“Borrowing” the neighbor’s equipment… the Liability…

[GeoHorn]

I borrowed my neighbor’s small excavator to dig out some mequite-roots which I’d paid to have scraped-off by a local “Land Clearing” guy…

Frankly, I was at fault for imagining what the end-result might be… I had imagined a piece of cleared land…. instead, I got a $800 invoice and a a half-acre of tree-stumps that I attempted to “grade” the prickly-pear cactus and tree-branches that were left behind…..(Threw me against the steering wheel of my M-Kubota and bent the front blade of the Land Pride “land-plane”.) (don’t know how I‘ll get that H.D. blade/brace straight again.)

The land-clearing-guy has twice asked me to leave a “review” at his website…but I’m reluctant to do so …because I feel he didn’t fairly inform me what result to expect… His parting comment was for me “to use some pruning-shears to finish the job”.

Anyway…. per advice offered here at OTT… I looked into renting an excavator to dig out the stumps…. a local company rents one for $250/day if I pickup/dropoff….. I planned to do that…when I recalled my neighbor had a small excavator with a 12’ Bucket I’d borrowed once to dig a dog-grave. I used it for about 15 mins and filled it with diesel as a “thank you”. I sometimes lend time/equipt to this friendly neighbor …and his “man” delivered it again to my place yesterday in response again to my request to use it for a half-day..

It was slightly small for the job and took longer than I expected…and frankly,… I quit prematurely for two reasons….
1- it really didn’t have the strength to do the job… it hung up repeatedly and took too long to do each stump… I only got about 8 stumps up…

2- on the 8th stump …steam suddenly blew out of the radiator-cap and the machine shut down. I tried once or twice to restart and it blew steam and dark smoke….so I quit to let it cool down for a half-hour.

It then started again…and I drove it over to my diesel-tank and refilled it with fuel…. texted the owner…wondering how much it was going to cost me to fix his little excavator if it turned out to have a blown head gasket or worse…a cracked head….

I decided to ”own up” and tell him what had happened and offer to have it repaired…….picked up my phone to text him….and saw that the owner had texted me earlier which I hadn’t noticed … “to watch the temperature…it has been overheating…and I replaced the thermostat and radiator cap..and it seemed to be “OK” again…”

I called his “man” who came over and picked it up with the trailer… and I mentioned to him that it had “blown steam” as I was finishing with it….. and the “man” said , “Si… it has done before.”
I asked, “Did I make a mistake..?” and the “man” shook his head No.

======
That long winded story is to say that…. Maybe it’s a lot better to “rent” than “borrow” from a neighbor who you’d like to remain friends….. and can be a LOT less expensive in the long-run should the equipment have an issue.
I also thought about it… If the neighbor wanted to borrow My Tractor….. would I want to reciprocate..?? or would I prefer to operate the tractor For the Neighbor… since I’m protective of equipment. Borrowing from the neighbor or friend….. it’s only right to expect a reciprocal request… Do I want to be in the position of loaning out my equipment to someone else…even a ”friendly neighbor”…??

Late in Life for me to Learn some things.

 

[mikester]

I too am finding renting a late model machine a better option. Line up jobs and rent for a week. If something breaks the clock stops and they come fix or give me a new machine. Write off 100% of the rental cost that year. I only need to worry about diesel and grease. Win-win-win.

 

[ken erickson]

Sorry for your experience and hope things work out for both you and the owner of the small excavator.

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be” is how I normally operate when it comes to tools or machines although I am much more willing to lend my tractors for neighbor's jobs as long as they accept the fact they are borrowing the operator also! .

And just like lending money to family, I never expect to be paid back, if I am paid back, great.

When I am asked or offer to help with my tractor I make it 100% clear I expect nothing in return.

 

[GeoHorn]

and a follow up…. Years ago I was in the market for a tractor…. and a long-time family friend said he had a Ford he’d like to sell…for me to come pick it up and use it to see if I liked it. I asked , How much? and he said $7K.

