Tractor usage

How many of us are weekend warriors, retired so that you get to work all the time,:mrgreen: or actually use our tractors for work?

Myself, I am just a weekend warrior.:(
 
I guess seeing that the only time I am home is the weekend, I am a weekend warrior. Believe me if the chance ever came I would be in the fields every day.
 

larryRB

Member
I've been using mine every single day. Granted not a lot, but every day.,.. Dug eight piers ready for concrete at one neighbors home. WIll go there this morning and spread process for a driveway. Will go to the garage and dig up vent pipes for underground storage tanks that a tractor trailer took tow light poles down last week, The vents were strapped to one of the poles,, The other neighbor, is having an addition put on his home. I dug the cellar and some other things a few months back. I ocassionally will lift products up high for the builder, I use the tractor to just "visit" this neighbor as I can walk down there and have a real hard time coming back. SO the tractor is now my ride.
 

Jim_S

Super Moderator
SUPER Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
How many of us are weekend warriors, retired so that you get to work all the time,:mrgreen: or actually use our tractors for work?

Myself, I am just a weekend warrior.:(

Retired but don't use the tractor every day :(
 

Dougster

Old Member
How many of us are weekend warriors, retired so that you get to work all the time,:mrgreen: or actually use our tractors for work? Myself, I am just a weekend warrior.:(
Most folks here know my story: Early-retired (read: downsized) mechanical engineer seeks fame, fortune and economic survival as owner/operator of a "compact tractor and backhoe services" business... however, then goes on to make every business startup-related mistake in the book. The SBA and SCORE folks said this little, one-person "in between the big boys and landscape services" business would never make it in Massachusetts... and darned if they weren't pretty much right. :eek:

But the bottom line is that I work when my homeowner clients want me to work... so in most cases it depends on their personal/work situation, not mine. Initially, that meant working almost every weekend and not working Monday-Friday... until I wised up and put my foot down. Now I work mostly weekdays when they can take time off work and I only work weekends when jobs spill over or there is no other scheduling alternative. :)

Dougster
 
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mtntopper

Guest
Semi retired prior business owner. We sold our business to the employees in 2001 and they still pay me to stay away. I am now finding out how many friends I have since I purchased my Kubota L39TLB. :yum:

I keep the TLB busy doing contract work such as fencing, trenching, excavating, road work, and grapple work to make the tractor payments plus a little extra. I own 3 mountain properties to take care of and that was the reason for my purchase of the Kubota L39. It is working into a new job/business which I don't need. I try to take the weekends off and enjoy life but find myself too busy sometimes to even do that and have to do my own work on the weekends. :(
 
Semi retired prior business owner. We sold our business to the employees in 2001 and they still pay me to stay away. I am now finding out how many friends I have since I purchased my Kubota L39TLB. :yum:

I keep the TLB busy doing contract work such as fencing, trenching, excavating, road work, and grapple work to make the tractor payments plus a little extra. I own 3 mountain properties to take care of and that was the reason for my purchase of the Kubota L39. It is working into a new job/business which I don't need. I try to take the weekends off and enjoy life but find myself too busy sometimes to even do that and have to do my own work on the weekends. :(

mtntopper, I have a question. If you don't need this new job/business, why not tell people no?:confused: Orrrrr, do you not need it, but you enjoy doing it?:smile: Myself, I would jump at the opportunity to be able to make a good living using my equipment.:biggrin:
 
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mtntopper

Guest
I like to stay busy as I was never able to sit around and do nothing as some people can. I also never learned to say no to hard honest work and the money that comes along with good work ethics. Part of the fun is knowing I don't have to do the work, but doing it anyway without the stress of a "have to situation". Sometimes opportunity just seeks you out and lands in your lap which is what has happened since we bought the tractor for our use. Working outdoors with the tractor is also very mentally rewarding to the wife and I as we spent many years in high profile/stressful type jobs. We now live year round at 8500 foot elevation in the mountains of WY. Most of our work is for people with summer homes and vacation properties along with some government jobs and these jobs do not require bottom dollar prices. I can get a great price for my tractor work as my competition must transport their equipment at least 65 miles round trip to do a job. The tractor also provides a nice extra income/cushion to allow us to do the extra things we enjoy in the winter such as traveling, snow cats that we buy, repair, sell and use to access our home in the wintertime. We must either snow cat or snowmobile in and out of our mountain home in the winter for about 4 to 5 months a year. Life just does not get any better...
:letitsnow: :D :thumb:
 
I like to stay busy as I was never able to sit around and do nothing as some people can. I also never learned to say no to hard honest work and the money that comes along with good work ethics. Part of the fun is knowing I don't have to do the work, but doing it anyway without the stress of a "have to situation". Sometimes opportunity just seeks you out and lands in your lap which is what has happened since we bought the tractor for our use. Working outdoors with the tractor is also very mentally rewarding to the wife and I as we spent many years in high profile/stressful type jobs. We now live year round at 8500 foot elevation in the mountains of WY. Most of our work is for people with summer homes and vacation properties along with some government jobs and these jobs do not require bottom dollar prices. I can get a great price for my tractor work as my competition must transport their equipment at least 65 miles round trip to do a job. The tractor also provides a nice extra income/cushion to allow us to do the extra things we enjoy in the winter such as traveling, snow cats that we buy, repair, sell and use to access our home in the wintertime. We must either snow cat or snowmobile in and out of our mountain home in the winter for about 4 to 5 months a year. Life just does not get any better...
:letitsnow: :D :thumb:
I envy you and your situation. I keep thinking about moving out of loony land and going to Montana. But Wyoming would be great also. Sure would be nice to live in a state with less than a million people. We have about 3 million here in San Diego County:yuk: and over 40 million in the state.:eek:
Wife and I are going to Colorado and Montana in May, we should check out Wyoming too.
 

