What's Happening?

earthgrinder

earthgrinder

Tractorologist
Member
It seemed this winter more than ever the garden tractor website forums I frequent have been very quiet. What's going on with this hobby? Is it past its prime. Is the younger generation not interested? The Facebook pages that deal with the garden tractor subject were pretty active, but even there some of the gentlemen with nice collections have been no shows for some time.
Here is where I am at. I am pretty much done collection because of storage limitations. I have mostly have one of the items made by the manufacturer that I collect. I am still actively researching any information I can find about the company. I subscribe to Farm Collector, but read very little of it. I had subscribed to LAGT for years and wrote articles for their magazine, but have since dropped the magazine and writing. I just had seen my share of Cubs and John Deere tractors and some other issues. At least on the fb pages one can see the older walk behind garden equipment.
I am interested in hearing what others out there have experienced.
 
I think about the same as yourself earthgrinder. Not as much garden tractor activity here where I live and the same with antique farm tractors. One facebook site I go to in my area is very quiet. I was a subscriber to LAGT for a few years, then stopped getting it. I'm also a subscriber to Antique Power magazine and will not renew this year. Seems I only read a page or two out of it. A fella I know had four antique farm tractors. He'd buy them, fix them up and keep them or sell them. Well, he sold all of them and stopped renting the shop he was in. So, some of us would go to his shop on a regular basics and visit, or he would come to our places. Well thats all stopped now. He is 82, so he figured it was time to get out of it. Time moves along and things change, fads change, I know I'm as interested as I once was. Another buddy up the road from me has garden tractors, and we don't see each other much any more. We use to go to parades and display our tractors quite often. Not much now, once a year maybe.

Noel
 
Noel, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I too still like my collection and enjoy working on the old stuff. I am retired and one bay of my garage is my shop. I have the equipment to work on the repair my stuff and do enjoy that. I even do some work for others on tractors, tillers, and mowers. I have lost 4 collectors friends in the last two yeas as well and that hurts some.
 
Propane1 said:
I think about the same as yourself earthgrinder. Not as much garden tractor activity here where I live and the same with antique farm tractors. One facebook site I go to in my area is very quiet. I was a subscriber to LAGT for a few years, then stopped getting it. I'm also a subscriber to Antique Power magazine and will not renew this year. Seems I only read a page or two out of it. A fella I know had four antique farm tractors. He'd buy them, fix them up and keep them or sell them. Well, he sold all of them and stopped renting the shop he was in. So, some of us would go to his shop on a regular basics and visit, or he would come to our places. Well thats all stopped now. He is 82, so he figured it was time to get out of it. Time moves along and things change, fads change, I know I'm as interested as I once was. Another buddy up the road from me has garden tractors, and we don't see each other much any more. We use to go to parades and display our tractors quite often. Not much now, once a year maybe.

Noel
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What Facebook site are you referring to for PEI Noel?
 
Its a maritime based one Jason. Eastern Canada Vintage Garden Tractor Association. Mostly Nova Scotia members, as far as I see.

Noel
 
When GTT split up, it did a lot of damage. Some of the members went to TF; many of them went away. They have been replaced with some new folks who are only interested in mechanical questions.
My own interest was Wheel Horse, but I haven't worked on one for a long time. It seems I have read every question that could pertain to one, multiple times.
Now, I just work on the Ingersoll that I use and try to maintain the personal connections I have followed from MTF to GTT and on to TF.
 
Most hobbies for me are a roller coaster. I'm either super into it, or don't even mess with it.

Since buying my new tractor I don't really use my old stuff. So I'm not tinkering with them (by tinkering I mean working on them so I can cut my darn grass!). I want to find something to restore, something I haven't messed with, but I can't seem to find anything that truly peaks my interest. I picked up Dad's original 110 square fender last year, I got it running, spent way too much on a headlight bezel, a new hood, and a nearly mint condition deck.

All the tractors in the collection basically sit in the shed and haven't moved forever. I'd sell them off if I could get what I have in them back (which isn't happening, I have over a 1000 in each cub not including buying the tractor)

I spend more time fishing with my son in my free time rather than working on tractors.

I only hang out here mainly because I enjoy the people and reading posts of what other people do with their stuff.
 
well then when you go to the farm store and have to pay $20 for just a lousy air filter element for an 8hp Kohler Magnum, (TSC was a whole $2 less, an hour away-- no I didn't go there just for that BTW) that is getting stupid ridiculous. considering that I need seats for all but 1 of my machines, have you priced those lately? It gets prohibitive. I have 5 machines, need seats for 4 (could probably get away with 3) been buying lots of tubes the last 2 years, would rather have new tires for a couple, but no fundage.

