Thinking a little about Garnpappyin'

[The Bachelor]

Weird question here, but I gotta ask. It was nothing for me to think about getting my boys on a tractor and riding with me an all, but I'm having a feeling that my boys wife might not be as easy to convince as the boys mamma was (remembering back... she wasn't easy either). Anyway, been thinking about starting to plan for a tractor with a cab to allow the young ones to ride along with me in a way their mothers won't be thinking I'm about to kill em(the thought of climate control on my ol butt doesn't sound bad either).

Anybody take their kids or grandkids with em when there doing field work? Ever used those cab Jumpseats or something like that? How's it work??

Thanks,

 

[alabama]

I looked in a JD 7600 the other day with an extra seet in it. The farmer has young kids and they ride in it. It looked factory instaled to me.
I guess when my grand baby gets a little older I will need to get a new tractor too.

 

[MissouriExile]

I think the grandkids will remember the experience fondly for many years.
When I was a kid my uncle took me along on an extra seat (tied in) he had welded on his mule drawn mower and rake. I also rode with him on a mule drawn wagon piled sky high with square bales.
My grandfather took me on his small boat working trot lines on Kentucky lake.
My other grandfather taught me to shoot and hunt.
Finally; My father took me along on the huge locamotives that he engineered.

more that 50 years later I recall each experience as high points in my life.

Don't let the chance go by.
Jon

 

[shorty]

I will take the grandkids in the combine or tractor with cab, very seldom on an open tractor and then only around the barn never in the field. I have a friend who had his son riding on the fender while he was disking , he fell off and got under the disk before he got it stopped , he didn't make it . I think of that everytime I take them with me, I guess knowing that should be reason enough not to take them .

 

[rkm]

I rode with my dad. My boys rode with me and my grandkids ride with me. Not the same today because our tractors have cabs, but there is still danger. I have been told by some that I was a poor parent by doing this. I knew the risk and I probably couldn't live with myself if anything would happen. But I believe that the rewards out weigh the risk.

 

[Lammie]

I rode with my dad, too. Sounds terrible to say now, but I think I rode in the fender or stood on the toolbox and held onto his neck. Nothing safe, I promise. I never went to the fields with him like that very often though. I remember doing so once, when he was fertilizing a coastal field. I must have been no older than 4. I do remember him letting me steer the truck as he threw hay out the back. Mom had the gas and I had the wheel. Riding in granny gear.

My Uncle recently ran over his grandson by accident with a riding lawn mower. He came around the corner of the house as his grand dad was headed that way and the boy slid under. Almost cut off one foot and he lost his big toes and several other toes on each foot. Had to be air lifted to Oklahoma City. He's three. He has been learning to walk all over again. My uncle says he'll never be able to get on that lawn mower again.

Bad as it was, it could have been much worse.

 

[backhoeboogie]

My grandson has been on my Caterpillar for hours starting when he was about 8 months. His mom wasn't around. The Cat only has ROP. He hasn't ridden on the hoe or the tractor yet and they both have cabs. Grandaughter will be a year old in a couple of months and hasn't done any of it yet.

Some of my best memories of the wife's father was when he did things like sticking my daughter on a bale of hay in the back of the truck. She was not quite 2 years old. She wanted to ride back there on the way to town also but he didn't allow it. She followed him around everywhere. Unfortuneately he passed on from a heart attack at 52 years old. I got lots of pics of those two but not near enough. If I had only known. She doesn't remember him but she sees the pics I have of them together. He'd stop by our place and pick her up from us all the time. She'd chase calves with a stick and run them in the chutes. It scared her mother to death but she wasn't a bit afraid.

 

[cfpinz]

I rode with my father and grandfathers when I was a kid, sat on top the fenders like a fool. A man I used to work with was doing the same with his grandson, the child fell off and went under the bush hog. His grampa never was the same, fell off a roof to his death about two years later. Buy the cab tractor.

cfpinz

 

[6M Ranch]

First time I drove the tractor in from the field, by myself, I was three. Dad got it going, jumped off and drove behind in the truck. Used to sit on his lap and drive the car/truck, until I could reach the pedals myself. Drove a truck to the bus stop when I was nine. In today's world, you could never do this. My kids rode with me on the tractor until they got big enough to drive by themselves. I think each kid is different. There are kids out there today who shouldn't be driving in their twenties. A couple of years ago we went to Kansas to look at some cattle. Their twelve year old kid drove us out to the pasture. Wasn't worried. Like most things in life, no pat answer, depends on the individual.

