[AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion

[Grant Brians]

John, I actually have a 240 with cultivating bars. The issue with the 100
and 200 series tractors is that they were made for a light amount of weight.
They have small wheels and the wide front ends wear out the kingpins and
wheel bearings when loaded down in a harvest tractor configuration. The
parts are appropriately sized to the rest of the tractor, but are not made
to haul rutabagas, turnips, watermelons etc.... There is one other 100 issue
that I mentioned before - I am 6'6" tall and cannot fit into the seat area!
It would be even worse for my son, he is almost 6'8" tall and has quite a
bit longer legs.
     The harvest tractor issues are becoming exacerbated as we will have
well over 300 acres planted of vegetables this year on the current 185 acres
I am farming and if the new 100 acres gets added as planned to my operation
this season then it will be even more of an issue clearly.
          Grant Brians
          Hollister,California Vegetable, Nuts and Fruit farmer

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of john hall
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:17 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion


Grant. if you like the 100 but want something larger, maybe a 200 will do--I
think they made a 240 as well. Neither was ever very popular here. They took
the place of a "C. Unfortuanetly they'll have 2 pt hitch or a conversion kit
for 3pt.

John Hall

----- Original Message -----
From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 8:26 PM
Subject: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion


>     Here is my promised antique tractor post....
>     First, I could not make it to Tulare's California Antique Farm
> Equipment show over this past weekend due to overwhelming farming and
> family
> commitments. But Richard Walker was kind enough to bid on and get me some
> Caterpillar D8 parts. I "almost" also got a Cat R4 and various other items
> that went over my limit without being there.... Once again thanks to
> Richard
> for his assistance and a running commentary of the impromptu tractor pull
> of
> a Best Steamer tractor and a Holt early, early tractor. WOW!!
>     Second, as I have mentioned on the list before, we use both modern
> (1980's-2008) tractors in my farming operation and also antiques (1930's
> to
> 1960's). My foremen and I have come to the conclusion that using the
> modern
> diesel tractors for picking tractors in the manner that the employees use
> them is an exercise in futility when trying to avoid inappropriate usage -
> clutches being overused, alternators left on and running batteries down,
> breaking plastic parts, not understanding modern controls properly. What
> we
> have figured out works best is a good medium weight row crop tractor with
> a
> three point hitch that is before the use of plastics in tractors, that
> does
> not have too much power (between 35 and 65hp), travels at speeds from
> about
> 2.5mph to 10mph or so (not much higher) and also that has very simple
> controls and sturdy transmission and shifters. I happen to be partial to
> Oliver Row Crop tractors like the 77's, 770's, 1550, and 1650's because
> nearly all of the models meet those parameters. I have also been thinking
> that the late 60's to late 70's IH Farmall tractors might be a good choice
> too because there are still a fair number of them around.
>     So the reason I bring this to the list is that local to me there are
> really not many tractors in this class that are available and that I have
> experience with. The John Deeres of that era don't generally have a three
> point until the new generation and cost more and are less likely to be for
> sale. Allis Chalmers used to have a local dealership and there were lots
> of
> 160s and 180s sold, but I really have not played with them and the D-17s
> have a great reputation, but I don't have personal experience and my
> neighbor with one has had certain experiences that lead me to think it may
> not be best for this specific use. Can you pass along advice or better yet
> info about California tractors that might help me out? I WILL be acquiring
> at least 2 harvest tractors this year.... Currently we use an Oliver 770,
> a
> Farmall 100 (not sturdy or fast enough), a Ford 4610 (excellent tractor
> but
> the shutoff sequence seems to disagree with my pickers...) and various
> trucks. 4WD is not a help for this usage.
>                 Grant Brians
>                 Hollister,California farmer of Vegetables, Nuts and Fruit
>
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