View Is Great On 3-WD Cultivation Tractor

View Is Great On 3-WD Cultivation Tractor CULTIVATORS Cultivators (58C) 23-5-2 You've never seen anything like this 3-WD drive "cultivating tractor" built by Victor Larson of Freesoil, Mich. The 20-ft. long tractor looks like a road grader with a single steering wheel on front and two 28-in. wheels on back. The cab, rear axle, and transmission are off an old Case combine. A length of 8-in. dia. heavy-walled pipe (leftover natural gas pipeline) runs from the axle to the front wheel. A 4-row, 3-pt. cultivator mounts just behind the front wheel. An air-cooled, 50 hp diesel engine is mounted on a frame just behind the cab. Larson built the tractor three years ago and has used it to cultivate 200 acres of corn, soybeans, and sunflowers each year. "It works better than anything I've ever used before to cultivate," says Larson. "I had been using a 3-pt. cultivator but I got tired of looking behind me all the time. Now I have a great view in front which results in less crop being plowed out. I'm switching to organic farming and giving up herbicides so I have to do a good job cultivating." Hydraulic hoses run from a rotary steering valve in the cab through the pipe to a hydraulic motor on the front wheel assembly that's mounted on a 1-in. thick steel plate. The motor chain-drives a sprocket welded to a steel shaft at the top of the arm that the front wheel support arm turns on. This steers the tractor. Another hydraulic motor bolts directly to the wheel hub to drive the wheel. A Cat. II 3-pt. hitch is welded to the back of the wheel assembly and is raised or lowered by a single hydraulic cylinder. The 3-speed transmission was originally belt-driven. Larson removed the variable speed pulley, clutch shaft and pressure plate and then connected a hydraulic motor directly to the transmission. "The combine cab has its original steering wheel, seat, and hydraulic valves. The tractor goes from 0 to 15 mph. I cultivate in second gear at about 7 mph," says Larson. "I use the combine's original steering and hydraulic control levers. The rig isn't articulated but the front wheel steers a full 180 degrees. I can turn right around at the end of the field and cultivate the next four rows with no problem. The front wheel would sometimes spin so I mounted tractor weights above it for better traction and balance. "I use a Westgo S-tine cultivator with the tractor most of the time. However, in tall corn I replace it with a rolling cultivator equipped with three disc blades on each side of the row. The blades throw dirt up to 4 inches high in the row. I may use the rig someday to do other jobs such as planting. "I only have about $1,000 invested in the tractor. I got a lot of the parts at sales or for free. I paid $200 for the engine and $100 for the combine cab and axle. The pipe elbows are seconds and I was able to buy all the hydraulic hoses I needed for $25 at a sale. I got the front wheel free from a garbage hauler. It had a big hole in it which I patched up. The rear wheels are off an Allis-Chalmers tractor. "In the future I plan to install an electric valve in the cab and microswitches behind the front wheel so that the tractor will automatically guide itself and cultivate down the row." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Victor Larson, 1163 W. Townline Rd., Freesoil, Mich. 49411 (ph 231 464-5619).

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