Dougster

Old Member
Life just does not get any better...
I envy you and your situation.
I do too! :) Sounds like MtnTopper has achieved what I set out to do over a year ago... with the big difference being that he has been successful at it with seemingly little to no effort expended! :eek: Meanwhile, I continue to struggle with marketing problems, insane insurance costs, sky-high fees & taxes, legal hassles like you wouldn't believe, cut-throat competition and endless logistical issues. :rolleyes:

The next question, of course, is why the huge difference??? :confused:

Oh yeah. I forgot. I'm in Ted Kennedy's social welfare wonderland: Massachusetts. :(

Dougster
 
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PBinWA

Member
I do too! :) Sounds like MtnTopper has achieved what I set out to do over a year ago... with the big difference being that he has been successful at it with seemingly little to no effort expended! :eek: Meanwhile, I continue to struggle with marketing problems, insane insurance costs, sky-high fees & taxes, legal hassles like you wouldn't believe, cut-throat competion and endless logistical issues. :rolleyes"

The next question, of course, is why the huge difference??? :confused:

Oh yeah. I forgot. I'm in Ted Kennedy's social welfare wonderland: Massachusetts. :(

Dougster


I'm always amazed at home much people will put up with when it comes to cost of living, taxes, etc. just to live in a particular area.

Dougster - you don't have to live there do you? You have some choice in the matter. :soapbox:
 

Dougster

Old Member
I'm always amazed at home much people will put up with when it comes to cost of living, taxes, etc. just to live in a particular area.

Dougster - you don't have to live there do you? You have some choice in the matter. :soapbox:
I fully intend and expect to escape soon... perhaps as soon as next year (2008) but more likely in 2009. Everything depends on my ability to sell my home here for enough money to buy a place elsewhere without a big mortgage. Lately, the numbers have been trending against me. :(

Dougster
 
I'm always amazed at home much people will put up with when it comes to cost of living, taxes, etc. just to live in a particular area.

. :soapbox:

In response to the quote, I hate where I live and our rural property that we hope to move to is only a stepping stone to getting out of here. I hope. It is very hard to just get up and leave when you have a 30+ year old business that has been good to you, your family is here and you have been in the same area your whole life. I know all just excuses, but that doesn't make it any easier to leave. The sad thing is that if I were looking for a place to move to and I was going through where we live now, I wouldn't even stop to look. This place sucks.:yuk:
 
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mtntopper

Guest
Too many people look at our state while on a vacation in the summer and think they would like to live here. They go back home, sell everything and move to the less populated states of the west like Wyoming. Then they find out the nearest shopping mall is 150 miles away from their new home. We get a lot of wind and snow, then it gets damn cold for six months. The cost of most goods are high because all we have are small locally owned stores and not the big chain stores. Restaurants serve beef and more beef, forget the fancy foods you got in the city. You can't find fancy cloths that you want unless you go to Denver and most of us refuse to go their for any reason. The good high paying jobs are in energy production and if you land one of these you better be ready to work 12 hour shifts outside six days a week no matter the weather conditions. Then after a year of this primitive life style the new transplants again sell everything and move back to California or New York. Life goes on for the rest of us who have watched this happen time after time and year after year. We do have some awesome yard sales in the spring when these people are anxious to go back home. :yum: It is a tough but neat place to live if you are capable of adapting to the lifestyle. I am sure some of you here on the forum are capable of adapting but many others are not. There is only one place tougher in the US to live and that has to be Alaska.
 

Dougster

Old Member
There is only one place tougher in the US to live and that has to be Alaska.
You have obviously never visited the People's Republic of Taxachusetts!!! :(

Anyway... Methinks you doth protest too much! I think you just want to keep your big, beautiful state all to yourself!!! :D

And I don't blame you one bit! ;)

Dougster
 

larryRB

Member
where I live is the exact same thing, We get all the yuppie's from out Boston way or Hartford-New Haven CT. Most only stay one year than sell and leave.. In the meantime, they all register to vote, vote on odd, useless stuff that costs the local towns thousands to implement, then sell and leave anyway... Viscious circle that sees no end..
 

Big Dog

Super Moderator
SUPER Site Supporter
I guess seeing that the only time I am home is the weekend, I am a weekend warrior. Believe me if the chance ever came I would be in the fields every day.

That's me too ......... I've been in 4 cities the last 2 weeks ...... just ain't gettin' enough ............ :mrgreen:
 
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