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Crawlers, Dozers, Loaders & Backhoes Discussion Forum

Farming with a Crawler

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Joe Bly

11-26-2005 09:05:33




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I have been thinking about buying a crawler to farm some bottom land I have. It takes a long time to dry out and I get my wheled tractor stuck alot. How much better are tracks then wheels in the mud?? How big of a plow can I use with an average size crawler ( say a TD9 or JD40) ?? What advan/disadvan are there to farming with a crawler?? Thanks




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D. Andrews

12-01-2005 20:23:49




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Here is a point to ponder from some one who's been there done that, you get into bottom land with a tractor and get stuck, more of an inconvience to get it out, do the same with a dozer, you have a regular cluster "f" on your hands trying to get it out..... .



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Don, BC

11-26-2005 19:25:01




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
The cost of reconditioning or replacing tracks is the bigest drawback to crawlers. The type of soil also affects the rate of wear. There is some ag eqipment on the market now that uses rubber tracks such as Cat and the four track Case/IHC. These are high HP machines. There is a small crawler made in China that is now marketed in North America that uses rubber tracks.



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Robert in W. Mi.

12-07-2005 16:26:06




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Don, BC, 11-26-2005 19:25:01  
SAME in Italy sells a "farm" dozer. It can be had with steel or rubber tracks, and has a 3 point and pto. From what i've seen, they are a pretty good tractor.

Robert



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Frank Dodson

11-26-2005 19:02:59




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
We didn't use crawlers for working bottom land but we did use them on steep ground in Tennessee. We used the little Oliver HG and OC3 crawlers to pull a five foot drag Sidewinder brush cutter to clip steep pasture land. The little crawlers weren't powerful but with the 68 inch gauge track they would stay on steep ground. We later used an Allis HD3.
By the way, I now use a 4WD New Holland 3930 to clip the same hills.
We had a neighbor that used an HG to work his hill land. He pulled an Oliver one botton two way plow, a five foot drag disc and a two row front mounted planter and cultivator. It was slow but sure beat walking behind a mule on the steep ground.

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Bernie in MA

11-26-2005 17:46:32




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Back in the 60s my only tractor was a JD 420C I bought new in '59. Still got it. I didn't make hay, only grass silage crops. I pulled a 3-bottom trip plow. Had to go in second anyway because of the rocks. Also pulled a 9 foot disc with a grain drill behind it and a roller behind that planting sudan/sorghum. I built a rock/root rake for it and dug out tons of rocks.

I just make hay now with 3 Fords and am sure glad I don't have to mow over/around all those rocks that are now on the edges of the fields.

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Yardpilot

12-03-2005 19:34:02




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Bernie in MA, 11-26-2005 17:46:32  
What does a "rock/root rake" look like? Do you have a picture or drawing? E-mail is fine.

Regards,

Yardpilot



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cornfarmer

11-26-2005 16:57:35




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
I farmed with an International 500C crawler for a very short time. It had a torque amplifier transmission and one pair of hydraulic outlets. I pulled an IH #70 3 bottom plow with it. It handled it fine, but took a while to get the line-of-draft set right so it would not pull to one side. This crawler was only used for ag work, and had additional factory weights that bolted under the front end of the crawler to offset the drawbar pull and keep the front end down. This model crawler offered a 3 point as optional equipment, but my tractor only had a swinging drawbar. Drawbacks? NOISY, slow, hard to transport, expensive to repair. Finally decided if it was too wet to work with tires, stay home!

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Deas Plant

11-26-2005 15:26:08




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Hi again, Joe Bly. Upon reading another post further down, I realised that I had forgotten to mention the Mitsubishi BD2 crawlers which many people also reckon to be good machines.

International Harvester TD6, TD9 T340, TD340 and the 500 series crawlers were also quite good for agricultural work but a little hard to get parts for now. Going even further back in IH, there were the T20, T35, TD35 and TD40 crawlers. The Redpower forum is a big help there as are Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club and Antique Caterpillar Machinery Enthusiasts forums for Cat machines.

Hope this helps.

You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

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Bret4207

11-26-2005 15:11:35




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Big, big difference between a JD 40 and a TD9. A 40 in ggod shape will pull 2-12's on average soil nicely in 2nd gear which is pretty slow. You've only got something like 18 drawbar hp, although it will have a lot more traction than a simlar wheel tractor. Step up to something like an old D2, a TD9, a JD350 or 450 or a D4 and you can do some plowing. When you get up into say 30-40draw bar HP in a crawler you can pull 3 or 4 bottoms pretty well. Thracks limit your speed and the wear on the tracks and associated parts is tremendous compared to a wheel tractor. After saying all that, I use a JD40 for some plowing and am looking for a D2. Can't beat them for soggy ground and swampy pastures.

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Deas Plant

11-26-2005 15:09:32




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Hi, Joe Bly. Farming with a crawler has pluses and minuses. Track running gear is a lot more costly to replace when it wears out than a set of tractor tyres. Then there is the (usually very) occasional foray into steering clutches and brakes which can end up costing bulk dollars too.

However, you will only need between 2/3 and 3/4 of the horsepower in a crawler to pull the same load that you are currently pulling with your wheel tractor. Add to this that you can usually get onto ground that would stop a wheel tractor dead and do your work more or less when you want to and you have a real big advantage.

I seem to remember a poster at ACMOC saying that his father bought a new John Deere 7020 wheel tractor to replace a wide guage 5U series Cat D2 and the D2 pulled it backwards across the yard. The D2 was 38 horsepower. I think the JD was somewhere around double that.

The previous posters mentioned wide tracks. These have a couple of things going for them. They allow you to work even wetter/softer ground than a normal crawler and they pack the ground even less than a normal crawler - way less than a wheel tractor that is capable of doing the same work.

You may find that standard tracks will give you enough advantage over your wheel tractor 'cos the difference between wheels and tracks is almost like having 'Jesus boots'. Wide tracks are a step up again. They won't quite walk on water though.

Agricultural work does not tend to wear tracks out as fast as construction and earthmoving 'cos most of your work is long straight runs where earthmoving usually involves a fair bit of short turning.

If you can find one in reasonable condition within your price bracket, I'd recommend a Caterpillar crawler, D2 or D4 size depending on your needs and what is available for the dollars. After that, Komatsu make some good small crawlers as do/did John Deere and Case. I have no experience of the New Holland range but the Fiat crawlers that I worked seemed to do a good job. The Chinese imports seem to be 'money pits'.

Dealer service needs to be considered too when looking at what make to buy. A lack of service and parts can be a killer.

Hope this helps.

You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

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old

11-26-2005 13:58:09




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
Just north of me the MEN-A-nights use them all the time. If you have soft or wet ground you will want wide tracks. I know a guy that has a dozer with 24 inch wide trackes and he can almost drive it across a pond. He also found out you don't want to drive it on ice and try to go down hill, if it didn't have a blade on it he,d probably have flipped it over.



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jdemaris

11-26-2005 10:20:36




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 Re: Farming with a Crawler in reply to Joe Bly, 11-26-2005 09:05:33  
I haven't done it myself, but I lived in an area of New York for a couple of years where crawlers did all the plowing. It was in Chester and Florida, Orange County, New York. Soft black spongy dirt and all the crops were lettuce and onions. All the crawlers were John Deere 350s with extra wide tracks and three point hitches and they usually pulled dual 14" or 16" plows.



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