I bought a tractor! International Something or Other

Hey, guys!

So, I impulse bought a tractor today... Sort of... I'd actually been planning to buy one, or a forklift for some time now... I'm starting to work on larger and larger weldment that are becoming incresingly difficult to move/manuver/place by hand, and I knew that if I kept this up for long, that I was bound to hurt myself... So, I started looking around! I settled on this tractor when the seller kept calling me after I asked him one question about it via text message... I senced that he was really looking to sell it, and would probably make me a deal on it, which he did... And I'm pretty thrilled, as I've always wanted a (non-destroyed) tractor like this of my own, and I was kind of leaning towards buying a tractor anyway instead of a forklift-as I'm buying a house with some land that'll need work this summer.

Anyway, here are some of the finer points of this beast:

> Starts, runs, and drives wonderfully
> Its an INDUSTRIAL tractor, what does that mean exactly? Better hydrolics/brakes/etc? Or is it just a marketing term?
> One-Family-Owned tractor since new (The guy I bought it from inherited it)
> Sold new locally, came with original operators manuel and service manuel, plus reciept from initial purchase
> Hydrolics seem to check out
> Oil and coolant look good
> Brakes are excellent condition
> PTO Works
> Cost $2500 and a U-Haul Rental (You should've seen the look on the guys face when I told him I needed to move a tractor, hahahah)

Now the bad:

> Has a rednecked electric fuel pump (was that included, new?)
> Wiring is hacked 6 ways from sunday but works just fine, except for the headlights. I'll have to rewire it, and probably repaint it at some point.
> Has a small Hydraulic leak (a seal from a control knob) but it doesn't leak *much*

Well, how'd I do? What can you all tell me about this tractor? Do these things have a pretty good reputation? Looks like I've got to build some carry all forks and a heavy duty boom pole. Oh, and about how much could I expect to lift with either, off the back of this thing? Right now I've been working with under 500 pound items, but thats subject to change at some point... Go ahead guys, tell me how much it sucks

Just wanted to share the news...

Pitcher' didnt go through :/

pitcher two

What's the actual model,Lanse? That will tell us a lot about lift capabilities and such.

dangit, I'm not very good at this game

Ah, I thought I had it in there... Its a 2444, with a gas engine (4cyl)

Lance
Sorry I can't help with the tractor.
It's good to hear from You. Sounds like Your doing well.
I must say, I do like the tow rig!
Take care.

Steve A W

Thanks, Steve!

Yes, things are going well... I just wanted to stop in and say "hi"

Often times an industrial is set up for loader use, and so the axles aren't so adjustable, the front end is heavier axle, the tires may be the backhoe style, often times no 3pt hitch, and so forth. Set up to do yard work in a town setting, not field work out in dirt.

Yours looks a little blurry, but nice!

Nice to hear from you, really don't comment much because I don't have much to offer, but always enjoy your updates when they come.

Paul

That system is not made for heavy lifting and you talk boom ploe it will just raise front wheels off the ground. If heve lifting is desired you need a front loader then that tractor has its limits

Happy tractoring, Lanse!
However, you will find yourself looking for a forklift soon

I bought one 38 years ago. It has a 2050 loader on it along with an IH box scraper with scarifier. it rarely gets used for anything other than loader work.

The electric fuel pump would have been standard equipment on the 2444 as well as the 444 tractors. The bottom of the fuel tank is not much above the carburetor so without the pump the engine could starve for fuel when going uphill with a low fuel level in the tank.

My tractor has a 17 gpm front crankshaft mounted hydraulic pump just for the loader. That makes it more than twice as fast compared to using the standard hydraulics.

I agree. Any lifting device should be considered unsafe to work under, especially a loader. Just be careful and it will get you by until you find a forklift that will meet your needs. Maybe you will need both in the future, or you can trade the tractor in on a forklift?

Hey Lanse, so good to see you back! We have missed your exploits, and it is great to see you change over the years. Now looking to buy a place too?
All the best with it Mate, and those old IH tractors are a strong little units.
All the best with it Lanse.

Cheers from downunder.
Rx

Where's that Kubota you used to cut donuts with? LOL

(quoted from post at 23:01:51 05/05/15)
...
Well, how'd I do? What can you all tell me about this tractor? Do these things have a pretty good reputation? Looks like I've got to build some carry all forks and a heavy duty boom pole. Oh, and about how much could I expect to lift with either, off the back of this thing? Right now I've been working with under 500 pound items, but thats subject to change at some point... Go ahead guys, tell me how much it sucks

Just wanted to share the news...

Click to expand...

Hi Lanse,
Most of the Red iron of that era is darn good stuff. It sounds like yours was well cared for, and it will serve you well for years to come. In my book, if the worst fault you can find is a small hydraulic leak, you did really well for $2500.

An "industrial" usually has a heavier (though fixed width) front axle and is well suited to handling a front loader, though it will benefit from having a front mounted pump for the loader hydraulics.

As for what it will lift without a loader? Depends on how far the reach is behind the rear axle. As a 'good guess', a bale (or carry all) fork on the 3pt with that tractor will pick about 8-900 pounds, load centered at 2' back of the end of the lift arms; maybe more if things are in really good shape. Of course, you'll have to consider the weight of your forks as part of the load - build them as light as you can - 2" square tube seems to work well. Look at a "Worksaver bale fork" for design tips. I have one that I use to move wide pallets of stuff with my SA w/3pt conversion (it will pick about 800#) - it won't work on a 40" pallet though.

A boom pole cuts the load limit to about half as "force times distance" comes into play - the further back the reach, the less it will pick. Front weights will help some. Practically any commercially available boom pole (Tractor Supply / CountyLine / Tarter) will work fine with limits of the tractor (you won't break it), and will probably be lighter than what you would build, adding to the actual load lift capacity. A shorter top link will decrease reach but increase the lift capacity, longer will do opposite. Basic physics, and you probably knew that, but it doesn't hurt to mention for other readers (lurkers) out there.

Have fun, work smart, be safe.

Well Worn

Lanse.
I have a tractor like that with a front end loader, out in the front field.