[Farmall] m

[Grant Brians]

On 11/24/2016 2:43 PM, John Hall wrote:
> Grant, hate to tell you but anything other than the double front wheel
> setup is unusual. Take a look in Wendell's 150yrs of IHC and you'll see
> what I mean. I'm in the Southeast and double wheels are the normal setup
> on ALL brands from the 1920's until they quit making them. I guess the
> reasoning was cultivation/row crop. We are fairly hilly but even that
> didn't push wide front tractors. I will say that for working tilled
> ground, I prefer a wide front. The only big tractor we have left is a
> tricyle front end 4020. Sometimes the furrows are so big you have to
> slow down to cross them. We had a wide front 4020 and a 4430 and we
> never backed out of the throttle on those. The tricycle did all the
> baling, bedding land (4 row bedder), and some bushhogging. It used to
> have to plow and harrow until a larger tractor came along. Its now an
> everything machine again with our small operation.
>
> John Hall
>
> On 11/24/2016 12:04 PM, Grant Brians wrote:
>> I was happy to see that picture. It reminds me that there are tractors
>> with that odd wheel setup that exist.... Here in California, I did not
>> see a tractor with that strange midwest setup with two front wheels in
>> the center in use until my 20s and even today they are beyond rare. Why
>> are they rare? Because wide front ends were and are used for field work,
>> loaders etc. and single front wheels were for cultivating, hay raking
>> etc. When needing to irrigate, those twin wheels are totally useless and
>> since most farming other than hills for hay or grain are irrigated
>> operations, why would anyone want them. For the hills, tracks or wide
>> wheels were and are used still.
>>                 Grant Brians - Hollister,California farmer
>>
>> On 11/21/2016 5:02 PM, John Hall wrote:
>>> Looks like we can post pics so here is one of dad's M right after we
>>> got through rolling a corn field to be planted in wheat
>>>
>>> John Hall
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
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John, I hope that you noted I said that in CALIFORNIA that the dual 
center wheels are rare.... I realize that in places where irrigation is 
not the norm  that setup was indeed the norm, but it does not work with 
irrigation or the hills we have. I actually drove one of those midwest 
setup tractors before I ever owned my first tractor (a 1949 Oliver 77 
three wheel tricycle that we still use) when I visited my great uncle in 
Illinois. The point of my post is to remind all of us that there are 
differences between areas in farming and equipment practices.

      By the way, I too have used the 90 degree turn to load a tricycle 
tractor as noted by mr. Puckett. It is a bit odd, but it works and is 
actually safe for an experienced operator. We still have and use a 
Farmall 240 tricycle, two Oliver 77 tricycles and converted one Oliver 
77 tricycle to factory wide front. The Farmall 100's and the 140 are 
wide front of course as they only ever came that way.

                     Grant Brians - Hollister,California farmer

                  Grant Brians