[quote=CVPost-37 chief"](reply to post at 13:51:07 05/29/20) [/quote]
I decided last fall that I was Going to actually make a little money from my hobby tractors, a 1953 NAA and a 1970 Ford 4000 by actually charging rates for tractor work instead of doing it all for free. I plowed snow from driveways in winter, but could not get most of the beneficiaries to even help with the fuel bills. I tilled garden plots for 9 neighbors who live within a mile either direction from the house with a rotary tiller, and would run a spring tooth over the plot if it showed a lot of rocks. And did brush hog work in the summer, Then back to tilling for fall cover crops. Pretty much kept busy all year long but maintaining 2 tractors was getting expensive. I listened to what people were paying for what I was doing for free. I talked to the neighbors and told them I was on a fixed retirement income and was losing money keeping 2 tractor running. One got hostile but the rest agreed that the rates I wanted to charge were very much at the low end of the market for the work performed. Things were looking up a little, only lost one job, but I really did not want him as he had never forked up a dime to cover actual costs for fuel. Good riddance to a bad apple. Then it hit the fan. Absolutely no snow this winter, highly unusual for this area. We had one 3 inch snow that literally melted of by noon the next day. Profit from snow removal exactly $0. Expenses on both tractors $100. Things not looking so good now. It rained constantly, 3-4 days per week for 4 solid months. In addition, 5 of the older neighbors said they were not going to raise a garden this year for health reasons. With the one dropout, that was 6 out of 9 garden jobs out the window I was planning on a revenue of $75, or a net of $50. Things were not looking good. I did manage to till the 3 remaining on 1 day in FEb when we had 4 days of no rain. Garden profit a hefty $150, or a net of $0 when tractor expenses were added. Now the big One. I was hauling dirt with my 1/3 yard rear mount scoop to fill a flower bed. I had finished the job and collected my fee of $75. I parked the NAA and when I stepped of the left running board my left knee buckled under me and my right foot caught under the clutch pedal and whipped me to the ground. I landed hard on my Galaxy note 4 phone in my back pocket which pretty much destroyed the phone. Replaced it with a good used phone off ebay for $115. Back in the hole $40 now. Did I mention that I also broke the femur in the right hip joint. Required a rod in the broken bone and 3 pins to hold in place. In Total , 2 surgeries and 2 stints in rehab for repairs. Spent over 1 month in hospitals with no family contact for over a month due to virus. Finally came home after 5 weeks with 2 bacterial infections and a staff infection in the leg. Talked the docs into 2 ea 10 day antibiotics from home instead of IV's in hospital. Will be laid up approximately 4 months before walking again, 10weeks of home health wound care, nursing and physical therapy. Total costs to date are $275000 and climbing. I think my idea of making some extra money with the hobby tractors is officially BANKRUPT. A Walmart greeter position is looking better all the time
Upload one or more videos to your post. Photo and video filesizes should be less than 8MB. Formats allowed are gif, jpg, png, ogg, mp4, mov, and avi. Be sure to use filenames without spaces or special characters, and filetypes of 3 digits lower case.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - 12-Volt Conversions for 4-Cylinder Ford 2000 & 4000 Tractors - by Tommy Duvall. After two summers of having to park my old 1964 model 4000 gas 4 cyl. on a hill just in case the 6 volt system, for whatever reason, would not crank her, I decided to try the 12 volt conversion. After some research of convert or not, I decided to go ahead, the main reason being that this tractor was a working tractor, not a show tractor (yet). I did keep everything I replaced for the day I do want to restore her to showroom condition.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.