The tractor stays where it quit. Napa’s mechanic drives out to it.
A tractor that lost its hydraulics halfway down a row, or a sprayer whose pump went quiet with a full tank aboard. None of them were built to be driven to a workshop, so the workshop comes out to the gate, from American Canyon at the southern tip of the county.
- Day and night, all week
- No hourly minimum
- A real number before we roll
- Tractors, gators, sprayers, implements
Machinery that was never meant to visit a shop
Napa is vineyard and winery country, and the machines doing that work spend their whole lives off the pavement. None of those machines belongs on Highway 29, and a sprayer with product in the tank is not going onto a trailer. So when one of them stops, the realistic choices are hauling it out or getting a mechanic to come to it, and the second is most of why people around Napa keep this number saved.
Plenty of repair outfits will not touch farm equipment, and the ones that will usually want it delivered to their door. That works badly in the middle of a season, when moving the machine eats a day of work before anybody has even looked at it. Diagnosing it in place means the first thing you learn is what is actually wrong, rather than what it will take to get it somewhere.
Machines we seeTractors, gators, sprayers and the implements behind them, along with the trucks and trailers that move them between fields.
Where we meet itThe field gate, the equipment yard, or the exact spot in the row where it stopped, provided there is room to work safely.
What you payThe price, settled on the phone before the truck leaves, with nothing billed by the hour. Send the details if the machine can sit until morning.
Where a stopped machine usually gives up
- HydraulicsLift arms that sag, a three-point hitch that will not raise, a loader that drifts down with nothing in the bucket. Usually a hose, a fitting or a control valve, and pressure readings point to which one before anybody orders a part.
- ElectricalMachines parked between seasons collect corroded grounds, chewed wiring and batteries that drained on the shelf. A large share of no-crank calls end right here, fixed where the machine sits.
- Fuel and air on a dieselA tractor that starts, then stalls under load or smokes when it works hard, is often starving for fuel or air. Filters, water in the fuel and intake leaks all get checked in the field.
- The implement itselfSometimes the tractor is healthy and the trouble is what it pulls: a seized bearing, a sheared pin, or a hydraulic line to the implement that has rubbed through.
Equipment we work on in the field
Each of these shows up on Napa calls, and the faults overlap. A gator that will not start and a tractor that will not lift can share the very same corroded ground strap.
Tractors
Diesel faults, hydraulics, PTO trouble, starting and charging problems, and the slow leaks that grow until they stop the day. Worked on where the tractor stands.
Gators
The runabouts that carry crews and tools down the rows. They sit idle for weeks, then get asked to work every single day at once.
Sprayers
Pumps, lines, nozzles and the electrical side of the controls. A sprayer stranded with product still in the tank goes to the top of the list.
Implements
Mowers, tillage tools, planters and whatever else hangs off the three-point hitch or the drawbar. Bearings, pins and the hydraulic lines that feed them.
Trucks that haul it
The pickups and work trucks moving people and machines between fields need looking after too, ideally on a schedule rather than in the middle of harvest.
Trailer tires
A flat on the trailer carrying a tractor is a breakdown of its own. Trailer and work truck tires get handled as readily as anything with a seat.
Servicing it before harvest asks for everything
The cheapest farm repair is the one done during the quiet weeks. Ahead of harvest, a machine that has sat since last year gets its fluids, filters, belts, hoses, battery and hydraulic connections gone over by somebody who knows what tends to fail first. That visit happens at your yard on a day that suits you, and anything worn gets replaced while there is still time to order it. It is the same mobile farm equipment repair we do year round, booked ahead instead of called in.
During crush nothing waits. A tractor down in the middle of the season costs far more than its repair, because the crew and the schedule stand still with it. Those calls are seen the same day, in the row or at the gate, and we would much rather find the weak hose on a slow afternoon than replace it in the dark during the busiest week of the year.
What gets finished at the field gate
Knowing this up front saves everybody a wasted afternoon. Most machine faults can be found and fixed where they stopped. A few cannot.
- Fixed where it standsHoses and fittings, filters, batteries, starters, alternators, wiring faults, belts, fuel and air problems, and most of the small leaks that end a day of work.
- Found on site, finished on a return tripWhen the right part is not on the truck, the diagnosis still happens on the first visit, and you know exactly what is being ordered before anything gets bought.
- Needs a press or a liftInternal transmission work, a major engine rebuild, or anything that must come apart on a bench with heavy lifting gear. You hear that on site, and the diagnosis goes with the machine.
- Not safe where it sitsA machine stopped on a slope it could roll from, or half on a road shoulder, gets made safe or moved before anyone puts a hand on it.
- The call that saves a trailerDescribe what the machine did before it quit. A good share of farm calls turn out to be the fixed-in-place kind, and you find that out before paying to haul anything.
We don’t charge hourly minimums or leave anyone stranded.
From the owner
From Highway 29 to the field gate
We come up from American Canyon on Highway 29 or across on Highway 121/12, and Silverado Trail is the other road we lean on most. Fields, equipment yards and winery lots across Napa are all in reach, with neighbors like Yountville on the same run. The Napa page covers everything else we do here, and there are more photos in the gallery.
Asked from beside a stalled tractor
Short answers to what comes up most. Anything else is quicker over the phone.
Can you get to a tractor that stopped in the middle of a row?
Usually, yes. Tell us how the row is reached and whether there is room beside the machine, and we plan the approach before setting off. If the truck cannot get close, the tools come the rest of the way on foot. A machine on a slope gets checked for safety first.
My gator will not start after sitting for months. Is it worth a call?
Yes. After a long spell parked, the usual causes are a flat battery, a corroded terminal, stale fuel or a ground strap that has worked loose. All of those get handled where the gator sits, and if the battery will not hold a charge it gets replaced on the same visit.
Do you work on hydraulics in the field?
Yes, and it is one of the most common farm calls we get. Leaking hoses, failed fittings, a hitch that will not raise and a loader that drifts all get traced on site with pressure readings. If a component needs a bench rebuild, you hear that before anything is removed.
Can you service our equipment before harvest starts?
That is the easier visit for everyone. Fluids, filters, belts, hoses, batteries and hydraulic connections get checked at your yard on a day that suits you. Worn parts get replaced while there is still time to order them, instead of failing during crush when nothing can wait.
What happens if the repair really needs a shop?
You get told on site, along with everything we found. Some jobs genuinely need a press, a lift or a bench, internal transmission work being the usual one. The diagnosis is yours to keep, so whoever takes the job starts from an answer, and you pay only for work we actually did.
How is a call at night or during crush priced?
The same way as any other call. There is no hourly minimum in the busiest weeks or the quiet ones, and the price gets settled on the phone before we set off, so that is the number you pay.
A stopped machine in Napa, any hour.
The phone reaches the mechanic who will turn up, not a dispatcher reading a script. Say what the machine is, where it stopped and what it did right before it quit. Before the call ends you will have a price and a window for when the truck reaches your gate.
HoursMonday to Sunday, 24 hours
Based inAmerican Canyon, CA
NearbyJump starts · Oil changes · Contact