Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing

Sun Sep 3 10:30:15 PDT 2006

Your memory is just fine.  Here they were called tobacco sleds.  The first
I remember was a narrow version that was pulled in the field by a mule -
it would fit between the rows so no "blank balk" was needed.  My grandpa's
mule would pace the man cropping the row next to the sled so it was always
available for "unloading".  Later a wider version, requiring the blank
balk was pulled in the field by a small tractor - Allis B, JD M or 40,
Farmall Cub, 100, etc or one of those "pesky" Fords or Fergusons <g>.
My first tractor driving experience was trying to pull a sled in the field
with an Allis B.  Never could manage the clutch so the B was switched for
the Allis D-14 (I was so small I had to depress the clutch, knock the
tractor out of gear, release the clutch and then step on the brake.
David
NW NC

> Hey Charlie & others---help me see if my memories from 8-10 yrs of age
> are in the ballpark!  What I remember (from the early 50s, Wake County,
> NC, was a tobacco "sledge"---or "sled"??  just a long skinny box on
> runners..???  Pulled by a mule, and then later on by a JD M.   BTW, the
> M's exhaust manifold was a wonderful device to watch those big ol
> tobacco worms squirm on!!
>
> GeneW
> Elgin, IL
>
> charlie hill wrote:
>
>> Hi David,  we had some like that here too.  I almost believe those
>> were manufactured or at least started out that way and were copied.
>> We  started seeing them about the time we started seeing the first
>> "harvesters" not the new, automatic mechanical harvesters we have now
>> but the old ones that several people rode on that had the big chain
>> drive front wheel and usually a Wisconsin engine pulling it.
>>
>> Charlie
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Bruce"
>> <davidbruce at yadtel.net> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 7:57 PM
>> Subject: Re: Spam/Phish> Re: [AT] Towing
>>
>>
>>> The version here was two wheeled, on a metal trailer chassis with a
>>> wooden deck angled from the sides into the middle of the "trailer".
>>> The front and back were both made of wood and about 4 feet above the
>>> deck.  They were narrow enough to fit in the field in a "blank balk"
>>> (one row was skipped during plant setting to make the blank).  Those
>>> that ran on the county roads often also had a trap as a cover so the
>>> leaves could be tied down to prevent loose leaves flying.
>>> Mechanical harvesters are now moving in and the design of the
>>> "tobacco trailers" is changing again.
>>>
>>> David
>>> NW NC
>>>
>>> charlie hill wrote:
>>>
>>>> Al,  the first tobacco trucks I remember were 4 wheeled with a front
>>>>  axle that pivoted under the front of the "truck". (For those
>>>> following along Al grew up about maybe 60 miles from where I did and
>>>>  I'm sure he's seen these same carts)  The whole rig was made
>>>> usually  out of oak or maybe cypress.  If they were made of pine it
>>>> was  probably heart pine.  Even the wheels were wooden with a metal
>>>> rim.   They were only about maybe  10" to 1 foot diameter and about
>>>> 2 1/2  or 3 inches thick. The axle frames were wooden with a piece
>>>> of iron  rod about 3/4 diameter fastened to the bottom and extending
>>>> through  the wheel center with a big washer and a nail or something
>>>> holding  the wheel on.
>>>>
>>>> The deck of the truck or cart  (depending on where you live), was a
>>>> flat wood deck about 30" wide and just above the small wheels.  It
>>>> had a hole drilled in each corner and one half way down each side. A
>>>>  post, usually made of white  oak, was driven in the holes.  The top
>>>>  of the post had a nail driven in it with the head cut off.  A
>>>> burlap  curtain hung from the nails and encircled the truck to hold
>>>> the  carefully laid tobacco leaves in place. These were made to be
>>>> pulled  by mules.
>>>>
>>>> Later on we went to a "truck" that was about 3 feet wide and had one
>>>>  old car axle under the middle and a tongue to hitch it to the
>>>> tractor.  They had a bulkhead at each end and a burlap curtain
>>>> attached to a 1x4 that ran between the bulkheads at the top.  They
>>>> could be taken loose and rolled down out of the way when the load of
>>>>  tobacco got to the barn. Most of these were made of pine around
>>>> home.  They weren't intended to last as long as the old 4 wheel
>>>> type.
>>>>
>>>> Charlie
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
>>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>>>
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>>
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