douglasspade

3 hours ago, anchadian said:

Simple solution is to deny bail to the rich and famous.

Deny bail to anyone until proven innocent!

6 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Got 25 rai of rice...don't even consider a tractor S/H or new.  It will never pay for itself.

Recap:

I pay 70K Baht yearly for about 60Hrs of shoddy tractor work done. (Although rethinking it might be half those hours!)

If in Five years at a cost of 350K Baht with 300 Hrs of work done, how is that not viable to buy a tractor in the 250K Range with lower hours as advertised? Why will the investment not return?

I will also work land for my mom in law and some family in the nearby village when and if needed. This may  reduce my investment period dramatically.

Besides at 40 jrs old I have another 20 jrs to earn it back, knock wood!

13 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

I just lost my appetite ...

My family do not eat my own grown paddy rice. I harvest and sell it wet. I cultivate 2 Rai of raised land separately where the flood line can not reach so it grow with the weeds and all chemical free. I cut it once late in the season as it does not dam water and because of that we harvest late in the season. Last year we had to cut it by hand as all the harvesters were already parked, broken or moved on to other villages.

After harvest and dry, a rice de-husker split the rice seed from the husks, broken rice and other foreign seeds. I usually end up with a 40-50% broken rice.

I mix the broken parts for chickens and duck feed, as I eat my own produced eggs and meat I dare not let those animals eat bad rice.

Although the rice is a poorer quality, it tastes way better than what is grown in the paddies. The paddy rice have a bitter after taste, like licking a new metallic spoon. Everybody in the village has that problem but to achieve a low broken rice percentage we blast the rice with "killer grass" to kill the weeds inside. My  herbicide is approved though, cannot speak for other farmers here.

Also my own fish from the ponds get sold of as I do not believe that it is safe to eat during and directly after the rain season as it fills with paddy water. I restock after we have pumped the ponds to sell the fish and water naturally refills.

If we do not kill the weeds we would need 2 times the amount of land to make a profit, then it will not be economically viable to farm rice in Thailand anymore. 50% broken rice fetch 6.2K Baht and 10% fetch 14.5K baht yesterday at our local silo.

Just banning these substances do not solve the Problem. I believe that random samples of the every delivery of rice to sell at the silo need to be checked for chemicals and priced accordingly. Only then there will be change.

If you'd see what some farmers spray to kill weeds on the sugarcane, which water washes up into the rice paddies, you will not eat Thai rice forever. The sugarcane debate in our village is heating up the past years as some farmers has had enough of crop failures next to the sugarcane fields. That is why leased land in some villages is so cheap next to sugarcane. I have 1.5 Rai that rarely produces, it is next to sugarcane.

Sugarcane is very resilient to chemicals especially when they are already rooted, so that land can continuously be blasted with chemicals. More farmers are turning to Sugarcane as the monsoon outcome has become so unpredictable and the price for rice continuously sinking.

That's my 1 Baht's worth for today, sue me!

6 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

It now  has  987 hours on the clock and has been been used  for  some tasks  well beyond expectations

That is 76,5 hours of work per year, pretty well done. With 987 hours on the clock I would consider your tractor to have many years of service to follow.

I expected the contract work prices in my village would have dropped by now as so many guys own tractors, but so far not. Big new tractors moving a few Baht's worth of grass running daily. Spending so much fuel, wear and hours it's justt not viable in my eyes.

My mother in law feeds 8 cattle with just a scooter and a 10 year old trolley.

Hydro-static transmission is also not for me, hence I am looking for a manual tractor specifically even if it is an older model like the 45 or 34 series.

I am cautious, this investment can either make or break me, so I follow up on any hints even if it not actual advise.

48 minutes ago, IsaanAussie said:

But for me, a new tractor would be a Yanmar.

I'd love a New Holland TC48R Plus, but as a farmer I must think like a businessman. Yanmar, Kubota and Iseki are the manufactures to go for in Thailand. Although I agree Kubota by far owns the monopoly.

44 minutes ago, kickstart said:

I would say with the present climate you could well get a good deal.

