn't using the Mule any. Called him and he said he was a disabled vet with too many tractors. He wanted to use the money from selling the MF and his Ford 2000 3 cylinder to buy a side-by-side. Jee whiz? Told him about my Mule, told him it wasn't perfect, and he said bring it over.

I was into the Mule for $539.00 even. Bought it for $150 with a bad engine, and I had a good engine laying in the shop not being used, so I did some swapping and replaced the rack & pinion (ebay/new OE cheap), one CV axle, and both park brake cables. It ran perfect and did everything a Mule is supposed to.

Anyway got to the guy's house, on Veteran's day of all things. He looked at the Mule. I looked at and drove the 1145. We made the deal and I loaded the tractor. He said it didn't have power steering. He also rigged the loader valve linkages with C-130 parts, and I fixed that in 10 minutes with Kubota linkages. I finished spreading the gravel for my shop driveway (had shop built in Aug 2014, and didn't have a tractor to spread the driveway). I got it done in about 30 minutes and parked the tractor. I got to looking at it and saw 2 hudraulic pumps, followed the one to the front of the tractor and found a reservoir. Hmm...Power steering maybe? Reservoir was totally empty. Dry. Filled it, and guess what? Power steering! Yay!

I'm totally tickled with this little tractor, but I'd sure rather have an L2501, or even better an L3200HST, even if it needs work. Mine ain't perfect but it's my first and only tractor of my own. So instead of working on everyone elses at work, I get to drive/work on my own.

I lived in a city of about 5/8 of a million for my childhood. Moved when I was 12, we had 3/4 acre and 800 behind the house that we used. Loved it, freedom...but also part of the foodchain (wild animals, bears, etc). Slowly the land was developed into rental houses and the problems associated with them came. My mom and dad still live there, and they absolutely hate it. Dad's a disabled vietnam vet and I'm afraid one of his neighbors will rub him wrong and knowing dad, I'm afraid he might go off. I need to find them some land to park a camper on for a weekend getaway. Unfortunately land is in high demand out here. Us poor boys can't afford to pay the same prices that the careless rich folks do for dirt.

 

[aeblank]

I bought my grapple from a guy on a 2 acre lot and had an L3940......

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Corney]

After reading this I guess I fit into this category. We just developed about 3 acres with road allowances after we built in 2013. Started as a hay field and now has been graded for drainage, road built, trees planted, grass sowed, orchard planted and planter boxes built.

My tractor partners wife is giving him a pile of pressure to get their acerage down the road to the same stage.

That little 15 hp L1500DT is just the right tractor for our acreages.

My Parents are developing the 2.5 acres next to us as well so it's getting a bit of a workout. My mom is old school and likes to do things with a shovel and a wheel barrow, I keep seeing my dad walking down the road to get the bota with the front end loader. He can't hear mom giving him $#|¥ when he is on there either!

 

[D2Cat]

lugbolt, I can appreciate your ingenuity to end up with a tractor that does what you need it to do at the lowest possible cost.

I found an L305 that had been in a barn that burned. The tractor then set outside for about 5 years. That's when I found it. Here's a couple of pictures, but my purpose is to show you the MF1246 loader. (I had to drive down to Daren Todd's back yard to pick it up)

People told me the tractor had to be a work of love because it was wasted! Then I was told I couldn't find a loader for it. Then I was told the MF loader would not fit on a Kubota.

I live in the country. I wouldn't move back to town if you gave me the entire city block the house was on!!

I suffer from RED FLAG SYNDROME. You tell me it can't be done and a red flag goes up. Just get out of the way because I will find a way to get it done.

In this case North Idaho Wolfman helped me with size of mounting bracketry, hydraulic connection and flow, replacement filters and on and on. The help on this Forum is unequaled. Quick, straight forward, without intimidation.

Your Massey is a nice tractor, and it has a nice loader. I'm pretty sure that loader is built by Woods, and a quality loader.

I appreciate your post on here. Have a good Christmas and a safe, prosperous New Year!

 

[oldrockfan]

we live in small town with 2 acres and I have an old L185DT. I mostly keep it out at our hunting property now but did use it around the house for projects such as building a pad for our airstream, leveling the yard, getting the garden developed, etc. Oh and the reason to have a tractor on a smaller yard in the city is because they are just fun!

 

[al m]

"Red flag syndrome", I like that,now I can tell the wife I'm not bull headed,I have red flag syndrome!

 

[car compulsive]

I have a bit less than 1/2 acre. When I wanted to replace my 30 year old JD 318, I wanted something with a bit more capability, 4wd and diesel, without losing any capabilities, 2 hydraulic channels. The BX1870 fit the bill. The dealer gave me a good deal on the FEL so he wouldn' have to remove it. I didn't need it, but I've found a few uses for it already.

 

[ShaunBlake]

...
I didn't need it, but I've found a few uses for it already.

Yep <mournful sigh> that's how most of us get addicted... one little thing and before we realize it, full-blown addiction.

I'll check back next Christmas and see how bad you have it!