What's Happening?

Toomanytoys84 said:
That's because all the old stuff never breaks and the new stuff is under warranty!
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I've been reading along on this civil, interesting thread, but since my old tractors are mainly tools rather that a collection, I've just lurked along.

I have managed to break BOTH of my MF's within the last month though! The trials of that were documented here on TF! LOL!

My adult kids have zero interest in mechanical stuff.

DAC
 
sure, why should they show being good with tools when they can drop their issues on Dad? Mine is just now starting to do some things for himself at 25. I know he had it in him because he was always helping everyone else (besides around the house he lived in/ grew up in), no matter how much or how nice the asking was...…
 
MFDAC said:
My adult kids have zero interest in mechanical stuff.DAC
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We are interested in GTs because of our mind set and history. Others our age are interested in other things; hunting and fishing, chess, collecting stamps, making money, etc., etc. It only stands to reason that the younger generations would be drawn to things that we have no connection to. They will simply have to pay us to do their repairs!
 
The generation in school and college now are mostly handicapped if it don't involve pushing buttons or keys. If they can't do it on a "Smart Phone" they are lost. Ask them to hand write out what they did today and we would not be able to read or understand it. Everything in "text" code any more and that don't make a nickles worth of sense to me. Guess I am just to old fashioned to cope but I get along just fine in my little piece ground.
 
dodge trucker said:
sure, why should they show being good with tools when they can drop their issues on Dad? Mine is just now starting to do some things for himself at 25. I know he had it in him because he was always helping everyone else (besides around the house he lived in/ grew up in), no matter how much or how nice the asking was...…
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Sometimes we are at fault by offering too much help. We forgot how we struggled in our younger years and looking back can see how it helped rather than hindered us.
One Instance: I see youngsters today always counting on their parents to babysit while they go off and vacation. We did that once when our first was a year old. After that, we did not go on an extended vacation until they were old enough to enjoy the vacation. Nothing like going to vacation places and hearing screaming kids. And we did not go on a vacation every year! Today's generation think it is a requirement.
 
dodge trucker said:
Well the (most of) "today machines are junk" comparisons come from working on 30+ year old iron vs today's. Sure if you have to take the machine to a shop for everything then staying with something with a warranty might be the way to go, but from what I see not only in my own yard and neighborhood but all over the place, things that break so easily today even though treated like eggshells, just didn't break on the older machines, or if it did it wasn't so soon after purchase. The older stuff was built to last, while the newer ones are built to be profitable at $XX price point. Even that old AMF was a better machine than alot of what can be bought new now a days.
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I disagree with this. First, that AMF tractor broke a rear transaxle axle, broke right off and rear wheel went rolling. It was fixed, but there was no internet to talk about it. We just got it fixed. There was no one to complain, no where to extol the virtues of old vs new, as I am sure that argument could be just as robust then as it is now.

I guess my biggest point is, there were cheap machines then (and many people bought them, broke them and disposed of them), heck, Cub Cadet themselves had a whole line of cheap lawn tractors. Most are scrap today, only the garden tractors live on. But, today there are 5XX and 7XX series of JD's, Cub XT3's, Simplicity GT which compares to a 700 series JD, those are NOT worse than the old iron, actually better.
 
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dodge trucker said:
sure, why should they show being good with tools when they can drop their issues on Dad? Mine is just now starting to do some things for himself at 25. I know he had it in him because he was always helping everyone else (besides around the house he lived in/ grew up in), no matter how much or how nice the asking was...…
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It's opposite for me, I end up working on my dad's stuff, I tought myself probably 95% of what I know, my dad has learned from me.
 
dodge trucker said:
And that's how it was with me too between me and my dad.
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X3 on that. My dad wouldn't even change his own oil. Iv taught myself what I know. Don't get me wrong dad put up with a lot of junk in his drive and even help buy my frist set of tools, but he got a lot of free work over the years lol.
 
Cvans said:
That's not always a bad thing but can get expensive. My two boys are good with tools so I don't have to work on their stuff.
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That's a good thing they are good with tools, but my kids do ok without the interest on their own. Even in college days I would work on their vehicles but they had to pay me for everything I used, including any tools needed for the job that I didn't have. Had to get them used to paying others later.

