Driving tractor 20 miles on road

[Rara Avis]

Paul I say this with a lot of respect. You are joking correct about calling the police ? I call when I see someone that looks like they are intoxicated and weaving. The police will respond to that. I will tell you a true story. In an earlier post I mentioned about a semi that hit me and totalled my car. He did not have any insurance at all. About a month after he hit me I saw him driving his truck headed into a town near me. I knew he did not have insurance because I was in the process of sueing him over the wreck. In arkansas if you do not have insurance and have a wreck your license is suspended and you do not get it back until you have posted a bond equal to the amount of money needed to cover the accident. I called the police and told them that he was coming into town with a loaded semi trailer. I gave them his drivers license number and told them that his license was suspended and he would be in their town on such and such road in ten minutes. I was told that because they did not have a reason to stop him they could not do anything about it.

Good Idea about the camera. Not all states have front mounted license plates. Arkansas for one doesnt.

I guess that's the advantage of a small state...our state police seem to be available for lunatic drivers...

That'll learn you to live in AR--KANSAS...

 

[gemini5362]

I guess that's the advantage of a small state...our state police seem to be available for lunatic drivers...

That'll learn you to live in AR--KANSAS...

I really take that personally. There is actually a law on the books stating how to pronounce arkansas correctly. I have pointed out to may people that they are in violation of that law. I lived in kansas until I was 11. I was born in el dorado.
I probably would have enjoyed living there more except that I am alegic to wheat dust. It causes me to have asthma attacks. My uncle had a 800 acre field (guess what was planted in it) that you could see from my house. Another uncle had a 1200 acre field, want to guess what was planted in it. Two blocks over and three blocks down was the grain elevator. No one knew that I was alergic to wheat until I moved to Arkansas and got away from it. I am very engertic about saying it is pronounced Ar can saw.

 

[D7E]

...Wow ...How a thread can turn around ....Funny though ?

 

[patrick_g]

In terms of your street violence...I guess I use what my Grand Master taught me...

PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of Hap Ki Do is based on three guiding principles: Yu, Won, and Hwa

I hope to choose wisely, Grasshopper. If accosted with a deadly weapon on the street I will probably choose my Glock. Second choice is to run serpentine. My sensei taught me that most people can't actually throw a knife well and running serpentine from a knife attack may be a valid defense when available.

What, no further comments about my comparison of a trucker assaulting someone on the highway through intimidation with his BIG TRUCK being similar to a street thug threatening to harm you with a club or knife if you don't do what he wants, give him your wallet?

I wonder what your philosophical Grand Master would counsel.

Pat

 

[otus_branch]

Wow, reading a few of the latest replies to this thread tells me that things have drifted a tad off-topic as of late.

I'll join the fray to add that the early postings on this thread got me thinking about the original topic. For me, it was a situation of having the L-39 at one farm/future home site, and having a neighbor of the other farm site (18 miles of winding mountain roads away) ask whether I wanted to partner on loading and hauling some locust logs that needed to go. Trailering the L-39 back was not an option for a few reasons. I decided to do the OTR tractor-drive instead last Sunday afternoon, and it all went smoothly.

The L-39 can hit 14 mph in 12th gear, and I managed that on a few of the smooth straight-aways. But on some of the curves, rough sections of road, and inclines, I had to gear down to 11th gear (approx 8 mph). In all, the 18 mile trip took around two hours, which is considerably less than hauling/loading/unloading a trailer would have.

-otus

 

[gemini5362]

Wow, reading a few of the latest replies to this thread tells me that things have drifted a tad off-topic as of late.

I'll join the fray to add that the early postings on this thread got me thinking about the original topic. For me, it was a situation of having the L-39 at one farm/future home site, and having a neighbor of the other farm site (18 miles of winding mountain roads away) ask whether I wanted to partner on loading and hauling some locust logs that needed to go. Trailering the L-39 back was not an option for a few reasons. I decided to do the OTR tractor-drive instead last Sunday afternoon, and it all went smoothly.

The L-39 can hit 14 mph in 12th gear, and I managed that on a few of the smooth straight-aways. But on some of the curves, rough sections of road, and inclines, I had to gear down to 11th gear (approx 8 mph). In all, the 18 mile trip took around two hours, which is considerably less than hauling/loading/unloading a trailer would have.

