Turn an old truck into a tractor????

[mustninty]

Alright so this is what I'm thinking about trying to do, I just wanted to know if anybody else out there has tried this and if so if you had any advice. Basically I an old 89 ford ranger that is no longer street leagal that runs very strong and I have 6 acres of grass to cut and can't afford a new tractor. I was thinking about buying one or two pull behind lawn mowers, and using the ranger to pull them. But my main worry is the stock tires digging into the ground, does anybody know if I can swap tractor rims/tires onto the truck? Any other ideas would be appriciated. Thanks

[KentT]

Try using a 12" garden tractor wheel. Their bolt pattern is 5x4.5 which is the same as your small Ford, I think. If they'll clear the brake drums, I think they'd work. You can get 26x12x12 ag tires that will fit them...

[Soundguy]

Long time ago you could get a kit to convert a T or an A to a tractor for field use.. so yeah.. it's been done.

soundguy

[patrick_g]

One guy bought several walk behind push it yourself not self propelled lawn mowers and set then in two rows, staggered so the cuts overlapped. They were mounted on a frame made from Hollywood bed frames and had gage wheels on the frame. The deal is he starts up the menagerie and drives around in his little rice burner pickup. I don't recall how many of the cheap used mowers he had in that lashup but it must have been at least 6-8. Worked for him. He had to shim the wheel attachments on some of the mowers as the cut height adjustments were not exactly alike and it left stripes at first.

After he fiddled with it for a while it worked just fine. He said he had a never ending supply of replacement mowers available from the thrifty adds and auctions. Seems used "push it yourself" mowers don't command much of a resale price.

It was not quiet and it probably would not pass a smog test in California but it cut a wide swath at a walking speed. He pulled it behind his CUT. He talked about mounting it on his FEL so he could steer it more precisely but I didn't see that configuration.

Purely Rube Goldberg in appearance but worked fine. I would think it would be less fuel efficient than other options but with used mowers so darned cheap I guess it is OK.

Pat

[Soundguy]

Rube would be proud!

soundguy

[patrick_g]

I don't know how long his contraption held together but it worked behind his little rice burner and behind a CUT. I'm sure it would have worked behind a 4 wheeler if you could go slow enough. I would have liked to have seen it mounted on the FEL. I guess if you wanted to get fancy you could use only mowers with bagging attachments.

I have seen cars cut away and used as pickups why not use a little truck as a tractor, especially if you have 4x4 with a low range.

Pat

[BHD]

page of tractor plans,
Vintage Tractor Plans
plans for the model T to tractor,
http://www.vintageprojects.com/tract...el%20T%202.pdf

the biggest change was to put a low geared truck rear end on it,,, I know some also used a heavy 4 speed transmission and put it behind the original and used it for the extra gearing, http://www.vintageprojects.com/tract...-a-tractor.pdf and then into a truck differential, 1 1/2 ton and up for the rear differential,

home page,
Vintage Projects and Building Plans

[lhfarm]

I'd turn it into a tractor by selling it for as much as you can get and investing in an old tractor, or if you get lucky a jeep. The problem with the truck is the rear end. You will be amazed how hard it is to go really slow, down to tractor speeds. You didn't say if you are mowing yard or pasture and my suggestion will depend on knowing that.

I mowed 5 acres of lawn for 20 years with an old Cub Lo-Boy. I still plow my drive with it, but it has been retired to mowing the barn yard and trails. The other option would be an older lawn tractor.

If you can find an old Willys with a PTO, it is a great pasture mowing machine. These are getting much harder to find and PTOs can go for as much as the jeep. But I think everyone should own a jeep.

Good luck!

[patrick_g]

My 1943 Ford JEEP had 5.38 diffs and with the xfer case in low range you could get that little 4 banger up into a usrful RPM range and barely make a SLOW walking speed. I know lots of them were used for tractors after the war (WW II) but I don't know how they lasted.

What the OP has is not likely to bring much in a sale (likely not enough to get a working tractor) and his trying to use it for additional tasks is just good thinking. I have a 1989 4x4 Dakota that is slowly but inexorably sliding down the slope toward non highway use. I hope to reverse the trend and sell it before I have a junker on my hands which I have no real need for.

Pat

[bondo]

I have a 1978 scout II that I use on the farm on a regular basis. Never take it out of 4X4 low range and use it to pull the manure spreader, hay rake, and anything else that I can hook behind it. No PTO on it, but I do know they made them with it. My first scout was just the front fenders and hood on the seat, nothing else but frame and motor/trans. They keep running and engine/drive train is bullet proof. I was going to go the route and get 16" AG tires for it but just keep getting used snow tires, as I also use it to plow snow.

Bondoｩ