Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Neighbors that borrow

I loan out my pick up to neighbors all the time. I hate to borrow anything as I can screw up the moving parts in an anvil.

I watched my ex neighbor repeatedly hit rocks sticking out of the ground with his lawnmower blade to the point it bent the blade and it was making the mower shake violently .
I told him several times the replace the blade or he would destroy the engine but he ignored me.
When he finally destroyed the machine he could not understand why I would not let him borrow my lawn mower.
They became ex neighbors because they decided they liked drugs more than paying their mortgage and lost the house.

I've never taken any illegal drugs and darn few legal drugs but I actually agree with your neighbors that like drugs more than paying their Mortgage. I don't choose to do that but I like that choice better.

I just tell them, "Just drive down to General Equipment in Weaverville and you can rent a chain saw, nearly as good as the one I own that you want to borrow."

I don't lend out tools.

I'm lucky, none of my neighbors have ever asked to borrow anything. With that said, we have a tool rental place around the corner. I never borrow anything. I either rent it or buy it. If I borrow something, I always feel as though I owe them, thus required to load my schit out.

Couple of cousins of mine, brothers, we all grew up together. One will be certain to return everything in better than he found it shape. The other will tear the hell out of anything and “get you back later”. You can guess which one I don’t mind loaning stuff to.

We live out in the country with few near neighbors. Very little lending goes on as everyone generally has what they need, or they go buy it. I do loan my bulldozer to the one neighbor that I can walk it to, but I always run it. It is more common to give a helping hand to neighbors. I helped a couple move in and he helped me move (and rewire) a transformer. One neighbor (an elderly widow) asked if I would come down and use her tractor and tiller to till up her large garden. I told her that I preferred to use my tractor. When I finished she suggested that I take her tiller to our place on the understanding that if she needed her garden worked on I'd bring it down. It has worked well for 6 years. Good neighbors are a treasure and we always want to help if we can.

If I didn't loan my stuff out, I wouldn't have any friends. Includes tools, welders, steel, lumber, pipe fittings, nuts, bolts, wiring stuff. We are so far from hardware stores an stuff, it's just what we do. I insist on running the dozer, excavator and forklift myself mostly because everything is old and cranky. Hell, I loaned my best pickup to the UPS man to take to Idaho for buck season a couple weeks back. It came home with a fresh service and 500 bucks in the cup holder. Which I didn't keep, he's got new wife, new baby, and new to him house. I got great neighbors, we are the idiots of our village. Fires, floods, snow, power outages and hard times, we do it together.

I only loan chit to a neighbor if they have chit I wanna borrow too. Seems fair to me. My personal policy is if I’m using somebody’s stuff I’ll return it in like or better condition as when I got it. Works good



For example, I was borrowing a hay Tedder and the u joint on the driveshaft exploded. I bought new parts and replaced it.

#digk

I draw the line at money loaning

I loan out my track hoe for $100.00 an hour with me driving it.

Admirable, commendable, seems to be rather rare.

I got one neighbor who happens to be a long time friend. He is constantly borrowing my chidt with the exception of some things where I just say no way in hell. I tell him go buy his own stuff and he'll have it at the time he needs it. It doesn't sink in.

Then one day I was walking into his garage and overheard him telling his brother "don't go buy that kind of stuff, Jim has it all over there." I said "Bullschidt! Go buy your own stuff!" Scared the hell out of them. haha

Depends on the neighbor, depends on what it is.

I had a neighbor who actually asked if he could borrow my motorcycle. He had already wrecked one that he owned twice.

I said "no".

I return stuff cleaner than what it was and ready to be used.
I expect the same in reverse.

I don’t lend tools to people who can’t afford to replace them. I’ve worked too long and hard to be a charity. I’ll happily help you with using it but won’t leave my stuff in their possession. Power tools are off the lend list all together.
Let a buddy borrow a plug in mig welder, when I got it back it was burnt to a crisp, his reply when I asked WTF, “worked good for me”. No offer to repair or accept responsibility.
Lent another buddy a job site table saw, when I went to pick it up his neighbor was using it down the street from my buddy’s house. I took the saw and more or less told him don’t ask in the future.

You need better buddies.

I was taught that IF you do ever borrow something from someone, you returned it better than you received it ....recently, a good friend offered up his truck (he had an extra truck) as mine was in the shop getting a new engine....saving me probably $1500 in a rental truck....when his truck was returned it was washed, new oil change, repaired his A/C squirrel cage, replaced his blinker, lights, flasher assembly on the steering wheel. Least I could do. If my item isn't at least returned as loaned out you don't get another chance.