Indeed the climate and the covid, seems there more people who "need" to part with their hard earned property than before. Sad.

3 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

When I looked last some 7 years ago, the prices being asked for slightly 2nd hand tractors seemed very high. I was told that the reason was the deals at the time for new tractors were very low deposits and a non-payment grace period

You spot on, even now a new Kubota L4018 goes for 490K on their official web page and a slightly used one (500 hours) goes for 460K on Kaidee. The last advertised promotion for Kubota was July 2020, witch Google Translated of course:

Buy a Kubota tractor today. Used before next year's installment
Select a small installment of January 2021 or a large installment of December 2021.

That will allow you to use the equipment until you can pay, as you call it a 'grace-period' of 6 months or 18 Months. Hard to beat that!

Source site https://www.108engine.com/Tractor-Promotion/ has all the promotions up to date for most tractor brands. Some interesting stuff on that site.

29 minutes ago, thoongfoned said:

all the kubota dealerships around us (there are loads)

Looks like every major city and in betweens got a Kubota dealership, 7/11 beware! I have not asked directly but I have heard  - off the record - repo's being bought up by specific dealers and the tractors are taken there directly ???? and only a few stay behind in the back. Out of sight out of mind I guess. I believe the repo rate might be sky high.

Anyway, I will make a turn there and inspect the merchandise this coming week, will let you know what I find.

9 minutes ago, LogicThai said:

Here in Buriram

Just had a walk inside one of our rice paddies, not even sinking away. Grass and ants rule it. Nobody has even topped or thrown fertilizer yet. There is no sign of the monsoon rains here. You can still cross the Surin Province border river by foot, it's been like that since before April. Dry! I am dying to catch a river Barb!

No Frogs, No Crabs, No terrapins in my pond, just dragonflies ominously hanging over the buffalo dung that float around.

We are just 30km east from Buriram. May I borrow some water?

6 hours ago, farmerjo said:

So if your thinking 36hp,go with the 45

Thanks for that, I am rethinking as the L3406 is just on average 50K cheaper than the L4508 looking at hours and general condition of course. That is 5K Baht per HP difference for the same year model, it is worth thinking bigger. ;If I end up leasing 10 or 20 more Rai the I might work a smaller tractor to the bone.

And there are bargains, here is a 45 that has 1200Hrs (+/- 72000km) with relatively good tyres, comes with a fwd dozer with a new cutting edge and a 6 disc harrow with new discs. All for 268K and the first 400km delivery is free. That harrow in that condition alone is worth 30K making the price for the tractor only around 230K.

"bundling people into prisoner vans" ...  "At least 140 people were detained" - they need more equipment to handle the "Tens of thousands", maybe we can assist them with our submarines?

31 minutes ago, kickstart said:

That repair bill of 7 k sounds expensive, for such a small tractor

It was not just a repair job, it was a complete overhaul as the whole front axle was run with the original oils mixed with grease and dirt. Actually I was the first person to service that tractor since the tractor rolled off the floor. The hydraulic oil could not be drained, it turned into an awful smelling grease. I split the tractor to get that muck out. The original oil filter had a manufacturing date imprinted made in 1977.

Many wear and tear parts back in the day was brand oem parts that only fit that specific model. I had to do custom machine work on the axle and the bevel gear assemblies to get standard bearings to fit.

And that is why I need to be careful what I purchase, I do not want to get caught with expensive and hard to find parts in 10+ years from now, I need a late model local tractor brand with relative parts availability.

That said my little Kubota was build in '78, that makes us both 42 years old.

The rural people in Thailand can not do anything with a submarine in a rice paddy. Instead rather spend the money on relief for the nation during the covid epidemic and build better relations.  A country is only as strong as it's people, not it's meanest war machines. WW2 has taught us just that!

10 minutes ago, IsaanAussie said:

Iseki TS2810 circa 1985.

Man that is good HP but probably no 4wheel drive? '85 is a bit old and parts for those monsters are hard to find. I had to redo my front drive for the B5001 and that already cost me 7K just in bearings, seals, oils and a dammed pinion remedied by an engineering shop! 

