long distance pto drive wheel? crazy?

windmillgeorge · Dec 31, 2019

I occasionally see tractors at auctions far away from me.

Transporting can be tough over long distances and borders.

I have seen neighbours buy newer high speed tractors far away and simply fly there and drive them home. The craziest was 1000 miles. Yes, tires wear. But sometimes, especially with very large equipment transporting logistics can be a lot to unravel.

Say a Massey 1105 is what I want to buy. Top speed is about 17 mph at wide open.

The thought of travelling any distance wide open is exhausting.

Crazy idea?

Anyone ever make a pto driven wheel that could be coupled to the 3 pth and lowered to drive the tractor, given proper gearing and simply have the transmission in neutral?

I have driven tractors fast and I know it is dangerous. I simply want to go about 20 mph but at half rpm, not wide open.

you guys get me?

The wheel could be spring loaded like a motorcycle swingarm is or simply by the weight of the 3 pth and the gearbox and drive wheel.

Thanks, crazy, just for discussion. It could be built and fit various tractors.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

george

flying belgian · Dec 31, 2019

Couple things. Pa made just such a thing for the 36 "B" JD. It worked great. He used the rear end of an old Ford car. Second, how far you got to go? Remember, back in the day farmers
would sit in that tractor 17 hrs. a day. Didn't think nothing of it.

Janicholson · Dec 31, 2019

A long stretch of Nebraska 2 lane blacktop, not even a house every mile. You are idling along at 20mph, when your drifting brain allows a looks at that
throttle lever for a millisecond. 30mph runs through your head.
if you save 1/5 of the time by going a bit faster, and 8 dollars in fuel from slower engine speed, is it worth the effort to create the drive and use it
once or twice. Probably not. If the money advantage for this gotta have it equipment is radical, have it moved on a trailer. It is what custom
harvesters do for months even between places 10 miles apart. Jim

g ostby · Dec 31, 2019

That would be like driving my 46 Willys on the highway. No thanks but, unlike a small jeep, with a large tractor you would have some protection when you're rear-ended. Gary

Russ from MN · Dec 31, 2019

Some tractors I have driven would not have enough horsepower to go 20 mph at half throttle, especially if there are any hills.

Dieseltech · Dec 31, 2019

Might not be that crazy, depends on distance. The IH 560 I tractor drive with most miles in one day was 186. In 2018 total miles that summer I put on 3,210 and for 2019 it ended up with 4,205 miles. When I drove to Rantoul Half Century show in August I drove the 165 miles in 9 hours, spent a lot of time at 20MPH. I slowed down coming home, made it in ten hours even.

db4600 · Dec 31, 2019

I?ve commented on this story before. In ?58 Pa and Uncle
Gene went to Enderlin ND to an auction where they bought a
JD A and a 50. They chained the 50 behind the A and drove
them back to Albany MN some 180-190 miles following
behind with the ?52 Ford truck.

1948CaseVAI · Dec 31, 2019

How many accidents are you willilng to cause when frustrated vehicle drivers start taking chances to get around your vehicle that really has no business being on a highway in the first place? I get angry enough at a good friend when he uses a paved county road to move his machine from field to field when there are dirt roads available. Really selfish idea.

Steve@Advance · Dec 31, 2019

I think it was on here, someone posted about seeing a Mennonite tractor that was pushed with a cut off car or truck frame, driving the rear axle off the PTO.

Not recommending it, so much could go so wrong so quick!

rick n ohio · Dec 31, 2019

I couldn't image driving a tractor over
twenty miles away. Why wouldn't you just
hire someone to haul it and be done with
it.

Bruce from Can. · Dec 31, 2019

I don?t think trucking is so expensive that this kind of
idea is truly viable. Often you can find a trucking
company that is doing flat bed hauling, that hauls
stuff that is not time sensitive, like your tractor
would be. If it came this week or next, what
difference would it make, right? So if the trucker
goin in your general direction can put your tractor
on to fill out his load, without going too far out of his
way, your trucking rates could look very cheap. I?d
shop around for a trucking company.

Goose · Dec 31, 2019

I once drove an 856 Farmall about 55 miles. Took me around 4 hours, including a stop at a convenience store for diesel fuel and a sandwich.

I also drove a combine about 50 miles once, with a header on it. It took me about 5 hours. (A combine won't travel as fast on the road as a tractor). That time, I scouted the route ahead of time so I wouldn't run into anything unexpected. I just packed a couple of sandwiches and a couple of Pepsis and hit the road.

I didn't think either was a big deal. I know a guy who drove a 4020 John Deere 80 miles.

marloweg · Dec 31, 2019

sounds like you need some help with your road rage

dhermesc · Dec 31, 2019

Growing up our farms ranged about 60 miles north to south with the home place about half way in between. We never trailered anything beside equipment that could be pick up with a loader.

