What happens when you loan out your tractor? Pics included.

[needwood]

Well, I'm sure you already guessed the answer...it's the same as loaning your chainsaw, snowmobile, motorcycle, jet ski, boat, or girlfriend...they come backed really twisted and messed up!

My dad used the tractor for a few weeks at his cottage and when I went to pick it up I could smell the sweet smell of coolant as soon as I opened the pole barn door. I thought that since the hood was up on his chevelle he cooked a head gasket or overheated it, so I chuckled and went over to take a look...nothing wrong there so I went over and started the tractor. I knew exactly what it was when I saw the remnant of a stick (almost a log) popping out of the front grill and the coolant spraying my from the fan. Nice surprise! The stealership wanted $1400 to replace the radiator and oil cooler so instead I removed the few bad rows and had the radiator epoxied. I also had the oil cooler repaired and both of them pressure tested and flushed. I had just over $150 into it including the fluids with absolutely no problems since. Anybody want to loan me their tractor? How about a chainsaw?

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144596&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144598&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144599&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144600&stc=1&d=1279730114

I know your pain! Back when i was a young buck,i loaned my dad a car. He had fell on hard times. I think her name was Sharon,you know,someones twisted and messed up girlfriend or ex wife. To make a long story short(your welcome,banshee67) The car was f****d up when i got it back. After the cursing, yelling, and threats, my dad started to cry. Now days i would rather pay out 1400 or 150 rather than see him cry. My hat goes off for you sir,"""""

 

[avalancher]

I hear all of you on the dad thing.My dad left when I was ten for a younger gal,and I never heard much from him until I was nineteen.I spent most of my life as a boy learning how to be a man from an uncle here and there,but I remember more than once looking at my cousins with a great deal of envy,wishing more than once that I had my own dad.

Right now I speak with my dad,but it is a strained relationship.Although I have tried hard to forgive him,I have never forgotten.Instead I remember how hard my mother tried to fill the gap left behind of a dad that wanted to chase a skirt rather than raise his son.

She helped me rebuild the motor on my motorcyle on the kitchen table,he sent me a card from Australia with a picture of the beach that he was staying at.My tryouts for the minors?it was my mother in the stands yelling till she was hoarse,and crying the tears that only a mother can make when they took me from the ice on a stretcher,my career gone in a micro second.

It was my mother than answered the phone when I called home to let her know that my ship was being deployed to the Persian Gulf for the first gulf war,and we both considered the fact that it may be the last time we ever speak.It was my mother that reminded me that men die in wars, but there is no more honorable way to die than to die for your country.

It was my mother that bought me my first rifle,taught me how to shoot,and looked the other way as my tears fell when I killed my first deer.

It was my mother that came to my Boot Camp graduation,shook the hand of my Company Commander/drill sergeant,and thanked him for doing a great job in making me a man to be proud of.

It was my mother that came to school when I got busted for lobbing a cherry bomb into the cafeteria during the State finals Spelling Bee.She personally beat me within an inch of my life with the principals dictionary as he cowered behind his desk.





Thanks mom.I never did miss my dad that much after all.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

So let me see if I got this right...you loaned out a tool to your dad and he bent it up good. OK those amongst us who never borrowed, crashed, misused a tool, car, bedroom et al from your dad please stand up ! Yup not man enough to admit it are ya. Its your freekin dad. Cut him some slack. Its not like he was eighteen years old and in some field with his buddies 4 wheeling with the family wagon is it. I bet he never loaned you a car that your brought back bent up ?

Dads don't belong in the "never loan out to a friend" category for anything. Dads are invaluable and irreplaceable. You can always pick out another Kubota/chainsaw/whatever. You'll miss your dad long after that tractor is gone. Lesson is you should have helped him out until the job was done. That's what your dad would have done for you.

I wish my dad was around to break some machine for me.

Amen.

 

[1harlowr]

All situations are different. If I was in Aval.'s situation, can't say I would view things different than him.

Me being a dad, no way I would return something broke to my kids (or anyone else that loaned me something) and not take care of the repairs myself. That's all I would expect from anyone tthat borrowed something from me. Accidents happen, but take responsiblity when they do.

 

[MH49]

it is not that hard to do

I was pushing some brush with my Ford NAA and ran a wayward branch through my radiator in the same manor. New Holland wanted like $400 for new radiator, aftermarket was around $200 and and just patching the hole, flush and pressure test was around $80. Guess which one I went with? Works fine, no issues for what I do.

