Driving tractor 20 miles on road

[N80]

I got a cab, heat and A/C and scenery to see and folks to wave to.Pat

Well, I've got the scenery and the folks to wave to, but no cab, no A/C, no heat. I don't even have a canopy. I imagine having a cab would certainly change my perspective roading my tractor.

And it does all come down to perspective, enjoyment, safety, tractor type, road type, personality type, etc etc.

But personally, I hate driving a tractor on the road. I often have to drive 1-2 miles on a country road with my tractor and I HATE it even though the distance is short. I love working with my tractor, but I HATE travelling on it. It is blistering hot in the summer here and cold enough in the winter to make an open tractor uncomfortable. And I hate being around cars while on my tractor.

The miseries of hooking up a trailer seem trivial to me compared to road travel on the tractor. I think for any individual there is a point at which trailering vs roading is fairly clear. For me, anything more than 5 miles gets the trailer.

 

[patrick_g]

Well,
And it does all come down to perspective, enjoyment, safety, tractor type, road type, personality type, etc etc.

I think for any individual there is a point at which trailering vs roading is fairly clear. For me, anything more than 5 miles gets the trailer.

Very well said indeed! One size does not fit all. Pure mathematics does not rule the day, a few minutes one way or the other is not a big issue for most of us either behind the wheel of the truck or the tractor. Everyone has THEIR preferences and if having given consideration to safety and obstructing the public, etc, should be free to choose which ever they want depending on their situation, or whim at the time.

I do not encourage long road trips on roads where visibility is poor and you are likely to be rear ended or where there is lots of traffic with few or no places to safely get the tractor totally out of the lane periodically to let traffic pass. We have a stretch of road near me that I would never tractor because it is really a roller coaster ride and you will not be visible to a car until it was way too late to react. Sure, by definition, that is driving too fast for conditions but still most folks drive the speed limit in those situations and if you are dead or injured being right can't undo the problem.

Tractors on or beside the road on the shoulder are common here and don't usually spark road rage or SPECIAL DIGITAL SEMAPHORE SIGNALS but there are places where it just isn't safe and I avoid them like the plague.

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

Ya need to add a nice big canopy to them rops.. that'l take care of some of ht e'blisterin' problems.

I honestly don't mind the 4ml one-way trip i make on my tractor down the road. I have a good view of the road, and am bigger and heavier than most of the passanger and commuter vehicles I'm traveling with untill you get to about 350/3500 series trucks with trailers and bigger.

Soundguy

Well, I've got the scenery and the folks to wave to, but no cab, no A/C, no heat. I don't even have a canopy. I imagine having a cab would certainly change my perspective roading my tractor.

And it does all come down to perspective, enjoyment, safety, tractor type, road type, personality type, etc etc.

But personally, I hate driving a tractor on the road. I often have to drive 1-2 miles on a country road with my tractor and I HATE it even though the distance is short. I love working with my tractor, but I HATE travelling on it. It is blistering hot in the summer here and cold enough in the winter to make an open tractor uncomfortable. And I hate being around cars while on my tractor.

The miseries of hooking up a trailer seem trivial to me compared to road travel on the tractor. I think for any individual there is a point at which trailering vs roading is fairly clear. For me, anything more than 5 miles gets the trailer.

 

[patrick_g]

Ya need to add a nice big canopy to them rops.. that'l take care of some of ht e'blisterin' problems.

Soundguy

Electrically heated clothing takes the sting out of the cold weather in an open operator's station without having to bundle up so much as to be virtually immobile. Wally World sells electric socks and you used to be able to buy surplus electric flying suits (hard to come by now.) There is info on the web for making a pair of cotton long johns into a a pair of heated underwear that will run on 12 volts. I think it was posted by a motorcycle enthusiast. It used a duty cycle electronic controller to vary the heat from 0 to 100% of its capability as needed. Surely if a motorcycle could power it a tractor should too.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

Pat, Since I was a sailor I am used to doing things at General Quarters speed. As I said and a bunch of people apparently agree with. If you have the time it is nice to get out and enjoy the drive sometimes. I have a cab with A/C and heat and a stereo. Unfortunatly I still have a full time job as a computer tech, I sell real estate and I repair and manage my rental properties. Along with representing a few hundred people in my union. Time is the one thing I dont have a lot of. Putting the ramps on my trailer does not take long. Driving the tractor up on the trailer is minutes. I have chains and rachet tie downs ( not boomers) It does not take long to hook a chain in the hook on the trailer and put the hook on the other end of the chain onto the tractor. The rachets go across the chain and you just rachet them tight. It is a pretty fast operation usually. I enjoy time with my tractor playing around my property. But the one long distance drive I took with it took about 4 hours or so total and I didnt really have the time to enjoy that.

 

[patrick_g]

Right you are, definitely. There is no right or wrong answer to roading or trailering. It is like tea. You can drink it hot or cold sweetened or not, with cream or not or with lemon or not. Sometimes your choice of which way to drink tea is influenced by the weather and sometimes by your mood or other circumstances. There are combinations and circumstances that don't make sense like milk AND lemon in tea.

So long as you can do either safely and not inconvenience too many people unneccessarily then either roading or trailering could be your cup of tea.

Pat

 

[Soundguy]

I've seen heated seat cushions for a car.. guess if you had heated socks and a seat cushion.. it surely might help int he cold for an open platform tractor..

that and some thermals and a good apir of carharts and some thinsulated boots / gloves with wool liners..

soundguy

 

[gemini5362]

I've seen heated seat cushions for a car.. guess if you had heated socks and a seat cushion.. it surely might help int he cold for an open platform tractor..

that and some thermals and a good apir of carharts and some thinsulated boots / gloves with wool liners..

soundguy

When I first moved back to the United States on my farm I bought my first tractor I was driving it on a briske cool day with the cold wind blowing in my face. I still remember the thrill and exhiliration of that drive.

 

[BTDT]

Couple of years ago, I roaded an M Farmall around 20 miles from our property in Combine to our new place in Rosser. It was all farm to market road, and I was sure I would run out of fuel (propane powered), so I had my step dad follow me in a pickup with a tow chain just in case. No problem at all. And it went by pretty quick, not sure how fast we were running, but I know I wasn't wide open, because the steering is kind of loose after 50 years. Just choose your day, and enjoy the ride. Folks will wave at you like your a celebrity.

 

[catvet]

Been an interesting Thread. Wanted to let everyone know I made the return trip on my Tractor today after using it for a month at our residence. The trip went well. A bit chilly at 35 degrees but the sun was out. I also rigged up a quick cab out of flex-o-glass and rare earth magnets. Worked fine for what I needed. I think with a bit of work could get a pretty snazzy cab setup for little money.