Traditional Farmer · Dec 31, 2019

Mennonites in my area drive those Fendt tractors over 100 miles one way to do jobs like spreading manure.When I was about 12 years old I drove a CA Allis Chalmers about 30 miles home from an auction that my dad bought,I loved it.

moresmoke · Dec 31, 2019

When I bought my 2805 MF it was 75 miles
home. It will do 27-28 mph, not bad.
Pulled a potato harvester 3/4 the way back
for someone else. Worst part was the
weight of the potato harvester made the
rear of the tractor want to hop above
about 15 mph, until you got to a hill.
Once it started pulling a little bit you
could step on it and go! Downside was
Forestone field and road do not like the
road part.

To the OP, your 1105 must have really tall
tires to go 17. The one I had would only
hit 12 on 16.9 38s.

Now to answer your question, flip a truck
axle upside down and the pinion will turn
the right way to drive with a pto shaft.
Your idea was actually quite common when
tractors went less than 10.

As far as long distance drives, when i
worked at a JD dealer, we used to deliver
2 new seeding rigs every year from Hunter,
ND to Neche, ND. About 150 miles. 4wd
tractor and aircart and drill.

muleman51 · Dec 31, 2019

In 1966 my brother (13) and I (15) drove a 2010 JD diesel 130 miles pulling
a one row case corn chopper and a feed wagon as full as it could be with misc. farm stuff. Talk about a long trip not enough power to pull up
the hill in road gear shift down and wobble all the way down hill. Made that trip twice second time with a 5 star moline at least it was
fast. What was my Dad thinking, guess he sure trusted us and taught us right. Jim

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 31, 2019

(quoted from post at 11:57:38 12/31/19)
How many accidents are you willilng to cause when frustrated vehicle drivers start taking chances to get around your vehicle that really has no business being on a highway in the first place? I get angry enough at a good friend when he uses a paved county road to move his machine from field to field when there are dirt roads available. Really selfish idea.

Not all farms are on dirt back roads. In fact in this day and age MOST farms are on paved main roads. I'd expect you consider those "highways?"

So you're saying these farmers need to haul everything in and out on a truck? Going to spread a load of manure... Load it up on the step deck, haul it to the field, unload, spread, load it back up, head home? I don't think so.

BarnyardEngineering · Dec 31, 2019

I don't think you'd use it enough to justify the engineering and fabrication work that would go into it. Certainly not for a one-time trip.

This is not something you could slap together in the shop in a week of evenings, then drive a tractor 1000 miles on a maiden voyage. You'd need to make sure it's reliable and isn't going to fall apart on you mid trip. Lots of testing and modifications, but if you don't have a similar tractor to test it on, you will have no idea how it's going to work on the tractor you buy.

If it's within a 4 hour drive, especially on a cab tractor, I would personally drive it home. Much more than that, I'd truck it. Trucking is NOT that expensive.

Two Dogs · Dec 31, 2019

Really selfish idea. Yours or his?

db4600 · Dec 31, 2019

I?ve commented on this story before. In ?58 Pa and Uncle
Gene went to Enderlin ND to an auction where they bought a
JD A and a 50. They chained the 50 behind the A and drove
them back to Albany MN some 180-190 miles following
behind with the ?52 Ford truck.

paul · Dec 31, 2019

If you do, make a video of it, I sure want to see!

I just drove a tractor home 140 miles this summer, then drove it 60 miles to get a plow I bought and drove the 60 miles home.

Not a big deal.

Lot of farms around here are getting to be 10-30,000 acres and they drive their fleets around a quarter of the state planting, spraying, harvesting.

Sweet corn and pea pack is common around here, they cover 20,000 acres planting, then harvesting their canning crops.

Travel on the road is what it is, pretty selfish of some to stay stay off the roads.

For the record, I think your device is a novel idea and fun to speculate with, but ends up impractical and a bit scary 95% of the scenarios I can see.

Paul

4wdtom · Dec 31, 2019

I have seen that done somewhere, magazine I think. Anyway it was a car rear axle mounted behind and driven by the pto. I think you cold raise and lower it with the
rear implement lift but that may not be necessary. There may have been some weight added to give traction. I think the article said it wouldn't go up steep hills but
the operator simply disengaged it used the tractor high gear if the hill was too steep. I haven't worked out the speed with a 540 or 1000 rpm pto so I don't know how
this would work out. Possibly using a larger diameter rim/tire combo would give more speed it too low. And of course the axle ratio could make a huge difference.

jwmfarms · Dec 31, 2019

Traditional Farmer, that's been going on a long time before Fendts were ever heard of! Miles don't mean anything to them.

Years ago, I was at an auction near West Point, VA, and some black hat Mennonites bought an Allis Chalmers 7045 there. One went to the tent to settle up, one went for the pickup, and one left driving the tractor. Some time later, we saw them fueling up at a store we stopped at. They were heading back to the Shenandoah Valley, at least 150 miles.

tomturkey · Dec 31, 2019

Rick, you would really be amazed at all the crazies that get together for the WHO Radio Great Iowa Tractor ride. Three days, 60-80 miles on day one and two and about half that on the third day. Slowest group at about 11-12 mph fastest group up around 20. I think there have been as many as 900 tractors some years. Try it you may discover the peaceful serenity of driving an old tractor across the Iowa country side. gobble

tn terry t · Dec 31, 2019

(quoted from post at 15:12:22 12/31/19) I think it was on here, someone posted about seeing a Mennonite tractor that was pushed with a cut off car or truck frame, driving the rear axle off the PTO.