I got a free Zen Noh ZL2000 from my mother in law in a terrible state that I started working on but second hand/refurnished parts just cost way too much. I have abandoned it now and waiting to strip off the rear drive assembly to build a trailer.

21 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Don't forget the attachments

At Kubota Buriram the relevant attachments to the 36 series: plow will cost 28K, the rotovator 64K, and a disc harrow instead of the plow 34K. Sure I can get most of that second hand for under 100K. I will build a trailer, 3point carry all and brush hog myself, that maybe 50K.

There are agents that rent balers in our area for 750 per day, of course my wife will only tell me that yesterday... I was wondering why all of a sudden every guy in the village has a brand new red baler when the rice chaff needs baling... ????

20 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

 lot of old stuff

How old is old? What tractor is it?

I've been in TH for more than a year permanently (lost my job then covid hit...) Farmed rice for the past 3 years with my wife on leased land and also on our own. I pay 600 Baht to plow and rake a Rai, and another 300฿ to mulch it after I mist it. I can not choose when to do this and have to rely on others. Kindof feeling slightly helpless knowing I can do it better and in my own/right time and enjoy it. I drop over 30K฿ on machine rental just to get the rice planted. Another 20K฿  flies just to get cover crop on, and another 20K฿  flies to re-establish the soil to support pasture for the rest of the year. That's 70K฿  Baht a year for an average of 60 Hours of work per year, recorded over 3 years.

I have a little Kubota B5001 to plow and mulch another 2 Rai within my village producing corn, millet, sunn hemp, Beans, pigeon peas, pumpkins, ground beans and grass. I rotate 2 crops successfully every 3 months. I also have chickens, ducks, a few cattle, and stated with fish this month but an ATV does the runaround for that.

I need a Tractor for handling 25 Rai of rice crop and cover crop in the monsoon season and 10 Rai of pasture, manure, baling and general mowing in the dry spell. I have reckoned on roughly 100 to 150 running hours in a mad busy year. With a small budget and not wanting to go into debt I was looking at older tractors like the Kubota L4508, is that adequately sized? They go second hand for about 250 to 300K฿? Most guys around have M series and work only 20 Rai while others have the 36 series that run 50+ Rai. Anyone can give me some ideas here?

Hi gents, As I have resolved my issue and herewith a few replies:

On 2017/06/21 at 3:24 PM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

So many posters paint all Thais with the same brush

Guess that is the 'Western' farang's first problem. And in turn for our poor judgement towards others, everyone gets aggravated. It's so unhealthy.

On 2017/06/21 at 4:12 AM, ben2talk said:

That person must have collateral so that if your repayment on the matter, you can simply go to court and collect.

I have heard from the collateral land thing, as well as gold and other valuable things. If you do lend money with this collateral in mind in mind, it's best not to lend, as you already know the person will not be able to pay money back.

Lending money is the risk of the lender, and they should be responsible if they have not done their homework if their monies do not not get returned.

On 2017/06/21 at 3:20 PM, Rancid said:

Just had to take a peak at this topic, hope the OP follows the advice...

Unfortunately, not all advice on these forums reflects the truth. But we read it, and judge for ourselves.

On 2017/06/22 at 6:39 AM, pgrahmm said:

Keep your eyes wide open....You're not really a family member - but you are useable....

Agreed. Expats are walking-talking ATM machines. I am extremely hard ass about giving out my hard earned cash, hence this Post.

On 2017/06/22 at 1:57 PM, surangw said:

call it a gift ( an be ready for the    other  distant family members lining up for the same deal)

100% right! In life there are no money gifts, especially among in-law family. And I do not care if it is disrespectful or not, money borrowed should be paid back in one way or the other. Farang's should not played when it comes to money, since the money is yours, you should lay down the law!

So the outcome:

I was advised to get a document called 'Suretyship Agreement' from another Thailand Expat website forum. I  have recently made an acquaintance (through that forum) with an expat lady working for an international construction company as their Thailand side lawyer. She went over the simple process with me and confirmed it will hold up in court as it has been done so many times before. My new (farang proposed) Thai lawyer has also agreed to the process and has showed me through a file of similar cases of these agreements both between Thai and non Thai citizens. Some documentation was even translated to French! He will hold a copy of the documentation for the loan period as an 'extra measure' as may both of the original documents are handed to the parties involved. Once 30 days of the money return date has reached without a callback from any of the parties involved, the documents expire from his office. In any case, you can go to any lawyer with the documentation you have in your hands, it will stand in court.

