[RandyM]

Between this site and another I got the idea to write my story on what I went through to buy my tractor. I tried to include as much as I could without writing a novel. It is a little lengthy but for some may be entertaining. Rather than post it directly on the forum I attached it as a PDF file. Hoping this was a better way to present it. Enjoy!

 

[Brian]

Nice story Randy. Its always interesting to get a peek into people lives to see why they bought what they did. Thanks for sharing!

 

[eepete]

Good story. As a kid I grew up with 5, 8, 12, and 18 HP wheel horses, have used snow plows and blowers with them. Then my dad got a GE Electrac.

Pete

 

[RandyM]

Good story. As a kid I grew up with 5, 8, 12, and 18 HP wheel horses, have used snow plows and blowers with them. Then my dad got a GE Electrac.

Pete

If I could have gotten the brush for them I probably would not have the Deeres today. Its funny how things can work out for the best. The new Wheel Horses just aren't what they used to be.

 

[LoneStranger]

Good story Randy. I too had a wheel Horse and really liked it though it was a 212-5; it never let me down and I literally got rid of it to get a bigger deck and to my knowledge the guy I sold it to still runs it!
I was curious why you like to keep two tractors on hand; one as a backup?

 

[POWERSTROKE]

Too many good IH dealers around home, too easy to buy a Cub Cadet back in the 1960's. The local JD dealer declined selling the lawn/garden JD line so the local small engine shop picked the line up. Being 20 miles from Moline lots of Deere employees so lots of Deere tractors bought and sold a year or two later at a profit. Meanwhile our 1965 vintage Cub Cadet still keeps running! It wore out either three or four K-161/K-181 engines and now is running a freshly rebuilt K-241.
There were NO Wheel Horse dealers or tractors around ANYWHERE close.

I'm good friends with the parts manager of the CIH/CC dealer 15 miles from Randy. They sell lots of small CIH compacts as far east as Racine, WI. I've got three CIH/CC dealers within 20-22 miles, five within 35 miles. I've done business with all of them, and been well satisfied with them all. I can't make that statement about my only JD dealer. I've looked at the SCUT CIH tractors when getting the infrequent parts I need and am impressed with their design. No plastic or aluminum castings, they're built like a scaled down 150 HP tractor. I'd never really be in the market for one, my two antiques are more than capable of doing any chores I need done. Although the idea of having a heated & air conditioned cab at times does seem very enticing at times.

 

[RandyM]

Good story Randy. I too had a wheel Horse and really liked it though it was a 212-5; it never let me down and I literally got rid of it to get a bigger deck and to my knowledge the guy I sold it to still runs it!
I was curious why you like to keep two tractors on hand; one as a backup?

Really? One just simply isn't enough! :mocking:

Actually, a backup is only one reason. In the summer they both have mower decks on. I run one and my mother runs the other. In the winter, the 2520 has the blower mounted to it and the 2305 has the brush. Sometimes it is nice to have the FEL on one and a trailer on the other. It is somewhat like having a tractor and a gator or a 4 wheeler. You are only limited by your imagination. Glad I could entertain you. :thumbup1gif:

I am hoping someone could add to this thread with their entertaining or amusing Deere story.

 

[LoneStranger]

Really? One just simply isn't enough! :mocking:

Actually, a backup is only one reason. In the summer they both have mower decks on. I run one and my mother runs the other. In the winter, the 2520 has the blower mounted to it and the 2305 has the brush. Sometimes it is nice to have the FEL on one and a trailer on the other. It is somewhat like having a tractor and a gator or a 4 wheeler. You are only limited by your imagination. Glad I could entertain you. :thumbup1gif:

I am hoping someone could add to this thread with their entertaining or amusing Deere story.

You've got me thinking...thinking about a retirement property; it would save a lot of trailer time and it would be convenient. You have a nice setup!

:bigthumb:

 

[CADplans]

Really? One just simply isn't enough!
I am hoping someone could add to this thread with their entertaining or amusing Deere story.

I NEVER purchased a Deere because my sister had ALL Deere's on their farm,,
she thought it was anti-social to buy any other brand,,,,
I purchased IH and Cub Cadets just to irritate my sister!! :lolol: IT WORKED!! :nunu:

Last year,, a friend who quilts with my wife asked if I would help put a value on a Deere her neighbor was selling.

I told here what I thought it was worth,,, she said if I wanted it,,, I could have it for way less than my estimate.

I told her to run a CL ad and sell it,,, she was not interested in running a CL ad,,,,

It turns out an auction company low balled her,,, she was happy to sell it to me for almost nothing.

The tractor included the mower, dirt scoop, boom pole, AND a 4x8 trailer!!

The price is hard to estimate, because the $3K I paid included ALL of her husbands woodworking tools.

Ten shop tools (the bandsaw and drill press are easily worth $1K each if I choose to sell on CL)
and literally tons of hand tools, clamps, bits blades, etc,,,
I counted 26 hammers before I took them down off the wall.

The move took 8 trips with my 10 foot dump trailer,,, I am still sorting it out,,,,

So, now, I mow with a Deere,,,,,

 

[rod330]

Great story, Randy.
Here's how I ended up with 4 tractors (two Deere 3720's, a Ford 3000 and a Farmall Cub).
When my father passed in 1999, Mom refused to move from the Pennsylvania farmhouse and ~60 acres they had owned since 1955. Dad loved being a "weekend hobby farmer" for many years. Even though the animals were long gone, he still mowed about 9 acres of lawn every week and brush hogged about 35 acres of pasture twice a year. Dad's equipment was nearly worn out so Mom and I bought a brand new Deere GT225 with a whopping 38" mulching mower deck to cut the 9 acre lawn! I lived in Georgia but Mom was determined to mow that entire 9 acre lawn on her own (and she did). Every summer I'd take a two week vacation to brush hog the fields but that usually turned into 2- 3 days of actual mowing, 7 -8 days of wrenching on broken equipment and 2- 3 days of parts hunting.

