So you want to drive a tractor

Monek Marie

My brothers learned to drive a tractor early. My older brother was driving by two (of course dad was working the clutch.)

My first driving lesson was when I was around 10 or 11. I had to beg, lol. So my dad rounded up 8 tires, put them out in our back field and I had to drive around them. I did really good! I managed to hit every one head on., an amazing feat in a 2 acre field. It wasn't long before Dad decided it was warm enough for ice tea. (and for some strange reason I never had another tractor lesson again.)

I am getting our old tractor back this summer (my one brother sold it) and will learn to drive it, along with a Kabota. I have a lot of memories of that old tractor. It came with out old farm.

So although its been a year of loss its also a year of learning new things and moving on.

LaurieLovesLearning

😂 @Denise Grant It sounds like you got 100%!

Each of our kids (girls & boys alike) have learned to drive our old Allis Chalmers. Some are better than others, but they all do pretty well. I can drive if I have to, but I am not very comfortable on a tractor. Smaller than our smallest (the Allis) is best for me. Haha

To my credit, I did drive a massive combine a short distance once!

I hope you enjoy the tractors. Memories are so often attached to certain things and I am glad that you are getting your old tractor back. You should take it for a ride down memory lane by making a replica obstacle course.

Monek Marie

@LaurieLovesLearning I was proud of my 100%! I think i terrified my dad that day,lol.

Its necessary to be able to drive tractors and such on a farm. You never know when you might have to.

dipat2005

@Denise Grant thanks for sharing your thoughts on tractors. When we were in California and bought a house in the country we had weeds that were four feet tall. Now this place was on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert. So we went out with our bare hands and we were vigorously pulling weeds. Our next door neighbors came over and explained to us that there were likely poisonous snakes in that grass. Thank goodness for nice neighbors!

We went shopping for a tractor as soon as possible. We used that tractor until we left the high desert.

Torey

@Denise Grant You have brought back lovely memories of old tractors. My dad had a good sized Case tractor for several years. It replaced a very, very old one when I was just old enough to remember it. It had a hand crank start and one of my earliest memories is an uncle trying to get it going. He finally got the crank to fire but it was in gear and took off across the field without him. I have a very distinct memory of him chasing the tractor. I think it finally ran out of power going up a slope.

Michelle D

@Denise Grant how wonderful to be getting that old tractor back! It's nice to have things our memories are tied to.

I had a crash course in driving a tractor about 6 years ago when my husband's grandfather passed away and Grandma needed help on the farm. Even as an adult there was a bit of a learning curve lol.

shllnzl

I just had a weird thought: I wonder if someone could make some money by allowing people to drive a tractor for fun? There would be liability issues and the person would probably have to create a driving area like the mini go cart firms do.

Still possibly a doable idea? Maybe a driving lawnmower with blades removed? Hmmm....

Lisa K

I sooooo want to learn to drive a tractor not that I have the room or need for one but you never know! I also want to learn to drive a forklift!

LaurieLovesLearning

@shllnzl I'm not sure that a lawn tractor would quite suffice as they are still different. Maybe teach levels, like start with a lawn tractor, small tractor, next size up from that... You would have to teach about trailering and driving with implements as well, both forwards and backward.

You would certainly need good insurance and certainly need to teach safety. I bet this could prove popular among smaller acreage owners & city changed to country farmers.

There are various brands of tractor and so many very different models within each of those, each brand (and line of models) having a different history. Then there are the ones with tires, the ones with tracks, hydraulics, pto, etc., etc. My husband and youngest son are sponges when it comes to tractors and any farm equipment, really. That is certainly their passion. Mention any farm equipment and they know pretty much everything about it and you need to be prepared to listen for quite some time. It's worse than me & birds. Haha

My husband has a very large, heavy book called Nebraska Tractor Tests. My youngest boy sat and "read" that pretty steady for many years, long before he could read, and listened intently to any farm machinery conversation. At 2 years old he could tell you what equipment he wanted one day, what he'd plant and more. He had a plan and it was very detailed. 😄

LaurieLovesLearning

@torey That is hilarious! I'm glad nobody got hurt in the process.

By the way, he enjoyed both of the stories (@Denise Grant) & had a few extra comments. 🤣 Ah, tractors!

RustBeltCowgirl

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/895966#Comment_895966

They keep asking me at work if I wqant to learn to drive a towmotor/forklift. My answer is: No how, no way. I'm already the #1 utility person; I'm not getting a towmotor certification.

Michelle D

@RustBeltCowgirl does it feel great to be so wanted? Lol

RustBeltCowgirl

@Michelle D Only if the pay matches it.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

I'm afraid that my story about tractors is more of a sad type of story.😢🐢

While living in Florida I was offered the job of taking care of the property that belonged to my husband's boss. It was beautiful 25 acre piece on a lake. He taught me how to use his John Deere tractor to mow it. It took me two days to mow it all. There is a lot of scrubby kinds of grass in Florida. And in the height of summer it's all so brown and the dirt/sand get all blurred together.

There are a type of turtle in Florida that are on the endangered list and they have little burrows, I guess you call them(?), in and around the lake. Well I had only been doing this for a short while and as I was driving the tractor over a section of the property a turtle happened to be coming out of the hole just as I passed over. I saw it a split second before the blades met it. I was devastated. I felt so bad. I called my husband on the phone in tears.

I continued on there for awhile until I was able to get another job. But I always made sure to be extra vigilant and I learned where all the "burrows"(?) were so it wouldn't happen again.

I really loved driving that tractor. I kept dreaming that it was my property and my tractor. Now it looks like it will be a dream come true here, very soon.🤞

JodieDownUnder

@Denise Grant I’ve spent a lifetime operating tractors, different makes, sizes etc. I currently have a lovely little Kubota with a 72” mowing deck underneath and a 3 way bucket out front, very handy bit of gear. Always treat them with respect because they are one of the biggest killers of people in farming!

I do have a great tractor story to tell you about. In 2009, I mentioned to Jayne (my wife) that a tractor would be a very handy addition to our business, mowing, slashing, unloading pallets etc. Knowing that we really couldn’t afford one and it wasn’t that high on the priority list, I promptly forgot about it. About 6 months later, Jayne mentioned that a guy was turning up before opening hours, to have a look at one of our houses on our farm for accommodation and could I meet him out the front of our shop and take him up to our farm and show him. Sure I said, so got up early this particular morning and around 7am heard a guy call out. So I walked around the side of the shop to be greeted by a truck driver with a Kubota tractor and a few different implements on the back of this truck and he said ‘I believe it’s your birthday next week” well I didn’t know what to do or say! I squealed, laughed, cried, swore, screamed and nearly wet my pants. Jayne appeared and said “surprise”. She had been able to organise this without me ever knowing. I loved that tractor and it was a very sad day when we sold it at our clearing sale a few years ago.

Monek Marie

@jodienancarrow lovely story

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

@jodienancarrow What a beautiful story.

karenjanicki

I only drove a tractor once and it terrified me 😅.