I have been hard at it in the garage the last couple weeks, now that the last of the snow piles are gone and the trees are budding, but mostly out of necessity to both; be ready for the season (which I should have been working on all winter, more on that in a minute) and going thru what I have to decide what I might be able to purge.... re evaluating my spares, what I can do without, what might make good trade bait...
but the last few years when I wake up for work in the dark (can't be time to get up yet, if it is still dark) and get home, and lucky to have 15 minutes of daylight at most, have seemed to have more drab blah cloudy days this past winter that just wouldn't end, I came home and held the couch down too many days after work in the winter, I have not been able to get motivated. Didn't really feel like doing anything. or else I sat in my chair next to the couch, doing what I am doing right now, when I should have been out there working on my stuff...… when I was younger I'd have been out in the garage (or outside next to it no matter the weather) working on something til it was time to go to bed..... I would get more done around here back when I had 2 jobs, than I do these days...… I lost a lot of motivation 10 years ago after a chain saw accident.....when I couldn't bear weight on my right ankle, (Dr's orders) I was chomping and quite PO'd, cuz I couldn't do anything..... before I could go back to work, I just started saying "I'll get at it later" and for some things "later became never..... I have my mobility back, and have been back at a decent job for 6 years now though it isn't what I lost due to injury....but of everything in life I ever lost, I want my ambition back...… I used to be jittery, couldn't sit still, always had to be doing something/ but not as much any more. I still like working on cars and tractors, but don't do as much "because I just feel like it" as much as "because I have to," any more.
 
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I have 11 tractors and need 8 seats. Quite a cost. But some members on different sites have 20, 30 or more tractors. Imagine the cost for them for seats, and/or batteries and stuff.
So it’s very costly to keep up a collection of any thing, even if you don’t use them very much. They still deteriorate, over time. So that’s a factor in people staying in or growing their collection of what ever.

Noel
 
Thanks to all who contributed.
It seems these things are like a pendulum. Many years ago the IH Registry was a jumpin' site. There were guys on there and their chemistry just clicked. They had great and fun plowdays. Then something happened involving one of the key people who found it and the Feds shut it down. Well secrecy has always surrounded that event and many people felt betrayed. A new site started several years ago, but it never really got off the ground like the IH Registry.
In some cases life happens and our hobbies are collateral damage. Personally I lost 4 great gentlemen in the hobby in the last two years. Learning about what you collect keeps one involved. I have amassed a large quanity of literature and information over the amost 20 years I have been collecting the Rototiller brand. So there is not much I don't have. Still interested and still lookin' but not seein' much.

Show time is coming and I hope the excitement increases. One thing I am looking forward to is a trip to Coolspring in June. I am taking my Electric Rototiller with a Model 2 Rototiller to run its 1500 Watt generator.
 
When all is said and done the number of people working on garden tractors is very small. Many like myself are getting on in years and either no longer can or have lost the desire to work on them. You go to any site there are probably less than 2 dozen members contributing the majority of the material. Seems to be the case with many special interest groups.
 
I hope to get back into the hobby in the next year or so, but life has been too crazy to even try. I am working on mowers and GT's some, but not nearly as much as before my neck surgery. I would like to work on some of my Bush Hog tractors, and maybe get the Allis 720 diesel repower going again. Not in the cards right now though.
 
I believe collecting anything is kind of age related or what you knew when growing up.

I'm thinking back 40+ years or so when Model T's were the thing to buy and restore. Today the younger people think they're cool but thats about where it stops. The older guys that grew up with these cars are dying off. The generation of guys are now into 60'and 70's year cars. But again that's what they grew up with. Look what the young guys are interested now. The "Tuner Cars". Nothing wrong with that at all, just their interest.

Now I'm thinking about what to do with my Roper ("model T") that I had for 45 years and my Sears ("model A") that I've had for 35 years..?.... Younger guys want the "Tuner Tractors"... ;)
 
Propane1 said:
I have 11 tractors and need 8 seats. Quite a cost. But some members on different sites have 20, 30 or more tractors. Imagine the cost for them for seats, and/or batteries and stuff.
So it’s very costly to keep up a collection of any thing, even if you don’t use them very much. They still deteriorate, over time. So that’s a factor in people staying in or growing their collection of what ever.

Noel
Click to expand...

I keep a good battery in the 128, bolens, and Sears. I have 1 battery for all the Cubs and it's probably bad now.

I used to keep new batteries and charged up in all the cubs. After not messing with them there is no point.
 
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