Mom wasn't getting any younger so I decided to buy her a new Deere 3720 with a 72" MMM. She LOVED it and, as you can imagine, it dramatically reduced her mowing time. Everyone at the dealership came to admire Mom's tenacity at running that 3720 by herself and told perspective customers a women in her 80's used a 3000 series tractor every week! Several of them even attended her funeral.

Three years ago this July, Mom passed away and I inherited the little farm. We decided to keep the property so I paid a landscaping company to mow the lawn the past two years. They did a great job but it was very expensive.

I retired in December of 2015 and we relocated to 5 acres in Ohio, about 125 west of the small Pennsylvania farm, to be closer to our children and grandchildren. This property has a nice 60'x60' pole barn and two long driveways so I purchased a used 3720 cab with FEL with less than 100 hours, a 59" front snowblower, a 7' rear blade, Artillian forks and grapple and a 72" MMM for use in Ohio. I kept the open station 3720 for lawn mowing duties in Pennsylvania.

Next, we added a very nice Ford 3000 and new 6' brush hog for the Pennsylvania property. The Ford came with a used 5' brush hog which I kept to clear a very rough patch of old pasture in Ohio.

Finally, I bought a 22' tilt trailer to shuttle equipment and toys between the two properties as needed. For example, later this year I'm looking to reclaim an old apple orchard in Pennsylvania with the help of the Artillian hardware.

The Farmall Cub with the belly mower? The only reason for it was "just because". Just because it's a hoot to drive, it was inexpensive, it doesn't take up much space and I suppose it could serve as a backup mower at either property.

 

[RandyM]

Love the great stories Guys! Thanks for taking the time.

:thumbup1gif::thumbup1gif:

 

[myrna]

My story is more like the original first post. I bought 12 acres and built a house on it in 1982. Started off with a Sears Craftsman rider. Wore it out in 4 years, bought the 2nd one and then a third one up to 1999. Was having a lot of maintenance on those. The last straw for Sears mowers was when the front tie rods wore out I ordered new bushing parts, got in the mail, they were "nylon", not brass. Saw an auction add in the paper from a local John Deere Dealer selling used and trade in mowers. (This was 1999) Went to the auction and they had a 1999 model LX279 listed. Someone had bought it and heard a growling noise in the hydro so the turned it in for another mower. I bought it at auction for $3000. Fast forward to today, January 6, 2021. I am still running this mower with the original blades and have never had a hydro problem. I mow about 4 acres covered in rocks that I am always hitting when mowing.
Now my next adventure, saw an add from my JD Dealer for a New Package 1025R, with 60"MMM and front loader. I thought I would take some mowing pressure off my LX279 for a while so I bought the package 1 year ago in Oct, 2019. Cut my mowing time down over 1 hour and the grass looks like a golf course. I love the 1025R and my LX279. Plan on keeping both as long as I am on this 12 acres.

 

[klunker]

I still have a older Wheel Horse. Its a '76 vintage I believe. A C-160 with what they call a 8 speed transmission. Really a 3 speed with a high/low range and reverse.
Its been a great beast. I use it to pull a small trailer. It primary use is hauling firewood out of the woods and to the splitter.

I did blow the engine up a couple of years ago while pulling a heavily weighted drag. Ended up being a broken piston. The bottom half of the piston stay connected to the rod and the top half ended up in the top of the bore. Bought a new piston and put it in and away it goes again.

here is a picture of the beast.

Bought back in approx the early '90's. at the time it had a mowing deck on it. It got retired from mowing not cause it couldn't do it but cause my wife didn't like the manual trans. Said she would mow the lawn if I got something better. Thats how we got the X300 we have now. I have to admit the X300 is not 1/2 the machine the Wheel Horse is. I'm sure it wouldn't last a week of hauling a trailer load of firewood out of the woods.

 

[RandyM]

I still have a older Wheel Horse. Its a '76 vintage I believe. A C-160 with what they call a 8 speed transmission. Really a 3 speed with a high/low range and reverse.
Its been a great beast. I use it to pull a small trailer. It primary use is hauling firewood out of the woods and to the splitter.

I did blow the engine up a couple of years ago while pulling a heavily weighted drag. Ended up being a broken piston. The bottom half of the piston stay connected to the rod and the top half ended up in the top of the bore. Bought a new piston and put it in and away it goes again.

Bought back in approx the early '90's. at the time it had a mowing deck on it. It got retired from mowing not cause it couldn't do it but cause my wife didn't like the manual trans. Said she would mow the lawn if I got something better. Thats how we got the X300 we have now. I have to admit the X300 is not 1/2 the machine the Wheel Horse is. I'm sure it wouldn't last a week of hauling a trailer load of firewood out of the woods.

Klunker,
Those old Wheel Horses where great machines. At the time there was nothing else like them. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[mark02tj]

Those old Wheel Horses where great machines. At the time there was nothing else like them.

Agreed, 100%!!

When I was in high school and part of college I did lawn mower repair. I worked at two different Wheel Horse dealers. I loved those "C Series" machines with the horizontal shaft Kohlers on them. Easy to work on, super reliable! The ultimate was the Wheel Horse hydrostatic tranny tractor! So cool to just move the lever forward and back to control your speed and direction!

Wheel Horse came out with a zero turn sometime around 1984 or '85. That thing was a tank! We sold a couple of them but that was before there were so many mowing service companies. People would look at those early zero turns and shake their heads since it was such a different concept than a tractor style mower.