Experiences using a tractor to pull a parade float

Experiences using a tractor to pull a Parade Float,good and bad.

Works fine, probably better than towing with a truck- you can select the gear you need, don't have to keep hunting around. Go higher gear and lower throttle, to keep the noise down. Make sure the brakes work.

It's fun to drive the tractor and wave to the crowd, but .....

if candy throwing is part of the "fun" you need to be VERY VIGILANT about kids running into your path to pick candy off the street. I average about 1 close call per parade.

My thing is to designate one person on the float to be the captain - the only one who tells me to start or stop. Otherwise you have 4 or 5 Moms yelling their version of stop/go.

I love doing it! Get to show off the tractor while helping some organization. "2 birds with 1 stone" kind of thing. Another suggestion, get some of those cheap beads that they use at spring break and Mardi Gra. The kids will drop their candy bucket and come running for the beads. Can't beat the look on the kids face when they get them.

Been in many just go slow and watch everywhere.

Tractor with a vertical exhaust is nice. 45 minutes behind the exhaust of a barely above idle tractor is not pleasant for the float riders.

My experiences have all been good. A few tips:

- Make sure the tractor brakes (BOTH sides!) work perfectly. Don't even consider pulling a float otherwise.

- Vertical tractor exhaust is mandatory. (An underslung exhaust can "gas" anyone riding the float in short order!)

- Run the highest gear/lowest RPM possible. This keeps exhaust noise down; it also makes starting up from dead stop stop smoother on your passengers. For my Super M and Minnie Mo U I find 3rd gear and the governor at low idle is perfect.

- Keep a sharp lookout for little ones during the parade! Especially if a unit ahead of you is throwing out candy, etc. A small child can suddenly appear under a wheel in a heartbeat.

- Smile, wave and have fun!

And the sights you will see. LOL

I hate to mention it but it is a good idea to check with your insurance agent to ensure you are covered in case a spectator (child in particular) is injured.

It is a bigger issue with horse drawn floats as the animals can become spooked and do crazy things. But in today's world you can't be too careful.

I wouldn't even consider it without liability insurance. Some moron or a young kid gets hurt and your ruined.

Never drove a tractor pulling a float, but I've had quite a bit of experience driving a convertible hauling various politicians, beauty queens, etc. When you own a convertible, word gets around and every parade in the country calls you.

The most fun are the 6 and 8 year old junior beauty queens. People along the route usually "ooh" and "aah" over them. Plus they often have a good lookin' mother in short shorts ride along.

The worst are the late teen and early 20's beauty queens. During the course of every parade, you can always count on 4 to 6 half drunk young studs running out and trying to get the gal to take a swig out of their can of beer. I had one crawl all the way up on the trunk, once, trying to get the gal to take a drink. I twitched the throttle and dumped him on his butt in the street. Got a round of applause for it!

I once hauled Ms. Senior Nebraska through a parade. She was at least 90, and had a similar aged lady friend with her. I don't think they even knew where they were.

I don't own a convertible at the moment, but I often said it was more fun to drive through the parade and see all the people than it was to sit and watch the parade go past.

Pulled several with my Farmall C. Make sure the brakes are locked together. Safty chains hooked two different places. Float riders should have a place to hang on. Don't shift gears if you don't have to. If it is an old Antique have a sign of what it is and age. Watch kids, but also old guys looking at the tractor. NO riders on the tractor.

In some long parades with a lot of cars, the cars speed up and slow down faster than a tractor can. I was reprimanded for being too far behind in a big long parade while driving a tractor with a band playing in the float I was pulling. The parade had been slow and all of a sudden the cars in the parade ahead of me took off. I couldn't accelerate nearly as well as them because I would jerk the band members accelerating and shifting gears. The parade was televised so I suppose they wanted a steady flow for the cameras.

I've been in probably 120 parades representing the local threshing show and my best experiences by far have been talking to other tractor drivers in the staging area. That and the good 'view' from the tractor seat (ahem). Jim

MY CASE -O-Matic 800 is usually in 6th gear at idle for a parade ,i just hold the brakes when there is a slow down and let it roll forward as the parade progreess , just like driving a car.. WORX GREAT , Except last year , at LANESVILLE HERITAGE WEEKEND SOMETHIN STRANGE HAPPENED thatcauht me by surprise . I had to Run the shuttle movin folx around,, while Friends got the float wagon and the 800 decorated,, the parade was underway and I literally parked the Shuttle Tractor and hopped on the 800 and started her up ,, stuck it in gear ,and NO GO ! ,, JUSTA JERK ! BOUNCE ! SLIP! ,, WTH happened to the transmission i amthinkin ?! ,thats when i looked down and saw the hydro clutch spool showing a quarter inch more shiney than normal .. Hoped off and saw the Clutch Rod had a BOW to It pulling the SPOOL too Far Out,. One of the Guys on the float was a big fella and i asked him to give me a hand straithten the rod by hand, Which We did with Some effort..And The Case -O - MATIC was JUST WORKING FINE , THEN... It was then the big Guy sheepishly Admitted that his Pointed toe triple 13 Cowboy boot bent the road as he was hoisting his 300 + self into the seat to enjoy the view of everyone while waiting ,, no harm done ..

Never towed a float, but I drive my restored M38a1 military Jeep in parades every year. Low-low in the transfer case is a big help. Most cars require a lot of cltch slipping to maintain speed.
Be alert, don't get caught up in the moment, watch around you!! It's fun, but you have to be ready for about anything.

Hopefully you can be ahead of any marching bands they have in the parade. That should cut down on the number of starts/stops you have to make.

due to the slow pace of a parade a tractor is much better to pull a float then a truck or car, just make sure the tractor has working brakes, and there adjusted evenly on both sides, and that the tractor is large enough to handel the weight of the float and its contents, have fun, dont see the need for insurance, your going so slow you can stop in a couple of feet if you need to, my concern would be getting placed behind something like the sheriff's posse on horseback lol

Make sure no one is throwing out candy in front of you. Had a local kid throwing candy froma tractor in front of mine and twoard the end of the parade he just dumped the last little bit over the back of his tractor and the kids came running. There was plenty of room and I got stopped, but then I could get the kids to move so I could get going again. About had another tractor up my backside when I hit the brakes. I still do parades but like others mentioned be more concerned with what's going on in front of you than who's watching you.