Tractor rental

What exactly do you want to do with a tractor that you don't know how to operate?
 
Might be better off renting from places like Nations Rent etc. probably cost more than HD. Or find someone who knows how (friend, wife, any girl etc) and will show you how.
 
I'm sure the Home Depot guy can show you how to run it. All of the HD's I've seen use the Kubota HST tractors, which are dead-simple to use. Starts just like a car, rocker-pedal on the floorboard with for forward/reverse. Lever on the right side of the seat controls the rear lift arms, and PTO (if you need it). Left side lever controls transmission speed (high, medium, low). You probably won't need to mess with it. Bucket loader (if equipped) works off of its own joystick and is easy to use once you mess with it for a minute or two. Engine speed is controlled by a lever on the steering column on most models, and is usually a "set it and forget it" item.

Some have provisions for rear-differential locks, differential braking, 4x4 engagement, mid-PTO, etc., but I doubt you'll need anything like that.
 
evapilotaz said:
If I rent a tractor from Home Depot will they show me how to operate it? I'm clueless.
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You're more than likely better off hiring the job out unless this is something you'd just rather do yourself. If you do get the tractor, just spend about 5 minutes through the gears and any attachments to get a feel for it. If you can fly an airplane, you can figure a tractor out pretty quick. Just stay off of slopes, stay away from a spinning PTO and don't drive it with the bucket any higher than it needs to be. And keep kids completely away if you have any. That's my biggest fear with farm equipment. I've taught my kids to never try to come get me if I'm on a tractor.
 
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Son rented a paint sprayer a few weeks ago. Asked the guy how to operate it. Didn't have a clue. I went over and showed him how, and son hands me a brush and put my ass to work. WTH!
 
mscard88 said:
Son rented a paint sprayer a few weeks ago. Asked the guy how to operate it. Didn't have a clue. I went over and showed him how, and son hands me a brush and put my ass to work. WTH!
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That will teach ya...!!! :lol::lol::lol:
 
evapilotaz said:
I want do some ground scraping to level dirt. I always wanted to learn to operate one.
I have a couple of acres of property.
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It's tougher than it seems, depending on how particular you are and how level you want it. Also depending on the ground and equipment you have, you may need to break any sod up first. YouTube is your friend!
 
So here is another thought I could rent it all day and learn how to use it for half the price for someone to do the job. I already got a quote.

Than next time when I need it I will be good to go
 
Cooter said:
It's tougher than it seems, depending on how particular you are and how level you want it. Also depending on the ground and equipment you have, you may need to break any sod up first. YouTube is your friend!
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You beat me to it, I was going to suggest YouTube. You can learn anything on YouTube. I know because just before they sedated me for my cataract surgery I told the doctor and the anesthesiologist, "I sure hope you two know what you're doing," and they laughed and said "Of course we do! We watched it on YouTube!"
 
The little tractors are not all that great for ground engaging work. I have a BX for mowing and yard use. If I need to dig, I rent a skid steer.
 
evapilotaz said:
So here is another thought I could rent it all day and learn how to use it for half the price for someone to do the job. I already got a quote.

Than next time when I need it I will be good to go
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Give it a shot. It's not hard, you just won't get it perfect your first time. I keep my drive up and I'm kind of a perfectionist with it. I usually don't get it as good as I want it but it looks good to everyone else. Breaking ground is different than leveling already broken ground. Sod can be tough and you may need something kind of heavy to break it up.
 
Leveling can be done with a tractor. It's nice to have a box blade but it can be done with a bucket. I do a lot of backdragging if I have to use a bucket. The nature of the leveling is also of interest. A simple drag can do wonders on a dirt road or baseball infield.
 
Dont do anything with the tractor around structures or anything else that it could break. Dig some remote holes first.
 
Your fist mistake was assuming that the the Home Depot guys actually know how to operate it to be able to show you...
 
