A few years ago I sold my bulldozer (see picture below) via this web site to a buyer in McAllen, TX. He sent a semi truck to SD to pick it up. The buyer was so excited about finding it that he paid me more than I'd asked for it! My decision to sell it was prompted in part by my discovery of how hard it was to replace a track that I threw off while burying a rock pile.
There was one project left undone when the bulldozer was sold. There is a half mile of fence line on my farm that is almost buried in dirt, which over the years, the wind has blown up to it, A dirt path next to this fence connects to another field. Because of the dirt that has drifted in over the years the path is now several yards from the fence. With the bulldozer in TX, I began thinking about hiring someone with a maintainer...also called road grader or a blade...to do the work.
Perusing my favorite web site a couple of weeks ago to look at the tractors for sale I noticed a road grader for sale. "Perfect" I thought...except "it's too far away." It was at Cedar Falls, IA, which is 340 miles from my farm. "Fine". I thought. "this is such a gem it will sell immediately so I'll wait a week to call, it will have been sold and I will say 'too bad I really wanted it' and the decision will be made."
Well......a funny thing happened...I called and it was still for sale. The owner answered all my questions, sent more pictures, some of which I specifically requested, and now I was hooked. Looking for someone more knowledgeable than I, T.M. came to mind. Knowing that T.M. didn't work Fridays about 8:30 a.m. Friday I emailed him the picture ad, added a note about my intention for using it, and asked his opinion. As soon as I sent the email I phoned T.M. and as he picked up the phone and before anything else was said he said "buy it."
There are times in this nutty hobby of mine I need a co-conspirator. This was one of those times. T.M. talking about how fun it would be was all I needed. With some negotiation the owner soon agreed on a price. So, this is the way I've become a proud owner of a road grader...though I have yet to see it in person.
There was one project left undone when the bulldozer was sold. There is a half mile of fence line on my farm that is almost buried in dirt, which over the years, the wind has blown up to it, A dirt path next to this fence connects to another field. Because of the dirt that has drifted in over the years the path is now several yards from the fence. With the bulldozer in TX, I began thinking about hiring someone with a maintainer...also called road grader or a blade...to do the work.
Perusing my favorite web site a couple of weeks ago to look at the tractors for sale I noticed a road grader for sale. "Perfect" I thought...except "it's too far away." It was at Cedar Falls, IA, which is 340 miles from my farm. "Fine". I thought. "this is such a gem it will sell immediately so I'll wait a week to call, it will have been sold and I will say 'too bad I really wanted it' and the decision will be made."
Well......a funny thing happened...I called and it was still for sale. The owner answered all my questions, sent more pictures, some of which I specifically requested, and now I was hooked. Looking for someone more knowledgeable than I, T.M. came to mind. Knowing that T.M. didn't work Fridays about 8:30 a.m. Friday I emailed him the picture ad, added a note about my intention for using it, and asked his opinion. As soon as I sent the email I phoned T.M. and as he picked up the phone and before anything else was said he said "buy it."
There are times in this nutty hobby of mine I need a co-conspirator. This was one of those times. T.M. talking about how fun it would be was all I needed. With some negotiation the owner soon agreed on a price. So, this is the way I've become a proud owner of a road grader...though I have yet to see it in person.
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| The bulldozer, now in McAllen, TX. |
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| '49 WD Allis Chalmers Road Grader...next stop SD. |
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