Tuesday 24 June 2014

It’s done!

A couple of months ago I posted (here) about being in the market for a new-to-me tractor. Well let me assure you it’s been an experience, with a capital ‘E’.
The last time I drove a tractor I was 16 and working in a lumber yard. (I won’t say exactly how long ago that was; suffice it to say it can be measured in decades, many decades.) In the meantime tractor technology has progressed somewhat, although not nearly as much as one would think/hope. But the bigger difference to me is that back then I couldn’t care less about maintenance, features, benefits, pros and cons, etc.; I just drove it when I was told to. Now if I wanted to get the right tractor for me, at a budget I could afford, I actually had to learn something about the inner workings, PTOs, shuttle shifts, loaded tires, 3-point hitches, snowblowers, bucket loaders, and on, and on, and on. It’s been a great education! I mean who wouldn’t like to spend countless hours talking about things mechanical with people who live and breath this stuff?
Still lots to learn though, and even more once my new-to-me tractor arrives in a few weeks. Yup, committed to it today. The dealer is putting a few mods on for me (I love it when the answer is, “No problem. We’ll just weld a couple of lugs on there and replace the hydraulics with… blah, blah, blah”. You get the idea.) so it will take a while to get it prepped for delivery.
Anyway, it’s an early 70s vintage David Brown 1212, 4 cylinder diesel, 65HP, and comes with a cab, loader, and 7 1/2’ snowblower. I almost can’t wait until it snows, just to try it out. RELAX - I’M  KIDDING!
David Brown 1212
It’s similar to the one in the photo. While it looks its age, it has been well maintained and is ‘known’ to the dealer, so I’m pretty confident on the mechanical side of things. Cosmetics I don’t care about so much. And the dealer is one of those guys who will stand there and talk for hours answering the dumbest of questions, so I know I’ll be well treated.
Now I can occupy my time while I wait for our road to be finished studying the owners manual. 

16 comments:

  1. You got one, congratulations! A great combination of implements, making the 'fight back' a lot more fair. :)

    Hope it serves you well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coop: Thanks. I think I've got the right combination of size plus attachments to keep me going for a while. We'll see soon enough.

      Delete
  2. What! Read the manual?! After all your IT training and experience?! You should know better than to do that! Oh, wait... it hasn't got an Apple logo on it anywhere... damn.
    (2nd try at this comment, maybe I should RTFM) :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dave, imagine the feats of strength, stuff you can lift, otherwise immovable stuff you can move, and an endless sea of farkles.

    Oooh.... Those hydraulic leveller leg thingies, get the whole thing off the ground, a backhoe.... Oh dear your bike will be neglected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David: There's a distinct pecking order around here when it comes to toys and machinery (usually the same thing) and the bike is still at the top of the list so I don't think it'll be neglected and end up with hurt feelings.

      Delete
  4. Canajun:

    a machine "known to the Dealer" sounds like a good buy.

    Now you could put your bike in the Loader and drive yourself out, on that gravel/dirt road

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob - Road's done and I'm a happy camper again.

      Delete
  5. Hooray! Congrats on finally finding the right one. Looking forward to the first pics of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trobairitz - Not much to look at, but I should have it in about 3 weeks once they do the mods I wanted. And pictures will be posted.

      Delete
  6. If it has a snowblower, does it also have a heater? Have to say having ones own tractor sounds like a lot of fun. Congratulations on pulling the trigger!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AZHD - Yes it does have a heater. How good it is remains to be seen, but even a cab is better than sitting in the open.

      Delete
  7. Plow on, brother, plow on!

    Congrats! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love it! I'd use it good hard art!

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to comment, but any comments with commercial links will be deleted. You have been warned.