Tractor parades

[Charlie M]

Question for you guys that go to tractor parades - are there usually some in the mix that are not all fixed up pretty? I might have a chance to take one to a parade later this year for the first time but none of mine are painted up and look nice. Mine are all good mechanically but mostly rust colored. Kind of hate to be the ugly duckling in the middle of all that nice new paint that might be there.

 

[J Hamilton]

We were in a parade today with one of our tractors, and it's not all painted up

 

[jd2cyl1943]

I've seen a mix of show girls and fresh off the farm tractors at parades. Besides, a lot of people like them in their work cloths.

 

[Gambles]

I go to a local tractor show (10 miles away) every year where it begins on Friday night and ends on Sunday night. At 3:00 PM on Sunday of every year, there is a a tractor parade for the people who wish to participate. About two months later, the organizers sell a calendar that will have your tractor in it (along with 11others) for $12. There are 4-5 different calendars printed to get everyone’s tractor published. About 1/3 to 1/4 of the tractors who participate are in their work clothes or have the faded original paint.
YMMV.

 

[SweetFeet]

Question for you guys that go to tractor parades - are there usually some in the mix that are not all fixed up pretty? I might have a chance to take one to a parade later this year for the first time but none of mine are painted up and look nice. Mine are all good mechanically but mostly rust colored. Kind of hate to be the ugly duckling in the middle of all that nice new paint that might be there.

Go for it.. rust is right "purdy"!

 

[EFV]

If they're good mechanically and will run the whole route pick a favorite and go.
BTW take a chain, it wouldn't be the first time a show girl got towed back home by
a man in work clothes !

 

[stevieb49829]

Out Christmas eve tractor parade is "run whatcha brung", But it's usually dark, and a lot of Christmas lights to blind the observer.

 

[560Dennis]

older I get the more I say ,better participate while I can

 

[Tony in SD]

The riders on this MM G144 combine (our Grandfather or Great Grandfather bought new. It is pulled by my Sons’s MM ZA. There is something to be said about original paint. We pull it though the local parade every year with as many of Grandpa’s descendants as possible. The candy, of course is M&M peanut (yellow pack). So IMHO show off what you have. Anybody can make it look pretty but not everyone can keep it running in a parade.

 

[Sleufoot]

The annual parade in McIntosh Minnesota which usually has between 75-100 tractors I would say that the majority of them are not show queens. I know that my 2 aren't.

 

[38 Sears Roebuck]

Question for you guys that go to tractor parades - are there usually some in the mix that are not all fixed up pretty? I might have a chance to take one to a parade later this year for the first time but none of mine are painted up and look nice. Mine are all good mechanically but mostly rust colored. Kind of hate to be the ugly duckling in the middle of all that nice new paint that might be there.

Don't be concerned about how it looks. Just get out there and enjoy it. My tractor is not show quality.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Put an American flag on it. Then nobody will complain because it means they "hate America." Even better if you're a military veteran and can find a way to put it on display. Then you can drive the whatever piece of junk you want, and nobody will say a thing.

Seriously, it doesn't pay to be self-conscious. If you want to drive your "patina" tractor in a parade, drive it in the parade. Let that freak flag fly!

 

[RedMF40]

Question for you guys that go to tractor parades - are there usually some in the mix that are not all fixed up pretty? I might have a chance to take one to a parade later this year for the first time but none of mine are painted up and look nice. Mine are all good mechanically but mostly rust colored. Kind of hate to be the ugly duckling in the middle of all that nice new paint that might be there.

As a spectator I like the original machines with maybe some battle scars and homemade repairs. I find them more interesting than the show-quality tractors.

 

[Gambles]

My attitude is that you take it, no matter what the condition.
If you take a tractor that is museum quality, IINVARIABLY some one will tell you that "you used the wrong color of paint!", even if you know it is correct. With a tractor fresh out of the field, you don't have to worry about that.

 

[3LFarms]

I regularly parade my 36 F-20. It’s been outside its whole life. Other than new tires, it definitely shows its age.
Still in their work clothes is fine, as long as it’s basically original, IMO. If you built a tractor out of three, it’s going to look like a Frankenstein-tractor.
Lots of people have told me that they liked the F-20 best because all the others were freshly painted. Most people at a parade can’t tell a brand new tractor from a restored 60 year old tractor. A rusty F series Farmall just screams “old”.

 

[Tgrasher]

Personally it doesn't matter to me, but I get a lot of people telling me nice tractor along parade routes. It's my reward for saving this tractor from the scrap yard.

 

[Tractorcedric]

For me the painted up ones are nice if they are done real good. Because you can see the work someone has put ino it. But the ones I like best are the ones that not only have work clothes on, but still working. I have three hooked to the hay equipment and if they go to a parade the equipment is still hooked up. Lots of bird stuff on the hood and ragged umbrella. Even though they stay hooked up, they are under roof.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Hang a good professional sign on it "1939 Farmall......and still at work" so folks understand just how old it is, and still at work.

 

[Tractorcedric]

Personally it doesn't matter to me, but I get a lot of people telling me nice tractor along parade routes. It's my reward for saving this tractor from the scrap yard.

I am with you there!!

 

[NoDakInMN]

To me, the restored one are pretty but tend to look the same, like they just rolled off the assembly line with a hundred other identical ones. The ones that still carry the scars of years of service I think have more character because it individualizes them. It's personal preference and it should not cause anyone to not show off theirs.