BTW, if me and pops didn't trade stuff back and forth, we wouldn't get anything done!

 

[giXXer]

Wow! I don't think that I was too awfully critical. It was not meant to be a "dad slam post." I certainly know accidents happen, I have had several, even a few with his previous snowmobiles, boats, and cars. When I was younger...well, let's just say "thank God for insurance!" He certainly didn't try to damage the tractor...I know that! I would GIVE him the tractor if he needed it! If the situation was reversed I know he would give me a ton of crap and I'd still have to fix it, though. We have a very joking, jabbing, comical relationship. I've learned so much from him and he has helped me in so many ways that I would fix the tractor over and over if it meant I got to spend even a little more time with him. In fact, I was able to make the simple repair because of the attitude and "tools" or abilities he has instilled in us kids over 35 years. "If a man built it, I can fix it!" It has sunk in even more since I became a father last year and I can only hope that I will be as great of a father as he has been to me. While I try to keep my equipment very well maintained and in great condition I do realize that they make new tractors, chainsaws, etc. everyday! Please don't take my original post as bratty, insensitive, or heartless...it wasn't intended to be that way. If it was that way, you would have already seen us on Judge Judy (once again, just joking). The original post also does not contain the entire story, I didn't feel it necessary to belabor everyone with mundane details.

The reason I actually posted it is I finally figured out (through the help of a couple of other AS members) how to post photos and thought I would share a story with pictures for once! It's not too uncommon to see situations just like this one shared on this forum over and over. It's just the reality of life when you loan certain items out. As far as mentioning motorcycles, jetskiis, etc., I was just joking around trying to get a chuckle out of the readers. And, as far as the tractor is concerned I am obviously over it because it is at his place again! I should have mentioned in the original post that I really can't even blame him for the damage. It was simply a very odd fluke that happened while he was using it. I still can't figure out how the stick pushed the grille back and snaked it's way up and into the radiator. I should have saved the pics for potential tractor renter or buyer letting them know how quickly expensive damage can happen, even with an experienced operator.

I would also like to say that I would be glad to help him out, he simply doesn't want anyone around while he's grading the road and driveway and spreading bark in his yard. That's his relaxation time and he likes to do it his way. Can't say that I blame him, I'm the same way! Notice the name of the tractor in my sig? We have a funny way of naming our cars and equipment, we've done it since I was a kid and I wasn't the one that came up with the name "Therapy," he did.

Thanks for the post Lipdawg. It is certainly a lesson on sharing personal information on the web and how it can be mis-interpreted. Definitely something for me to consider when posting in the future. I'll keep working on the "man up." And for now, I'll finally shut-up.

 

[Taxmantoo]

Never saw a dime out of those folks.

Of course not. As I've painfully learned, if they wanted to pay for one of those they would have bought themselves one.

 

[avalancher]

Wow! I don't think that I was too awfully critical. It was not meant to be a "dad slam post." I certainly know accidents happen, I have had several, even a few with his previous snowmobiles, boats, and cars. When I was younger...well, let's just say "thank God for insurance!" He certainly didn't try to damage the tractor...I know that! I would GIVE him the tractor if he needed it! If the situation was reversed I know he would give me a ton of crap and I'd still have to fix it, though. We have a very joking, jabbing, comical relationship. I've learned so much from him and he has helped me in so many ways that I would fix the tractor over and over if it meant I got to spend even a little more time with him. In fact, I was able to make the simple repair because of the attitude and "tools" or abilities he has instilled in us kids over 35 years. "If a man built it, I can fix it!" It has sunk in even more since I became a father last year and I can only hope that I will be as great of a father as he has been to me. While I try to keep my equipment very well maintained and in great condition I do realize that they make new tractors, chainsaws, etc. everyday! Please don't take my original post as bratty, insensitive, or heartless...it wasn't intended to be that way. If it was that way, you would have already seen us on Judge Judy (once again, just joking). The original post also does not contain the entire story, I didn't feel it necessary to belabor everyone with mundane details.