When I went to get it…. it turned out to be a tiny little diesel Ford…not much bigger than a ”lawn-tractor”…. having a 48” cutter behind it. I told him “I don’t think I’ll be able to use this….it’s much too small for the acres I need to mow” (I need to mow about 20 acs)

”OH!”, he replied, “GO AHEAD and USE It … YOu’ll be surprised at what it can do!”

I tried to dissuade him…but he Insisted I take it and try it out. I relented.

About a 30 mins into the job of mowing foot-high grass… it overheated and shut down….refusing to start. I had to use the starter-motor to get it back onto the trailer I’d borrowed from another friend to pick the little Ford up in the first place. (That trailer was a gooseneck…so I also had borrowed the truck to pull it. During this episode the truck suffered a blow-out…and I ended up paying for a new tire AND wheel which had been damaged in the blowout.)

When I asked the Ford owner what to do with his little tractor…he told me which diesel repair shop he uses and suggested I drop it off there.

I had driven 50 miles to borrow the truck/trailer…another 25 to get the little Ford…. another 45 to my place…now another 60 miles to the diesel-repair shop to drop it off…. then 50 more to return the truck/trailer….then 50 back to my house.

Feeling responsible for overheating the little Ford…. I asked my long-term family friend “How much is that repair ..??” (thinking I’m going to have to pay for it)… and he replied, “Oh…it’ll probably be another cylinder head…about $5K ..like last time.”

I couldn’t Beleve a family-friend who I’d grown up with would have tried to sell me his little Ford Knowing It Had A History of overheating!”

Now looking back…on this…and my previous story…. I think I’m a Slow Learner!

I’m Never Borrowing from a friend ever again.

 

[Lil Foot]

I’m Never Borrowing from a friend ever again.

Good plan.

 

[hodge]

Murphy's Law hasn't been overturned.
These are great reasons why I don't lend (I also don't borrow). A failure of the equipment at the hand of someone else puts them in a tough position. I'll either help them myself, or if their idea isn't the right solution, I'll offer advice on the better way of attack. That way, if something happens to my equipment, it's by my own hand.

 

[wp6529]

Borrowing equipment is great for quick and emergency stuff. For bigger planned projects like stump digging which requires a larger machine than you would expect, rental is far better and rent a size larger than you think you'll need. Renting also gets you the size machines you can't generally move yourself which is great as long as delivery charges are reasonable. The last time I rented a large machine (60' JLG boom lift) about 8 years ago the local-ish rental place was very reasonable at $140 delivery/pickup charge for two 60 mile round trips with a semi.

 

[Vince1230]

I prefer to rent. You jyst never know. Plus if you rent you can purchase rental insurance in case the equipment breaks. Rented a trencher once and started to spew hydralic fluid. Called rental place and they picked up and replace. No worries on my part.

 

[The Evil Twin]

I'm with you, @Vince1230 on the rental thing. I borrowed a neighbors track loader to move a rootball once. Easy task, no fuss. It was simply too heavy for my L. Now, if I had several root balls and stumps to dig out and move, I would rent a machine. I know his will do it. I know he does it all the time. But I would rather damage a rental than my neighbors machine.

 

[CGMKCM]

This tractor is still at the dealer waiting on neighbors homeowners insurance decision. Parts won't be ordered until dealer knows who is paying. Family member is asking for tractor help to prepare his large garden. Crickets from surrounding neighbors.

Bad day

 

[fried1765]

Murphy's Law hasn't been overturned.
These are great reasons why I don't lend (I also don't borrow). A failure of the equipment at the hand of someone else puts them in a tough position. I'll either help them myself, or if their idea isn't the right solution, I'll offer advice on the better way of attack. That way, if something happens to my equipment, it's by my own hand.

I simply tell everyone that my tractor is covered by my homeowners insurance, and that there is NO liability COVERAGE off my property.