LoneCowboy

Well, as I've mentioned before, 1. my service area is huge and 2. for mowing and simple jobs I typically bid over the phone. It simply isn't worth it for a few hundred dollar mowing job, most are fine, sometimes I'm way wrong, sometimes people lie or fail to tell the whole bit about their job.

Get this job today, way on the south end of town (hour plus away), but it's ok because I have to deliver a chicken coop down there, so we'll do both at the same time. (yeah)

lady says on the phone, "it's for sale, 3 acres"
I give her price, we go ok.

Get down there and I realize it's going to be bad.

1. There is simply no place to turn around and the road is too narrow and too steep to park on. Drive in and make really cool trailer skid marks on her driveway as I turn around.
2. It's just weeds in among half finished landscaping. it's not 3 acres with a few trees here and there. it's going to take hours.
3. it's on a 45 degree slope!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm pretty darn fearless and I'll go up and down lots of slopes (and sideways across ones I shouldn't)
I get going, having bad feelings (and a little upset, because clearly this should have been mentioned, it's obviously not a 3 acre pasture). She keeps saying "well the last guy did this" Yeah, well i see the last guy told you he wasn't coming back.

I do this little mostly flat part.
I start down the big hill, i get to the bottom and realize that if I turn around it's got a damn good chance of going over. And there's 2.5 acres more of this.
No, this simply isn't worth it.
backed the tractor back up the hill, put it back on the trailer and told the wife to go tell the people that we're not going to do it, no bill, no nothing.

Even my wife said "my husband is never afraid, he's afraid, sorry"

They gave us $20 for gas, which I never asked for (obviously they felt guilty, they should)

bah,
But I had horrible images of a 35k tractor on it's side 1.5 hours from home.

Brian H
Longmont CO
Pasture Maintenance
NH TN75DA, NH TC45D,
06 Chevy Duramax 2500HD
03 Freightliner Columbia MBE 460

PaulChristenson

From the following Safety Thread...
Lucky... - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum & Discussion Board and Best Place for Tractor Information on the web!!!

Paul in VT

I used to own an ant farm but had to give it up. I couldn't find tractors small enough to fit it.
-- Steven Wright

LoneCowboy

wow, that is pretty flat, I go over worse than that all the time.

no, this place was the side of a cliff. (not quite, but sure looked like it)

Brian H
Longmont CO
Pasture Maintenance
NH TN75DA, NH TC45D,
06 Chevy Duramax 2500HD
03 Freightliner Columbia MBE 460

irwin

Many years ago I was told, when people want you to do something they will lie, or omit important information. It put like this " how can you tell when ( fill in blank ) is lying? ans: their lips are moving"

And Paul that's too bad, and it looks like it was entirely avoidable. At the same time a deep rut hidden by high grass, it pays to be extra careful.

.... Tim

Dougster

Oh Lordy Lone!!! And here I thought you guys out west were fearless!!!

{Note: this (i.e., working slopes) is one major reason why I bought the ULDM.}
Sounds like many properties the GF and I have looked at recently up in New Hampshire.

Dougster™

Mickey

Brain, if this a somewhat reg experience, I'd have a list of questions to help bring out the truth before making the trip and if things are not as represented, there will be a surcharge. Not sure what the answer is if when you get there the job isn't worth doing due to price quoted or safety related issues.

In the end it all boild down to it's part of doing business. And Tim is certainly correct, some people will do anything to get someone to come out. Whether it's wanting someone to do a job like in this case or their are trying to sell something and TRUTH will prevent both.

1970 Bolens 1257 w/tiller
2005 Cub 3204 48" deck
Yanmar Fx24D
5' Howse rotary mower
RSB 1300 Yanmar tiller

PaulChristenson

Read the thread...it makes me wonder what he was doing...he states he had mowed this BEFORE!!...

Paul in VT

I used to own an ant farm but had to give it up. I couldn't find tractors small enough to fit it.
-- Steven Wright

LoneCowboy

90%+ of mowing jobs, this works fine. Occasionally someone fails to mention something and we don't make much money (i.e. the weeds are 8' tall), but this is the first one i actually just wasn't going to do.
In the long run (at $5/gallon) this pays off, at least for mowing. It just isn't worth driving around unless it's some really oddball property.

Brian H
Longmont CO
Pasture Maintenance
NH TN75DA, NH TC45D,
06 Chevy Duramax 2500HD
03 Freightliner Columbia MBE 460

Edster

If you're gonna do slopes ya need one of these. Couldn't find a good picture. The only thing I could get was the pdf file and of course it's too big to upload, so I'll just post the page and ya can down load the pdf yourself. This is a snow machine, but look at pagse 12 and 13. They have a bed mounted winch, that rotates 360 degrees, the winch also pays in and out at the same rate that the tracks are moving.

If you're gonna do steep slopes this is the set up for you.

Dougster

Ed - Do I understand correctly that you use one of these to get home to the North Pole each winter night?

Dougster™