My first time driving a tractor was loading trash into a dumpster with a bucket loader. It was bigger than the HD rentals but not big enough to have an enclosed cabin. After the dumpster was full my sister talked me into packing it down with the backhoe. I figured what the hell, turned it around, put the hydraulic landing gear things down and went to work. The tractor was too light to compact the trash much, but it did manage to lift both the landing gear things and the back wheels off the ground, at which point I found out the front brakes weren't on. The seat was facing backwards and of course I couldn't get it to spin around to the diving position. When I finally hit the brakes the dumpster started to roll. The driveway was on a steep slope to the road. I imagined the dumpster going down the driveway and smashing into a car. The rest is a blur, it was like some weird game where all you do is pull levers and use pedals. I gained a healthy respect for tractors that day.
 
A boxblade with ripper teeth will break up sod easily. If you really want to break up a lot of surface earth quickly, get a disc implement and it will till up the top 2-3" with only a few passes.

Skid loaders are great, but it's easier to do damage with a skid loader by far.


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JonH said:
My first time driving a tractor was loading trash into a dumpster with a bucket loader. It was bigger than the HD rentals but not big enough to have an enclosed cabin. After the dumpster was full my sister talked me into packing it down with the backhoe. I figured what the hell, turned it around, put the hydraulic landing gear things down and went to work. The tractor was too light to compact the trash much, but it did manage to lift both the landing gear things and the back wheels off the ground, at which point I found out the front brakes weren't on. The seat was facing backwards and of course I couldn't get it to spin around to the diving position. When I finally hit the brakes the dumpster started to roll. The driveway was on a steep slope to the road. I imagined the dumpster going down the driveway and smashing into a car. The rest is a blur, it was like some weird game where all you do is pull levers and use pedals. I gained a healthy respect for tractors that day.
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Hills can be dangerous. I tried loading my tractor onto a trailer once with my truck pointed downhill. When I tried driving it on, the rear wheels were too wide to get all the way up on the trailer. I stopped on the rear of the trailer and it lifted the front of the trailer up and the rear wheels of my truck with it. The truck, trailer and my tractor with me on it started down hill before I could realize what was happening. I was able to back the tractor down and get the load off the trailer but not before my truck headed off into the woods. Fortunately there was little damage, but it gave me a good scare.
 
Cooter said:
Hills can be dangerous. I tried loading my tractor onto a trailer once with my truck pointed downhill. When I tried driving it on, the rear wheels were too wide to get all the way up on the trailer. I stopped on the rear of the trailer and it lifted the front of the trailer up and the rear wheels of my truck with it. The truck, trailer and my tractor with me on it started down hill before I could realize what was happening. I was able to back the tractor down and get the load off the trailer but not before my truck headed off into the woods. Fortunately there was little damage, but it gave me a good scare.
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I had similar happen to me when loading my first tractor onto my trailer the first time. Downhill = bad idea.
 
Here is the area. Basically I want to scrap up all the weeds and flatten down high spots. I prepping that area for winter grass seed. That the side yard.
 

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evapilotaz said:
Here is the area. Basically I want to scrap up all the weeds and flatten down high spots. I prepping that area for winter grass seed. That the side yard.
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I would use a box blade with spikes (or rippers). That's fairly easy.
 
If it was me, I'd spray the weeds with Roundup first. Wait a few days for them to die, then go ahead and use a gannon to scrape/level your ground. Then I'd haul in a bunch of horse/cow s**t and then disc it into the soil. Then plant your winter grass. Otherwise you're going to have a continuous problem with weeds. You will anyways, but not as bad if you kill off what's already there.
 
For winter rye grass? I'd be tempted to say just get a tiller attachment. So much faster and your weeds will come back next year anyway so no need to take the time to box blade and scrape. After tiller, spread grass and lightly used front load to drag over the top to move dirt over the seeds. Water and be done.
 
Tiller will work good for making a seedbed but it won't level the ground if there are low spots or anything more than bumps you want to smooth out. I've never used the tractor attachment tiller but that with the loader bucket could probably do the job. I like the box blade. It's easy to use and it's easy to move the dirt around if you need to.
 
My tiller had a flap on the back and levels out pretty good. Should do the trick in half the time.

I love the box blade but first time using it he will have a time with the different adjustments. I guess depends how much time he has it for.
 
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