City girl meets John Deere
Our addition of horses has brought many decisions to be made including what farm vehicle will do the jobs that need to be done. So yesterday we took a trip to the John Deere dealership a few towns away. My husband talked over the features with the salesman while I tried to keep up with differences between the 3038, the 4000, and the F-16. He had done lots of research, like always, so he was prepared to talk tractor. They all looked the same to me - green. Some were just bigger than others.
Then they had me drive one, actually two. The first was an automatic, no problem. It had a enclosed cab, a/c, and a cupholder but big. The second was more my size. It was a small tractor but still those tires are just huge! They adjusted the seat but my feet still didn't reach the floor, just the pedals. No room for a purse on this one, hubby had to hold it. I got down the road a little way toward the really big ones and thought to myself, "Ok, which one would be harder, backing up or turning around without hitting one of those green monsters?" I decided on turning around. Upon doing that successfully, I decided to go for a higher gear. Forgetting about the clutch, I shifted up, grinding to a stop. Getting it going again, I bounced up and down in the seat swinging my feet and generally having a good time. Unbeknownst to me, the salesman was telling Wayne that I should always wear my seatbelt. Really, there is a seatbelt? Yeah, I should probably do that next time. For this city girl, meeting John Deere was fun. A chance to do something that I never thought I would be doing.
Then they had me drive one, actually two. The first was an automatic, no problem. It had a enclosed cab, a/c, and a cupholder but big. The second was more my size. It was a small tractor but still those tires are just huge! They adjusted the seat but my feet still didn't reach the floor, just the pedals. No room for a purse on this one, hubby had to hold it. I got down the road a little way toward the really big ones and thought to myself, "Ok, which one would be harder, backing up or turning around without hitting one of those green monsters?" I decided on turning around. Upon doing that successfully, I decided to go for a higher gear. Forgetting about the clutch, I shifted up, grinding to a stop. Getting it going again, I bounced up and down in the seat swinging my feet and generally having a good time. Unbeknownst to me, the salesman was telling Wayne that I should always wear my seatbelt. Really, there is a seatbelt? Yeah, I should probably do that next time. For this city girl, meeting John Deere was fun. A chance to do something that I never thought I would be doing.
What an adventure. I've never been on a tractor. You were brave to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, the tractor-shopping part of farming!We ended up with a 2001 JD 4120, which at 48 horse seems overly large to me on our little property but was priced too well to pass up. I have to admit, it's already coming in quite handy! I haven't driven it much yet, but I know I will. Did you ever figure out the differences between all the models? I could never figure out how the horse-power corresponded to the model numbers!
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