The reason I actually posted it is I finally figured out (through the help of a couple of other AS members) how to post photos and thought I would share a story with pictures for once! It's not too uncommon to see situations just like this one shared on this forum over and over. It's just the reality of life when you loan certain items out. As far as mentioning motorcycles, jetskiis, etc., I was just joking around trying to get a chuckle out of the readers. And, as far as the tractor is concerned I am obviously over it because it is at his place again! I should have mentioned in the original post that I really can't even blame him for the damage. It was simply a very odd fluke that happened while he was using it. I still can't figure out how the stick pushed the grille back and snaked it's way up and into the radiator. I should have saved the pics for potential tractor renter or buyer letting them know how quickly expensive damage can happen, even with an experienced operator.

I would also like to say that I would be glad to help him out, he simply doesn't want anyone around while he's grading the road and driveway and spreading bark in his yard. That's his relaxation time and he likes to do it his way. Can't say that I blame him, I'm the same way! Notice the name of the tractor in my sig? We have a funny way of naming our cars and equipment, we've done it since I was a kid and I wasn't the one that came up with the name "Therapy," he did.

Thanks for the post Lipdawg. It is certainly a lesson on sharing personal information on the web and how it can be mis-interpreted. Definitely something for me to consider when posting in the future. I'll keep working on the "man up." And for now, I'll finally shut-up.

Dont let it get to you man.This thread followed the path that just about every other thread does,it quickly swerved off on a tangent all of its own.And in reality, it almost should.Its a part of natual conversation.One thing leads to another.I dont think in reality anyone was trying to take a stab at you,Im sure it led off in the direction because we have all been there and done that.
With that being said, dont take too much offensive from anything that is said around here,from what I have seen most folks mean well and its a natural tendency to sometime misunderstand folks when reading what other wrote.Expressions,body language,and the twinkle of the eye is almost always missing when you read a post,and its nothing unusual for someone to misunderstand the first time around what you were getting at.
And one more thing, dont shut up. Everyone has something worthwhile to contribute around here.Sometimes even I have something good to say!

 

[CrappieKeith]

Dont let it get to you man.This thread followed the path that just about every other thread does,it quickly swerved off on a tangent all of its own.And in reality, it almost should.Its a part of natual conversation.One thing leads to another.I dont think in reality anyone was trying to take a stab at you,Im sure it led off in the direction because we have all been there and done that.
With that being said, dont take too much offensive from anything that is said around here,from what I have seen most folks mean well and its a natural tendency to sometime misunderstand folks when reading what other wrote.Expressions,body language,and the twinkle of the eye is almost always missing when you read a post,and its nothing unusual for someone to misunderstand the first time around what you were getting at.
And one more thing, dont shut up. Everyone has something worthwhile to contribute around here.Sometimes even I have something good to say!

Yup...there he goes hitting the nail on the head again...

Heck when I responded I thought it was another one of those I loaned my stuff out to those sumdumguys.
Later I see it was about loaning to Dad.I'll still stand behind my original comment and I'll have to admit that anything I can do for pops at 83 I'll do.
Yup...he smokes still and burns holes in my carpet on my boat.He drops $200 rods in the drink and yes he can't hear too well so I'm yelling at him so he can hear...but when that days comes where he's not around anymore I'll know I did everything I could have to be able to be with him and to have gotten him out on the lake or into the woods which was everything to him.

Forums are funny...you can say one thing and it can be taken 10 different ways.

 

[savageactor7]

I'm throwing in with the guys that will give your Dad a bye. Dads are special...good to read how you saved all that coin doing the repair yourself.

 

[davec]

Veering off the Dad threadjack -

I've wondered why Kubota hasn't put better armor on the radiator grilles on their tractors....Well, ANY armor. I had a co-worker spear his rad with under 20 hrs on the clock on his B-series Kubota, and I looked at the grille screen on my L-series and "hoped" it would hold up to a hit from a stick, but your pics confirmed that it would not. Haven't had it happen yet, but sheesh, this isn't like a situation of misuse - this is what you expect to happen. Methinks I need to create an expanded metal guard or something for the grille.

You may want to consider the same.

Oh and my coworker's rad was speared by his Dad running it too.. Seriously. :blob4:

 

[CUCV]

My father and I have broken our share of each others stuff over the years. My parents always told me to communicate with them no matter how bad it was. I find it eases the pain of the situation and we can work together to fix the problem.

When I was 13 I miss threw a baseball and smashed a custom copper lantern my father made. To this day I have yet to fix it but every year on my fathers birthday my mother tells me "I'm sure your father would love it if fixed his lantern."

