how many of you learned to drive on a tractor?

[Bird]

I was 11 years old when Dad bought a 1940 John Deere L and I started driving it, but I had already been driving his oldest sister's 1947 Ford coupe for quite some time.:laughing:

 

[jymbee]

how many here learned to drive on a tractor / had their first driving experience on a tractor?

And still driving that same 1949 Farmall H today!

 

[deere755]

I did, sitting on my Dads or my Grandpas lap driving a Allis Chalmers XT 190. When I was about 7 or 8 I got to drive an old DC case all by myself. Later that fall got to plow with the 4020 John Deere and a 4 bottom plow. Those were some of the best times in my life.

 

[brin]

Learned on a Ford 8 or 9 N...don't know which model but one of those...sure was fun...

 

[jinman]

First thing I ever drove was a JD L110 Lawn tractor. . .

Wow! That really makes me feel old. When I learned to drive on my dad's TO-20 Ferguson, there were very few gasoline powered mowers at all (early 50s). Most of the ones around were gasoline engines on reel mowers. They were just coming out with a few horizontal blade rotary push mowers. Only the richest people in town had well-mowed lawns. We did ours with a push reel mower and cut weeds with a yoyo cutter or hoe.

I was a big kid for my age and it led people to put all kinds of responsibilities on me that they really should not have. I remember driving our TO-20 when I was 8 or 9 and fighting with my brother who was 13 because his rows were staight and mine were crooked. My dad told us to take turns plowing, but always blamed him if things weren't up to snuff. I still apologize to my brother today for messing up his straight rows.

 

[Triguy1]

Really a great experience to sit on your grandfathers lap "Driving the Tractor". Then by the ripe old age 8 or 9 be out in the field on the IH all by my self. As soon as I could reach the clutch on the IH pickup truck driving the 3 on the tree in the field. By 11 or so, actually taking the 56 IH grain tuck to the elevator. "Rule were a little lax" and safety not much of an issue on the farm in North Dakota. Also managed to grind the gears on the grain truck into dust. No problem, grandpa just said, "you broke it, you fix it" and I did. Very difficult to have that kind of education these days. But I am trying with my youngest.

 

[tractchores]

Started driving a small jd when i was 7 so i could mow, took some practice to learn the clutch. Drove that and 3 wheelers and did lots of stupid stuff. Can't count the number of times i flipped the 3 wheeler, luckily i never flipped the tractor! The cool part is we still have the jd and it still runs!

 

[Bird]

Wow! That really makes me feel old.

You feel old? I just realized why some many of these guys first drove a tractor while I first drove a car. It's because before we got that tractor Dad used a team of mules and my Granddad used a team of horses.

 

[jinman]

You feel old? I just realized why some many of these guys first drove a tractor while I first drove a car. It's because before we got that tractor Dad used a team of mules and my Granddad used a team of horses.

Bird, I think there were a lot of farmers shouting, "Gee! Haw! and Whoa!" at their tractors when they first started driving them.:laughing:

 

[Catfish Man]

I don't know my age, but I learned on a Massey 235, I wasn't strong enough to depress the clutch, but if I stood on the pedal, I weighed just enough to get it all the way down.