-otus

Otus I had to take my tractor to a neighbors house to pick up a backhoe. I was going to trailer it but my neighbor talked me into just driving over it was about 15 miles each way of mountain back roads. He used the same arguement you did about the time it would take to put it on a trailer and then drive. Why do you feel that is faster. I can get my tractor on and off of my trailer in less than 30 minutes and most of that time is just tieing it down. To me it is a lot better if you have the resources to trailer it. ( Other than if you just want to go for a nice leisurely drive enjoying the countryside. ) My truck is a lot more comfortable to drive and It is less than half of the time to load, unload do what I need to do then reload it and go home.

 

[N80]

He used the same arguement you did about the time it would take to put it on a trailer and then drive. Why do you feel that is faster. I can get my tractor on and off of my trailer in less than 30 minutes and most of that time is just tieing it down.

I agree. I honestly don't think it takes me more than ten minutes to drive it up on the trailer and chain it down. Even less coming off the trailer. It just isn't that hard. The most time consuming thing for me is inspecting the trailer and making sure the tires are at the right pressure, lights work, etc, etc. But even that just takes a few minutes. But I'd say 30 minutes total for all of that.

And driving 20 miles at an average of 20mph is going to take an hour and there is no way most of us will hit 20 mph average over 20 miles. In fact, most of the tractors we drive probably won't hit 20 at all. So a 20 mile trip is going to take most people two hours at least.

In your truck the trip might take 30-40 minutes. Lets add 30-40 minutes of loading and unloading. That's between 1 hour and an hour and 20 minutes tops. And then you drive back in your own truck.

 

[Soundguy]

The milage is the issue. For instance.. my trip is short.. IE.. 4 miles. My trip over is almost equal to what it would take me to load and bind down my tractor.. etc. Haul back is the same.. thus I'm saving 'driving' time... etc.

Moot point now as i don't have a trailer big enough to haul the batwing on (wink)

Soundguy

 

[otus_branch]

Well, for me (since the truck and trailer were at farm 1, and the L-39 was at farm 2), the time breakdown looks something like this:
Hook truck to trailer, check lights & connections: 15 minutes.
Drive truck/trailer to farm 2: 35 minutes.
Load tractor onto trailer, chain down, check: 30 minutes
Drive the 18 miles with truck/trailer/tractor: 45 minutes (these are VERY winding roads, so 18 miles takes a while, especially when towing at near my old F-250's maximum).
Unload tractor, put away chains & binders: 15 minutes.

So, for me, the time investment to trailer is actually more than the time it took to catch a ride with a friend to farm 2, get on the tractor, and drive back. Plus for me at farm 2, road access is poor, and I have to do the tractor loading and trailer turn-around on a neighbor's pasture, which he keeps more like a lawn. The neighbor is wonderful and has welcomed me to move/park/load/turn the trailer there any time I want, but I still get nervous about tearing up the sod, especially as last week was (blessedly, finally) kinda wet here in the southern Appalachians.

And, it was the tail-end of leaf season around here (though the recent rains did mute the colors some), and driving the L-39 at 14 mph more or less kept pace with the tourists/gawkers. ;-)

Would my decision be different if I need to make this move again in mid-winter? Of course, as that drive would be almost painful in the L-39's open seat. But on a pleasant fall day, this worked out nicely.

-otus

 

[patrick_g]

It isn't just time compared to time in deciding to road a tractor or the weather or view. You have to wrestle with heavy ramps, crank the tongue jack a few jillion revs, do the chains and boomers (load binders for the yuppie larva) and shch FUN stuff.

I don't get paid by the hour so being able to hitch the trailer, "speed load" my tractor (like a battle stations drill), and drive from A to B in a less time than roading the tractor had better be WAY LESS TIME or some other real good reason or I'll just putter to point B at 12-15MPH and not worry if I only average 10MPH, I got a cab, heat and A/C and scenery to see and folks to wave to.

Now if I need to use the trailer at the other end then I might load the tractor to drive less than a half mile across my own property.

Pat

 

[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.