He Buys, Repairs And Sells Auction Finds

2021 - Volume #45, Issue #2, Page #11

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Lar Voss has a profitable sideline business fixing up equipment he picks up at local auctions and reselling it. He often resells equipment at auction just a month later. It’s an old habit that he developed when he started farming.
“I retired from a career as an electrical engineer and started farming with a couple hundred acres,” explains Voss. “As I added more acres, I needed more equipment, and one thing led to another. I would go to the auction and see that one piece was pretty cheap compared to another that was in better shape.”
Voss figured he could spend a little time and money fixing up the lower cost equipment and still be money ahead. Along the way he learned to fix a lot of different types of equipment.
When he got into the hay business, he added fixing balers to his list. He quickly realized that while many people knew how to operate a baler, very few knew how to fix one. Before long he was buying balers, fixing them, and then reselling.
He still fixes up equipment for himself. When he needed a corn picker for limited corn acres, he hit the auction and found a 3-row pull-type.
“Usually, the snouts on old pickers are pretty well banged up,” notes Voss. “This one had some metal broken loose on one side of a snout and some worn through. It had been used a lot.”
Voss replaced the gathering chains and rebuilt the elevator chains and the husking bed, including all new rolls. “There were plastic brushes over the husking bed that were so brittle they broke right off,” says Voss. “The brushes and the gathering chains were the only parts I could get from Deere.”
Voss went online and was directed to JD Huskers, East Earl, Penn. They had everything he needed. (JD Huskers, ph 717 445-0990).
While Voss put a fair amount of time and money into the old picker, it looks and runs like new. “In its repaired condition, it is probably worth around $6,000,” he says. “It works fine for my needs and should for a good long time.”
Fixing equipment for his own use or resale usually means repainting it, which was one of his biggest challenges.
“Some people just squirt some paint on, but it’s a bit of an art to paint equipment well,” says Voss.
Hydraulics were another challenge at first, but now Voss works on them all the time. He pulls cylinders apart, replaces seals and replaces hoses with new ones he makes himself.
“I started out with a swaging tool,” says Voss. “It was set up for a particular size hose and fitting. Just put the hose in a hydraulic press and squeeze on the new fittings. Now I have a fancier machine that can do 90-degree fittings and more.”
Voss doesn’t understand why more farmers don’t make their own hoses. “I don’t know another farmer within 20 miles who makes his own hoses,” he says. “It’s not hard and saves money and time running to town.”
Voss is careful about the equipment he buys. Recently he picked up a 10-yard dirt scraper. The box had slipped out of line with the frame, but rather than fix it, the previous owner had welded steel plates on the side of the box to force it away from the frame. Other than that, it was in pretty good shape.
“We cut the plates off, took out all the bolts, and realigned it,” says Voss. “We rebuilt the hydraulic cylinders, installed new springs, and packed the wheel bearings and such. It didn’t even need new tires, which can be the biggest expense.”
The new springs, which cost $100 each, were his biggest out of pocket costs. “It was time consuming, but not expensive,” says Voss. “I paid $4,000 for it, and once I paint it, it will be worth $9,000 to $10,000.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lar Voss, 27455 WCR 15, Johnstown, Colo. 80534 (ph 970 204-9300; lar@larvoss.com).

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He Buys Repairs And Sells Auction Finds SPECIALTY/SERVICES Lar Voss has a profitable sideline business fixing up equipment he picks up at local auctions and reselling it He often resells equipment at auction just a month later It’s an old habit that he developed when he started farming “I retired from a career as an electrical engineer and started farming with a couple hundred acres ” explains Voss “As I added more acres I needed more equipment and one thing led to another I would go to the auction and see that one piece was pretty cheap compared to another that was in better shape ” Voss figured he could spend a little time and money fixing up the lower cost equipment and still be money ahead Along the way he learned to fix a lot of different types of equipment When he got into the hay business he added fixing balers to his list He quickly realized that while many people knew how to operate a baler very few knew how to fix one Before long he was buying balers fixing them and then reselling He still fixes up equipment for himself When he needed a corn picker for limited corn acres he hit the auction and found a 3-row pull-type “Usually the snouts on old pickers are pretty well banged up ” notes Voss “This one had some metal broken loose on one side of a snout and some worn through It had been used a lot ” Voss replaced the gathering chains and rebuilt the elevator chains and the husking bed including all new rolls “There were plastic brushes over the husking bed that were so brittle they broke right off ” says Voss “The brushes and the gathering chains were the only parts I could get from Deere ” Voss went online and was directed to JD Huskers East Earl Penn They had everything he needed JD Huskers ph 717 445-0990 While Voss put a fair amount of time and money into the old picker it looks and runs like new “In its repaired condition it is probably worth around $6 000 ” he says “It works fine for my needs and should for a good long time ” Fixing equipment for his own use or resale usually means repainting it which was one of his biggest challenges “Some people just squirt some paint on but it’s a bit of an art to paint equipment well ” says Voss Hydraulics were another challenge at first but now Voss works on them all the time He pulls cylinders apart replaces seals and replaces hoses with new ones he makes himself “I started out with a swaging tool ” says Voss “It was set up for a particular size hose and fitting Just put the hose in a hydraulic press and squeeze on the new fittings Now I have a fancier machine that can do 90-degree fittings and more ” Voss doesn’t understand why more farmers don’t make their own hoses “I don’t know another farmer within 20 miles who makes his own hoses ” he says “It’s not hard and saves money and time running to town ” Voss is careful about the equipment he buys Recently he picked up a 10-yard dirt scraper The box had slipped out of line with the frame but rather than fix it the previous owner had welded steel plates on the side of the box to force it away from the frame Other than that it was in pretty good shape “We cut the plates off took out all the bolts and realigned it ” says Voss “We rebuilt the hydraulic cylinders installed new springs and packed the wheel bearings and such It didn’t even need new tires which can be the biggest expense ” The new springs which cost $100 each were his biggest out of pocket costs “It was time consuming but not expensive ” says Voss “I paid $4 000 for it and once I paint it it will be worth $9 000 to $10 000 ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lar Voss 27455 WCR 15 Johnstown Colo 80534 ph 970 204-9300; lar@larvoss com

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