Question (maybe dumbest of the day) about Attachments/Implements

[TxDoc]

Is there a difference in a tractor implement and a tractor attachment? Are they interchangeable terms? I have a feeling it will be something like an implement goes on the front and an attachment goes on the back.

Thanks for the education!

 

[bcp]

My definition: an implement is what a tractor uses to do work. An attachment is an implement that is attached and carried by the tractor, not just pulled.

A front end loader would be an attachment. A towed hay rake would be an implement.

Bruce

 

[blackdog2086]

I consider them interchangeable terms. Go to Everything Attachments site. If it can be hooked onto a tractor, front or back, they probably carry it.

 

[Monster5601]

Interesting question and after reading dozens of links from various Google searches, bcp's explanation seems to be the popular difference but, John Deere calls everything an attachment.

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/products/attachment/utility_tractors/utility_tractors.page?cid=SEM_usa_CUT_PO&%3D{mobile}

 

[jeff9366]

Implements are ground contact equipment PULLED by the tractor.

Attachments mount on the tractor indirectly, usually through the Front End Loader; attachments are only indirectly linked to the tractor and tractor weight distribution.

However, the two terms are undisciplined in use, to the detriment of clarity.

 

[murphy1244]

Implements are ground contact equipment PULLED by the tractor.

Attachments mount on the tractor indirectly, usually through the Front End Loader; attachments are only indirectly linked to the tractor and tractor weight distribution.

However, the two terms are undisciplined in use, to the detriment of clarity.

What would you call a Post hole digger? Or a Backhoe?

 

[rd_macgregor]

Implements are ground contact equipment PULLED by the tractor.

Attachments mount on the tractor indirectly, usually through the Front End Loader; attachments are only indirectly linked to the tractor and tractor weight distribution.

However, the two terms are undisciplined in use, to the detriment of clarity.

The devil is always in the details. There might also be a problem with PTO wood chippers or snowblowers (would a rear-mounted, PTO-driven snowblower be an implement, but a hydraulic FEL-mounted snowblower be an attachment?)...

 

[cqaigy2]

What would you call a Post hole digger? Or a Backhoe?

I guess if you were dragging them along the ground as the principle use, it would be an implement, an example would be a plow. I don't know for a fact though.

 

[jeff9366]

What would you call a Post hole digger? Or a Backhoe?

Attachments.

A PTO powered generator is an attachment too.

If a little tiny bird perches itself on the Three Point Hitch it remains just a tiny little bird.

Question: How many Angels can dance on the head of one Three Point Lower Link?

 

[murphy1244]

Attachments. A PTO powered generator is an attachment too.

If a little tiny bird perches itself on the Three Point Hitch it remains just a tiny little bird.

Question: How many Angels can dance on the head of one Three Point Lower Link?

Angels don't dance.

 

[oosik]

According to Webster they are, pretty much, the same thing. I would say they can, usually, be used interchangeably without violating any major rules of grammar.

 

[jeff9366]

According to Webster they are, pretty much, the same thing. I would say they can, usually, be used interchangeably without violating any major rules of grammar.

Did your reference mention anything about Noah's tractor(s)?

 

[davrow]

There may or may not be a difference, strictly speaking. But practically, if you are searching on Craigslist, you better try both terms or you won't find half of what is being offered.

 

[Firemanbuck]

According to Webster they are, pretty much, the same thing. I would say they can, usually, be used interchangeably without violating any major rules of grammar.

LOL, as if any rules of grammar apply on this board!:laughing:

 

[cqaigy2]

LOL, as if any rules of grammar apply on this board!:laughing:

It does if she tells ya to wipe your feet first.

 

[jenkinsph]

I use to consider a fel, backhoe, front snow blower, mmm as attachments while a disk, landscape rake, brush cutter were implements. Now do I have any concrete basis for this after contemplating it? Not really.

 

[BlacknTan]

I dislike getting caught up in semantics, and picking a nit to within an inch of it's life ... In my world, the terms are interchangeable.

 

[CobyRupert]

Here is the answer (IMO) :
"Implement" is the broad, general term that includes all equipment, attached or towed; "Attachments" are a sub-category of implements and would generally includes things mounted on the tractor that are not towed. i.e. All attachments are implements, but not all implements are attachments.

 

[jrclark]

I consider TBN to be the gospel of tractoring. Given that they do not have an "implement" forum, I tend to believe the most widely accepted of the interchangeable terms defaults to "attachment".

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

There may or may not be a difference, strictly speaking. But practically, if you are searching on Craigslist, you better try both terms or you won't find half of what is being offered.

And you had better think of every possible way to misspell both words and search for those terms too. If you want to see the failure of our education system in action, go read some Craigslist ads.