Tractors On Public Roads

[Harv]

Jag -

I'm willing to believe that the exact laws and the degree of enforcement varies across the nation.

I took a peek at the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Code and I found it amusing that it says farm tractors and the like "should" have SMV emblems, as opposed to the California law which says they "must" have one. Doesn't surprise me, though. California is not known for it's careful drivers. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Actually, I couldn't find much about off-road or farm equipment at all in your state. Maybe I'm just not finding it, or maybe tractors have free reign out there. Sure would make things easier for farmers, huh? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Billc]

This post is a little off topic but goes along with the earier post about the black mules.

Anyone know of the Goatman? I swear I am not making this up. There was a fella, he died in about '94 at the age of 90 or so. Anyway everyone knew him by the name "The Goatman". Back during the Depression he was in a logging accident and thought to be dead. They took him to the morgue. Turns out he was very much alive. After the accident he couldn't work anymore because of a mangled left arm. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone so he hit the road. He traveled in a ramshackled old waggon that pulled a smaller additional ramshackled waggon. Both waggons were piled high with junk he found along the road. Instead of horses pulling this contraption he used goats...up to 20 something goats traveled with him at a time.

His team of goats and two waggons traveled on state highways every summer from the 1930s to the early 1970s. During the winter he stayed in South Georgia. He and his caravan would travel to the Carolinas, Virginias, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, up to Iowa, I think. He was from Iowa...or one of the states close to there.

People would know he was coming days before he got there because of two clues: First, he would back traffic up on the state highways for miles. He didn't much care if he had three or three-hundred cars backed up behind him. Second, you could smell him coming from 30 miles away.

After his third wife left him the Goatman came to two realizations: First, he would never take another bath (this was in the 1940s). Second, he said according to the Bible that God said 7 woman were put on Earth for each man. If it was o.k. with the rest of the men another man could have his other four, he didn't want them.

Again, I'm not making this up. Does anyone remember him coming through your town? It was always a big event.

Bill Cook

P.S. See what you folks in California are missing???

 

[TomG]

I imagine regs vary from place to place. In general, I have the impression that the use of off-road fuel on public roads is restricted to direct paths between off-road work sites. I imagine that means no errands to the store by tractor, and driving the tractor to a dealer for service probably is a gray area.

I drive my tractor about 10 miles on a highway between house and camp a couple times a year. I decided that my 1/2 ton wouldn't quite cut the tow job, and I'd also end up with a larger trailer than desirable for most uses. I bought a 5' x 8' utility trailer instead. I use 3ph pallet forks to load implements into the trailer and truck bed and drive both truck and tractor to the camp.

My wife might become resistant to ferrying me back and forth if I made this trip a lot, but it's OK for occasional trips. With the trailer/truck loaded, I can have 2 or 3 implements at the camp plus the forks. I don't think most trailers can carry a tractor plus four implements. And, I don't have to take a monster trailer when I go to the dump.

 

[Thomas]

Harv,
Also from December 1st until May 1st your allow to run tire chains on the 3 class up roads..but not Canadian tire chains.
I heard Maine has the toughs laws when it comes to studded snow tires. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[markcg2000]

Goat Man??? I figured that had to be a some blown out of proportion legend, so I did a serach...

here ya go!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Down at the bottem of the page there is a link to the Goat Man. I couldn't use the direct link because there is an apostrophe in it, but here is that link:
http://www.stalkingthewild.com/america'.htm

<font color=green>mark</font color=green>

 

[Jag]

Harv, Arkansas is a rural state and I am not sure now if farming is still the largest industry, but farming and timber together is largest by a long long shot.. And moving equipment around the state what ever way you want to do it is not problem... And I dare say has the right-of way....

 

[Jag]

Harv, also I forgot to tell you it is not uncommon to see kids say 12 and up moving tractor lights or no lights over the roads. This is not the rule, and most of the younger ones would appear to be 16 or so and up....

 

[RICK R]

My wife saw the Goatman come though here ,western NC,back in the sixtys.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>See what you folks in California are missing???</font color=blue>

Don't you fret none about us, Bill. We have no shortage of strange people in this state. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

Harv, I've stayed out of this discussion thus far for a couple of reasons: (1) I was a city cop in a big city and just didn't have occasion to be too concerned with enforcing farm equipment laws, and (2) it's too complicated and complex in the State of Texas - as with a lot of laws. I just took a quick look at the State's web site for statutes and find "farm tractors" are included in 736 documents./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I do know there are some lighting requirements; headlight, taillight if operated at night, there is a 25 mph speed limit, a SMV emblem is required, etc. I was also surprised to find one place that says registration is not required on farm tractors under 4,000 gross weight (I didn't know it was ever required and if anyone registers them, I sure didn't know that).

As a practical matter, farm equipment is running up and down these roads around here all the time, and if they stay off the Interstate Highways, I've never known of a police officer to stop one for anything, although I guess it's bound to have happened somewhere sometime.

Bird