 

[Lammie]

First time I drove the tractor in from the field, by myself, I was three. Dad got it going, jumped off and drove behind in the truck. Used to sit on his lap and drive the car/truck, until I could reach the pedals myself. Drove a truck to the bus stop when I was nine. In today's world, you could never do this. My kids rode with me on the tractor until they got big enough to drive by themselves. I think each kid is different. There are kids out there today who shouldn't be driving in their twenties. A couple of years ago we went to Kansas to look at some cattle. Their twelve year old kid drove us out to the pasture. Wasn't worried. Like most things in life, no pat answer, depends on the individual.

My best friend when I was in school, a little bitty kid, not even 80 pounds. She drove everywhere, including to school and back when she was in junior high. No one made a deal of it.

 

[Brandonm2]

I don't remember my first tractor ride; but I can remember sitting on the fender toolbox of my Grandfather's Allis Chalmers WD-45 at age 5 bushogging. My Grandfather had made a little safety rope that connected my belt to an eyebolt in the fender, though whether or not that would have held in a bind I have doubts. I was solo operating the tractor at age 7.....I was too small too operate the Ford 5000 because my feet couldn't reach the clutch while I was in the seat. The AC WD-45 had a hand clutch so I could stop the tractor; though I had to slide out of the seat to engage the foot clutch and pull the PTO control knob in or out, then jump back in the seat, grab the hand clutch, and go. No cab, no ROPS, no power steering. I never had any injuries, though I did drive a Case SC into the side of the barn once when starting (a Case SC, unlike a AC WD-45 will both start in gear AND the hand clutch does not have to be engaged for the tractor to start moving). I probably had a 1000 tractor hours logged by age 12. Though I had a wonderful time doing it, given a more informed view on safety today, I would not recommend that. The cab tractor definitely is worth it

 

[The Bachelor]

Thanks, sounds like a cab model is the way to go if I want to take them out.... and I want to take them out. I just looked on the deere site at cab tractors though.... :shock: Looks like I might have to sacrifice their inheritance..... (hope they still remember me fondly...)

 

[rkm]

Bachelor, the few thousand dollars for a tractor cab might not last them five minutes but riding on the tractor with granpa will be in their memory for ever.

 

[Brandonm2]

Yes, John Deere is now offering a second seat as an option.

http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/sale ... t_cab.html

 

[The Bachelor]

Yes, John Deere is now offering a second seat as an option.

http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/sale ... t_cab.html

Holy Cow!! Is that a tractor or an office!! I need to get out more. The ol straddle seat will never be the same now......

 

[Chris H]

Have you seen the ad's with the guy on the tractor and the title, "It's easier to bury a tradition than a child"? Just about every farmer knows some family where a child was hurt or killed in an accident.
I used to put our kids behind the seat, beside the window and they'd take a nap there while I was doing field work. But, I had to make sure the window was locked shut because they were small enough they could have fallen out if the window was open. Grandson is with us and I think the cows present a larger danger than the tractors did.
Do your best to protect them, the jump seats make it much more enjoyable for all involved.

 

[cowwrangler]

everyone needs to be careful even with a cab,had a guy here who had his son with him and the kid was hanging onto the door and it came open ,he fell out and the dad ran over him,he didnt make it

 

[TheBullLady]

It's like anything else in life.. you can take the risk and give the grandkids an experience they'll probably never forget, or you can be "safe" and they'll miss out, but you won't run the risk of something happening.

Accidents HAPPEN.. no matter how hard you try to prevent them. Heck, it's a risk getting into a car. I think it's odd that someone would question whether to do it or not. Be as safe as you can, and let 'em ride. If someone told me I was a bad parent / grandparent for doing it, I'd tell them to mind their own business and raise their own kids.