the massey post below begs a question ,,. certainly certain regions felt the need to have one single front tire,. cultivating comes to mind ,, here in southern ind,. a single front tire tractor is scarcer than hens teeth ,,. and when you do see one it is only at a show. can some of you tell me what applications and jobs were they best appreciated.
- Thread starter 01gentdc
- Start date
My Silver King has a single front, I would say probably 75% as a rough guess were single front. Single front and wide front end, I've never seen one with a dual tire narrow front in person or pictures. The reason for it? I don't know, maybe because it was cheaper to manufacture? It's alleged to top out at 40+ mph, so you would have thought a WFE would have been ideal.
BarryfromIA
Well-known Member
In the later days of mounted corn pickers they popular for better turning.
About the only ones around here were on Farmall F12s. My grand dad on my mother's side had one. When I was a kid and asked Dad why they made them that way,he said it turned shorter with a cultivator. I don't know if that's true,or if he was just throwing something out there to satisfy my curiosity.
There used to be a lot of single fronts in the furrow irrigated regions of the west/southwest. Particularly in ares where sugar beets,pinto beans,onions,vegatables... The single front would follow the 'water mark' (furrow),whearas the 'regular' tricycle front would not. The single front tire would also tend to pack the bottom of the mark for better water flow.Singles are very common here,they vastly outnumber the tricycle(dual) front. It's a regional thing. These days,with the bigger tractors,more rows(bigger planters) the single is fadeing. Guys now just use wide front tractors with narrow tires.There are still a few 4020s,806,1080etc with singles still 'floating' around.I know of a 4320 with a single still being used.
That's what I always figured. When I asked him why we didn't have one,he said if you have a flat tire with a two wheeled narrow front,you could still drive it on one wheel,with a single tire you couldn't. I don't think he really had an answer any more than I did,but he had to say something. lol
Bryce Frazier
Well-known Member
Fairly common over here for Potatoes. Cultivating / harvesting, etc.
Eldon (WA)
Well-known Member
I collect them, they are something different to look at anyway. I found that they make a good road tractor as they don't get that front end shimmy like the narrow fronts do. JD are pretty plentiful around here, AC are getting scarce. I have 3 C's, a CA, WD, D17 and this WD45 diesel that I put together. The WD and WD45 wide fronts could be easily converted to single fronts.
Bryce Frazier
Well-known Member
Are those taller than average rear tires Eldon? Look like 38's?
Eldon (WA)
Well-known Member
Those are the tires from that H that you bought from me....and yes, they are not correct for that tractor. I was just making a tractor to cultivate taller corn.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
Actually 38" rear wheels could be had from AC factory for the High Clearance model with the single front wheel.Think they were a little narrower than yours but still 38",the WC high clearance
had 36" rears.
had 36" rears.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
Single fronts were called Cotton Wheels in my area.
Eldon (WA)
Well-known Member
You are correct, but they look a lot different than these...these were used with the D series...also used by MF of that era.
Bryce Frazier
Well-known Member
Well I think they look pretty good / correct on there! Maybe a size narrower would be better, but then again, bigger is always better right??
gene bender
Well-known Member
You answered your question cultivating
gene bender
Well-known Member
No they didnt because of the wt of the picker single would not be the way to go for a mounted picker.
farmerwithmutt
Well-known Member
Knew of a guy that had a 3020 with mounted picker and that was a single. Biggest problem was sliding in the ruts. Sure was a surprise to me I think he switched after picking was done but he liked it because it wouldn't mud up.
Gene Davis (Ga.)
Well-known Member
In the 1950's the tractors set up for using as cotton pickers all had single front wheels and the tractors were run in reverse.
notjustair
Well-known Member
Why am I reminded of a Spra Coupe? The ones that used a VW engine.
I was always told a single tire and tricycle are the same, If it had 2 tires its a narrow front end.(hint tri meaning 3). Not being picky but when I worked at the Deere dealer I had and old guy set me straight on that. Any way dad had an old farmall maybe a f12 or f20 single. He bought it from a neighbor and ended up trading it off for a hay rake I believe. Probably not safe on our hills.
Single front wheel tractors were much easier to steer than tractors with tri-cycle front ends when working with land that had been put up on a row. John Deere addressed the problem with their roll-o-matic system. Power steering pretty much solved the problem. Also, economics probably came into play back in the day. One wheel being cheaper to replace than two.
Yes they did because it worked better in the mud. My dad picked with a WD45 with a single front. The yoke was modified by adding a few inches of height to it to give a little more clearance between the yoke and tire. Our neighbor picked with a MM M670 with a single front wheel for the same reason.
Similar threads
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.
Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy