I am hoping to do my arena this fall. It will be time to bite the bullet and buy a tractor to maintain the footing I want at that point. I’d love to build a shed too, but I just can’t swing all the big bills at once. Is it really bad if a tractor lives outside for a few years? I have no idea…my gut says it isn’t ideal…
TIA.
Ideal and can it are two very different things.
It is not ideal but it can happen with out being the end of the tractor. Lots of tractors live outside.
We bought one of those “cover all” tent/awning/tarp things to park the tractor under during the summer when we keep the mower hooked up. It works pretty well, helps with the sun baking it, holds up in even the strongest storm winds. In the winter, we take it down and keep the tractor in the barn. But there are certainly plenty of times the tractor lives “out” for different reasons
Ours lived outside for a few years while we were short on covered space. It’s not ideal, and ours was already old (so fewer electronics to be impacted potentially). The biggest issues was that the seat was sometimes wet when you wanted to use it, and we had to make sure that no one had moved in if it was parked for any length of time.
Lots of tractors live outside. You’ll definitely get more rust and paint fading. You’ll need a new seat every 5 years.
It’s a tractor, not a museum grade classic car. If it needs to live outside, it needs to live outside, you’ll just depreciate it faster.
Lol. Our tractors live outside except when a significant snowfall is forecast and I don’t want to clean it off.
My tractor has lived outside for the last 10 years and doesn’t really seem any worse for the wear. I suppose it might be a little faded. The seat only had to be replaced because when the diesel froze in -25F in my barnyard the horses ate chunks out of it. Otherwise it was in fine shape.
If you’re worried, those “garage in a box” things are cheap. Like this one. IIRC, that’s usually $160 at one of their sales. We picked one up used for about $100, I think it was?
I would do it if you have to. Also I would get a tarp. Cover it up so your seat doesn’t get wet all winter.
Mine sits outside in warm weather. I just tarp the seat and instrument area to keep the rain off. I make space inside in the winter because I don’t want it buried in snow if I need it for plowing.
Tires break down faster in the sun too.
We bought a sea-can to house our tractor. Might be an affordable way to have a tractor garage vs building one.
Kept ours outside, often (but not always) covered with a tarp, until we bit the bullet and built a shed.
You don’t need a heated, enclosed garage (although if you have one you’ll find winter tractor use MUCH more pleasant 
). But a cover to keep off rain, snow, and sun can be a very good investment. Tractors are costly and leaving them outside is not the best program. A simple shelter can be rigged for not much more than a couple of hundred bucks. It will pay for itself quickly in reduced depreciation (the real kind, not the the one the CPA calculates) and reduced maintenance.
G.
Our tractor was free (hand me down from my dad) and is quite old, and it lives outside. Not ideal, but just the way it has to be, and we haven’t encountered any issues that make us think, boy, we need to put up a house for this thing. It has a cab, so I think that helps. We mostly deal with rain here, not much snow, so the few times we need it for plowing, it does take a bit of effort to clean off, but that’s only a couple of times a year.
My JD 5525 bought new in 2005 and cost as equipped over $45,000. Has lives outside 90% of the time. The paint is a little faded. No rust, no problems at all. In a perfect world I would have gotten around to building an equipment shed. Other needed things always seemed to rise to the top of the list.
I would be careful about tarping it. Unless the tarp is off more than on. It traps moisture, condensation etc. IMO and experience that is worse than getting rained on and drying out soon after.
Well, the 1946 Massey has always lived outside, under a tree to reduce sun wear on the tires…the new fancy 2014 one lives inside. Mice get at both.
I second the caution on tarps, they do catch condensation inside. They also can cause severe paint rubs in the wind, and possibly even wear at the protective fabric on hoses. My preference would be a fabric structure with some sort of frame to reduce those issues. Or simply a tarp on the instrument panel/seat.
Tractors are like cars, nice to have a garage for them, but do fine outside also.
Dealer lots have cars and tractors outside.
Outside does no harm other than hail, of course.
To keep a car or tractor like new, then inside when not in use will do that.
It helps a good resale/trade-in value when you let it go.
My Kubota lives outside most of the year…it’s only in the garage during the “snowy” part of the year and that’s merely so that it’s easy to get to and start the plowing process for the one or two times I actually need to plow. It’s been outside since 2002. 
I’m about to replace the seat and do have to replace the seat belt ever few years, but otherwise, zero issues. And no rust, either, other than on the FEL blade and digging part of the backhoe where the paint gets rubbed off from use…and that’s only surface rust.
This is a good point.
The tractor places near me do not keep them inside.
A tractor left in the weather will age twice as fast as a tractor under a simple shed. Tractors are expensive. Non pollution or electronic controlled tractors while older, are desired. Let your purse decide.
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