Not recommending it, so much could go so wrong so quick!

yes sir used to be pretty popular down here around the tn ky border pickup beds with toppers and usual loaded to the gill with kids. and they will get on down the road too

tim s · Dec 31, 2019

Now you got me thinking about a higher speed for my 60 tractor drives.....maybe a narrowed up differential with chain drive sprockets to the axles....cog it up for about 18-20mph at 2/3's throttle....keep it a bit low mounted off the draw bar...hmmm....

flying belgian · Dec 31, 2019

You can't be serious 1948. I think it was really selfish of you auto drivers to pave all of the dirt roads that us farmers use to haul our product to market.

super99 · Dec 31, 2019

Just drive it home. Who and WMT radio stations have a 3 day tractor ride each year, average about 80 miles a day with 3 stops for breaks. I used to have a Oliver 73 pull picker w/ a sheller unit on it, pulled it with my 1850. I drove it 70 miles to a farm show, a little over 4 hours, no big deal. Chris

Indiana Ken · Dec 31, 2019

I am not commenting on the usefulness of this, however, to your question:

Lets assume you have a rear end (car or truck) with a 3:1 gear ratio. At 540 RPM your PTO would turn the axle shafts at 180 RPM (540 / 3). Now lets use a pair of 30" tall tires. For each revolution of the tires you would move 7.85 ft (2.5 ft x 3.14 (pie)). Driving the tires at 180 RPM would result in a speed of 1413 ft/min (180 rev/min x 7.85 ft/rev). I will leave it to the reader to convert 1413 ft/min to 16 MPH.

Now, 16 MPH will not set any speed records. Mounting a set of 60" tall tires would result in double the speed, 32 MPH. This of course still requires an engine speed to drive the PTO at 540 RPM. Changing the rear end ratio to 2:1 (if you can find one) and using 60" tires would result in 48 MPH. This would allow a reduction of engine speed, for a more relaxed drive.

Now, HP increases as speed increases, doubling the speed requires double the HP. Also, consider how you will be starting from a stop with the tractor geared for 48 MPH. Does your PTO have a low gear you can use for starting and then shift up...?

Work it out on long these lines and report back....eh

Traditional Farmer · Dec 31, 2019

That's wild wonder how they worked around Richmond?

chuck from neb · Dec 31, 2019

I have gone 40 and 50 miles a lot with a
tractor ...but my record is pulling a
planter home 280 miles

Duner Wi · Dec 31, 2019

Indiana Ken, What you do is as you need to come to a full stop you raise the trailer drive wheel/ wheels off the ground, slip you tractor into what ever gear you want to start off in. Take off and when you are up to about normal speed lower the trailer wheels as you slip tractor into neutral.
As to gearing we can use a transmission turned around or there are a coupe of other ways.
We were talking about this 10 years ago for tractor rides and a 9N Ford. You need a little trailer to bring your kit so this would serve dual purpose.

coshoo · Jan 1, 2020

A neighbor when I was a kid was the champion of long distance tractor rides. He moved out from North Dakota, and couldn't believe the difference in price for N Fords- About 200 bucks in Nort Dakota, but 1000 here in western Washington. He didn't have a driver's license (drinking problem), so he would take the Greyhound back to Nort Dakota, find 2 Fords and a flatbed trailer, hook the trailer to the better of the Fords and drive the other Ford onto the trailer, and head west. Took him a couple of months to get back, would camp along the way. Worked fine for a couple of times in the summer, but then got greedy and decided to do it in the winter. Over-imbibed a bit (gotta warm your innards, ya know), pulled over and passed out, and nearly froze to death before someone stopped and rescued him.

As far as a contraption to push you along faster, are you gonna check it as baggage, or use it as carry on on the airplane when you fly back to get the tractor?

9001ron · Jan 1, 2020

I second your comments. Every body is in a big rush - I see it every day on the high way --people that will risk there lives and others just to get ahead of the car in front of you. What I do when I buy a used tractor say 50 miles away is that I made a rigid tow bar to go behind my 3/4 ton -- it is a "A "frame and has assorted holes that at least fit the IH weight carrier pattern. I carry about 1000 lbs in the back of the truck just so it is boss and not the tractor (504 farmall the last time). Things go so smooth that you really have to watch you dont get going too fast. I figure 20 mph is about right. I allways tell people " GO SLOW and you will get there quicker"

windmillgeorge · Jan 2, 2020

Thank you everyone for your input, some good things to think about.

Sorry for whoever that idiot was who said I was selfish for even driving on the road.

Distance is one thing, but with borders, having truckers stop at one side, unload, find someone to drive the tractor across to a truck waiting on the other is a real pain. Believe me.

Thanks everyone for not thinking me crazy.

george

long distance pto drive wheel? crazy?

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