About 2 years ago I started getting into R/C airplanes (with what little free time I have). Last year on father's day I took my father out to fly for the first time. Going into it I told myself he is going to crash and just deal with it. Sure enough he pile drove it into the ground. He looked at me and I just started laughing and told him not to worry about it.
He told me he would take the plane home and fix it. He repaired the frame and mounted a new prop. He noticed that the blade was not balanced well and decided to balance it by clamping the plane to the work bench, reving it up, filing a bit off and reving it up. Wellllll one time he must have turned on the plane before the controller, it reved to full speed, broke free of the work bench and smashed into a million piece on the basement wall. He was so sad he didn't call or visit for a week. My mother filled me in so I went over to talk with him. I told him it was no big deal and that I looked forward to building another plane and flying it with him! He looked so relieved, there was no reason for him to feel that bad for so long! He just needed to live by the lessons he taught me.

 

[CUCV]

I agree, I plan to armor my L-series. My cousin speared mine, I should have known better. Thankfully it was only cosmetic radiator and plastic damage.

Veering off the Dad threadjack -

I've wondered why Kubota hasn't put better armor on the radiator grilles on their tractors....Well, ANY armor. I had a co-worker spear his rad with under 20 hrs on the clock on his B-series Kubota, and I looked at the grille screen on my L-series and "hoped" it would hold up to a hit from a stick, but your pics confirmed that it would not. Haven't had it happen yet, but sheesh, this isn't like a situation of misuse - this is what you expect to happen. Methinks I need to create an expanded metal guard or something for the grille.

You may want to consider the same.

Oh and my coworker's rad was speared by his Dad running it too.. Seriously. :blob4:

 

[dingeryote]

Ya know all the #### ya broke when you were little?

How about the cool stuff your dad never got because he was feeding ya, so ya never got a chance to break that ####...

I reckon Dad still has a few things to break, to get even LOL!!!!

Not gonna bash on Kubota, they run well for a light duty homeowner tractor.
But whoever the Jap was that designed them,never considered use outside of the Rice Paddy.
The radiator location is dumber than a football Bat, and odds are there are folks cussing him all over the planet. Most designs have the Battery and a set of baffles, an airbox, and other stuff in front, and darn few Radiators are that expensive...OUCH!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[angelo c]

I hear all of you on the dad thing.My dad left when I was ten for a younger gal,and I never heard much from him until I was nineteen.I spent most of my life as a boy learning how to be a man from an uncle here and there,but I remember more than once looking at my cousins with a great deal of envy,wishing more than once that I had my own dad.

Right now I speak with my dad,but it is a strained relationship.Although I have tried hard to forgive him,I have never forgotten.Instead I remember how hard my mother tried to fill the gap left behind of a dad that wanted to chase a skirt rather than raise his son.

She helped me rebuild the motor on my motorcyle on the kitchen table,he sent me a card from Australia with a picture of the beach that he was staying at.My tryouts for the minors?it was my mother in the stands yelling till she was hoarse,and crying the tears that only a mother can make when they took me from the ice on a stretcher,my career gone in a micro second.

It was my mother than answered the phone when I called home to let her know that my ship was being deployed to the Persian Gulf for the first gulf war,and we both considered the fact that it may be the last time we ever speak.It was my mother that reminded me that men die in wars, but there is no more honorable way to die than to die for your country.

It was my mother that bought me my first rifle,taught me how to shoot,and looked the other way as my tears fell when I killed my first deer.

It was my mother that came to my Boot Camp graduation,shook the hand of my Company Commander/drill sergeant,and thanked him for doing a great job in making me a man to be proud of.

It was my mother that came to school when I got busted for lobbing a cherry bomb into the cafeteria during the State finals Spelling Bee.She personally beat me within an inch of my life with the principals dictionary as he cowered behind his desk.





Thanks mom.I never did miss my dad that much after all.

Avalancher,
I'ld feel the same way if my mom banged up my tractor too. Moms and Dads are off limits on the "borrowed my xxx and brought it back broke" lists. !!!

Sorry for the threadjack guys..it just hit my in a soft spot. When I burried my dad we hadn't spoken for 25 years out of pure pigheaded stubborness on both our parts. There isn't a day I don't feel bad about it. I do my best to make sure nobody else makes that same stupid mistake.

thanks for the sounding board.
A

 

[scattergun13]

Well, I'm sure you already guessed the answer...it's the same as loaning your chainsaw, snowmobile, motorcycle, jet ski, boat, or girlfriend...they come backed really twisted and messed up!

My dad used the tractor for a few weeks at his cottage and when I went to pick it up I could smell the sweet smell of coolant as soon as I opened the pole barn door. I thought that since the hood was up on his chevelle he cooked a head gasket or overheated it, so I chuckled and went over to take a look...nothing wrong there so I went over and started the tractor. I knew exactly what it was when I saw the remnant of a stick (almost a log) popping out of the front grill and the coolant spraying my from the fan. Nice surprise! The stealership wanted $1400 to replace the radiator and oil cooler so instead I removed the few bad rows and had the radiator epoxied. I also had the oil cooler repaired and both of them pressure tested and flushed. I had just over $150 into it including the fluids with absolutely no problems since. Anybody want to loan me their tractor? How about a chainsaw?

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144596&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144598&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144599&stc=1&d=1279730114
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=144600&stc=1&d=1279730114

I haven't gotten to read the whole thread yet but somebody once told me to never loan out your old tractor or your old lady. Somebody's liable to throw a rod in either one of them.
It just sounded like good advice...


PS: Hope it works out for you.
Stew and K9 partner Ajo...

 

[needwood]

Wow! I don't think that I was too awfully critical. It was not meant to be a "dad slam post." I certainly know accidents happen, I have had several, even a few with his previous snowmobiles, boats, and cars. When I was younger...well, let's just say "thank God for insurance!" He certainly didn't try to damage the tractor...I know that! I would GIVE him the tractor if he needed it! If the situation was reversed I know he would give me a ton of crap and I'd still have to fix it, though. We have a very joking, jabbing, comical relationship. I've learned so much from him and he has helped me in so many ways that I would fix the tractor over and over if it meant I got to spend even a little more time with him. In fact, I was able to make the simple repair because of the attitude and "tools" or abilities he has instilled in us kids over 35 years. "If a man built it, I can fix it!" It has sunk in even more since I became a father last year and I can only hope that I will be as great of a father as he has been to me. While I try to keep my equipment very well maintained and in great condition I do realize that they make new tractors, chainsaws, etc. everyday! Please don't take my original post as bratty, insensitive, or heartless...it wasn't intended to be that way. If it was that way, you would have already seen us on Judge Judy (once again, just joking). The original post also does not contain the entire story, I didn't feel it necessary to belabor everyone with mundane details.

The reason I actually posted it is I finally figured out (through the help of a couple of other AS members) how to post photos and thought I would share a story with pictures for once! It's not too uncommon to see situations just like this one shared on this forum over and over. It's just the reality of life when you loan certain items out. As far as mentioning motorcycles, jetskiis, etc., I was just joking around trying to get a chuckle out of the readers. And, as far as the tractor is concerned I am obviously over it because it is at his place again! I should have mentioned in the original post that I really can't even blame him for the damage. It was simply a very odd fluke that happened while he was using it. I still can't figure out how the stick pushed the grille back and snaked it's way up and into the radiator. I should have saved the pics for potential tractor renter or buyer letting them know how quickly expensive damage can happen, even with an experienced operator.

I would also like to say that I would be glad to help him out, he simply doesn't want anyone around while he's grading the road and driveway and spreading bark in his yard. That's his relaxation time and he likes to do it his way. Can't say that I blame him, I'm the same way! Notice the name of the tractor in my sig? We have a funny way of naming our cars and equipment, we've done it since I was a kid and I wasn't the one that came up with the name "Therapy," he did.

Thanks for the post Lipdawg. It is certainly a lesson on sharing personal information on the web and how it can be mis-interpreted. Definitely something for me to consider when posting in the future. I'll keep working on the "man up." And for now, I'll finally shut-up.

Sorry friend. For me and i think for others, your story reminded us of something from the past.

 

[loadthestove]

QUOTE=scattergun13;2351156]I haven't gotten to read the whole thread yet but somebody once told me to never loan out your old tractor or your old lady. Somebody's liable to throw a rod in either one of them.
It just sounded like good advice...
................:hmm3grin2orange:[




PS: Hope it works out for you.
Stew and K9 partner Ajo...[/QUOTE]

 

[isaaccarlson]

I need to put armor in front of my John Deere M rad. There are some slots that branches like to find. No punctures yet but I am not taking any chances. Glad you got it fixed.

Ike

 

[clutch25]

Good thread guys....good thread....