The 'Suretyship Agreement' (after translation) can be found in most larger stationary shops and the document is in Thai writing of course. Take your Thai wife along. It's a single page document. Translated it to English by a translator (I used a friend teaching me Thai). a Set of 2 documents in Thai language, and a set of 2 documents in English language. All documents signed by the parties and 2 witnesses (one a Thai and one a Farang , anybody over age, doesn't have to be a farang or Thai though). Copies of all involved ID cards and Visas. The Lawyer took only 5 minutes to look the documents over, (He reads and speaks English fluently) Was happy, 500฿ for his services.

Done deal. You can by law lend money to a Thai and according to all the sources I have researched and investigated - get it paid back if the poop hits the fan. In fact this is almost exactly how we do it in my home country. I was so amazed after so many said it could not be done.

Talking  nonsense on this forum may earn you reputation points, but it  doesn't earn you no respect!

To everybody who has positively contributed to this thread, I thank you for all your help.

3 hours ago, oldhippy said:

Shame on you.

Please read the original post please. You still haven't read it.  Again.... See the words " As an Example: " is stated clearly.

If you and the others had read the post thoroughly before jumping the gun, this thread would have been much more fun and informative.

Stop wasting thread space Please.

Shame is now on you!

23 hours ago, oldhippy said:

If your post was not a wind up, it must be the worst written / thought out post of all times!

Since you did not bother to clear up this so called misunderstanding until now, I can only assume that it was a wind up.

Whatever, wind up or stupidity, you have been wasting everybody's time.

Shame on you.

 Actually, if you do read through the Post properly and thoroughly, you will get the message and the question.

It seems that most people on this is site is extremely apathetic, a lot to say know it all's, windbags of note.

I have had more than enough replies and comment's and a laugh here and there. I have solved my predicament. Thanks to everybody who has contributed to my 'silly' problem.

My GF's Auntie's roof is perfect. I simply used this scenario as an example! EXAMPLE! I wrote that in the post!

Is there a legal document in Thailand that I can present to a court that prove money has been loaned to a person who agreed to pay it back! Simple!

21 hours ago, tonray said:

100,000 baht for a roof ?

21 hours ago, douglasspade said:

As an example:

Don't read between the lines... just read the post!

How do I cover myself if I lend money to a Thai relative? Actually how do an Expat cover himself when lending money to a Thai person in Thailand?

As an example: My GF's Auntie's roof is in disrepair as the rain season just hit. The rice season has only begun so the coffers are a bit dry. So are the rest of the family. Thy need 100K฿ urgently.

If I lend her 100K฿, what can I do legally to ensure I will get my money back? I do not want to be disrespectful, but I need to be legally rooted.

In my home country if you borrow/lend money you simply draft a detailed contract, get it stamped by the police, put the bank transfer slips with the contract, and it's a legal set of documents.

Thanks for reading and replying.

On 2016/12/14 at 6:01 PM, kannot said:

looks  like Triump rip offs  to me

Or maybe a slash - Yamaha SR ripoff? But with an 800cc engine is quite big. Not a fan of Kawa personally, but also not have the cash for a Truimph! 

.....

Also the VANVAN 200; We had something similar in my home country - called the Yamaha TW200. Total little monsters .... anyway, its seems that he VANVAN is a mix between the TW200 and the Yamaha AG200 (we called the AG the poor' mans Ténéré, they were unbreakable!). At 129Knot a bad price ... I will spray my tank white!

13 minutes ago, beano2274 said:

There is no Permanent Resident Visa you will get a Non Immigrant Visa. If you work in Thailand for 3 years and have paid taxes then you can apply for permanent Residence, there is a pinned topic about this on here.

Does this mean I can not have a bank account? or buy a vehicle or property?