Lily'sDad said:
We are interested in GTs because of our mind set and history. Others our age are interested in other things; hunting and fishing, chess, collecting stamps, making money, etc., etc. It only stands to reason that the younger generations would be drawn to things that we have no connection to. They will simply have to pay us to do their repairs!
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There are many different interests and knowledge even in us old guys! I know a lot of guys my age that can't put together a two-piece jigsaw puzzle but they think they know it all! They will tell you how to do something then have someone else do the same job for them. Nowadays my kids still pay for maintenance and repairs, but it's not me---LOL!

My Dad had moved away by the time I was old enough to be interested in mechanical things, but my Mom pushed it on me pretty hard, which I was fine with. Still grateful to her for that. Whenever I made trips to go see Dad, I always ended up fixing stuff for him. He did a good job of his own maintenence on his stuff but wasn't real good on repairs. He had a 1969 Mercury Marquis that he put over 500,000 miles on that he maintained on his own and drove for 30+ years. He was a great electrician for a living and fisherman for fun.

DAC
 
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This is an older thread, but I don't check in here that often. I usually habit GTT.

I have noticed a decline of interest in most of the hobbies that I follow. There have been a number of good suggestions of why the tractor hobby is declining. One that I notice is the rapidly rising prices. I see on Craigslist in Roseburg an H23 with deck, tiller, and blade for $4500. What?! I realize there is an asking and a selling price, but still!

One factor I have noticed however is people are active in hobbies when things in their lives are stable, or at least perceived as being stable. Hobbies flourish during good times. How ever in the past 15 or so years, there has been a lot of agitation in the US, pension problems, stagnant income, rising costs, financial uncertainty, etc., not to mention all the political nonsense that has been going on. With the official rate of inflation at 2% per year, and that some claim that the actual rate being much higher, I am noticing many people I know struggling financially. I am seeing less discretionary income available for spending. Add this to the aging of what appears to be the last of the hobby generations, and I think we get the results I am seeing across the board in all the hobbies I watch.

For me time is another problem, or at least the lack of. I feel squeezed time wise trying to get done projects I feel are important to get done now. There may be a time of relaxation in the future for me when I can pay more attention to hobbies, but that time is not now.

Fwiw.

Regards,

Doug
 
Forget who said that the generation that’s in college/high school right now, couldn’t figure it out unless it was a cell phone but...

I suppose there’s a reason I’ve had names such as hillbilly, redneck, etc thrown at me at family reunions. I’d like to think I’m an oddball in my age group, mechanically handy.

Ok, mechanically handy and s**t coated most days because of my job. Blew off college for working full time on a dairy farm. Didn’t need a load of student loans to be happy with my job.
 
Greasy6020 said:
Forget who said that the generation that’s in college/high school right now, couldn’t figure it out unless it was a cell phone but...

I suppose there’s a reason I’ve had names such as hillbilly, redneck, etc thrown at me at family reunions. I’d like to think I’m an oddball in my age group, mechanically handy.

Ok, mechanically handy and s**t coated most days because of my job. Blew off college for working full time on a dairy farm. Didn’t need a load of student loans to be happy with my job.
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We need tons of young people who like to get their hands dirty! No it doesn't usually bring the BIG bucks, but being happy is the key to life, or at least to enjoying it.
 
Yes Sir. Worked in the oilfields as a hand and a welder, later sold oilfield equipment. Went to college in late 40s but ended up making less money than I ever did before.
Common sense, hard work and a good skill will get you more in life and be happier. Always been the black sheep in my Family and proud of it.
 
Greasy6020 said:
Forget who said that the generation that’s in college/high school right now, couldn’t figure it out unless it was a cell phone but...

I suppose there’s a reason I’ve had names such as hillbilly, redneck, etc thrown at me at family reunions. I’d like to think I’m an oddball in my age group, mechanically handy.

Ok, mechanically handy and s**t coated most days because of my job. Blew off college for working full time on a dairy farm. Didn’t need a load of student loans to be happy with my job.
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We have something in common Greasy, even though I'm 62! My job requires me to be mechanically handy and get covered in s**t at times too. I repair equipment at a sewer plant. Sometimes I think animal s**t would be better than dealing with human s**t!

DAC
 
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