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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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purpose of Farmall B

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Fred Reynolds

04-25-2005 20:37:03




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Can someone please tell me why the B has a single wheel? What was it designed for? And where were they most used. what state? Not many out here in California? why?




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WyoDave

04-26-2005 07:03:46




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
To add to what everybody else said the B wasn't that popular around here, but the single front wheel was quite common. The single front wheel was used for cultivating sugarbeets and dry edible beans that were planted in narrow rows around here.
David



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Red Dave

04-26-2005 05:15:41




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
A B was available with a single front wheel for the same reason that F-12's, F-14's, C's, H's & M's were available with single front wheels, to get between narrow row crops.
Mostly for cultivating things like vegetables.



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Roy Shields

04-26-2005 04:44:40




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
As a kid I loved to drive Grandpa's B because it was small like me. He only farmed 160 acres and an H was his main tractor and the B was his second. He would plant with it, use it on a hayrack, mow with it, and since our wagons were much smaller back then, we would haul oats and other grains with it. As a youngster one my favorite jobs was to use it on the hay rope. I still have it, and since it was his, I will never part with it.

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Harold H

04-26-2005 03:12:41




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
The A was a one row tractor and the B was a two row tractor. Most all tractors in South were equipped with either single front wheel or dual tricycle front wheel at the time to provide more crop clearance when cultivating. In Mississippi Delta even a lot of 706's were sold with single front wheels and the tricycle front still outsold the wide front axle untill the 1970's.

Harold H



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Tractor Tom

04-25-2005 22:11:30




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
According to Guy Fay in his book "Farmall Letter Series Tractors", the A & B tractors were an attempt to compete with the successful Allis Chalmers model B tractor. The Farmall A & B shared the same engine and tranny and as old wrote; they were used primarily for cultivation. With the offset, they lived up to their name Cultivision.

Apparently their popularity and distribution was regional. They were found on mostly small farms and were said to be relatively plentiful in the South. I don"t know about the popularity (or lack of same) in California but the B was never as successful as some of its cousins and IH ended production after a few years.

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Ron in Nebr

04-25-2005 22:11:26




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
Just to kick in here and add to the original question- Other than the narrow or single front and wider left rear axle the B was essentially the same tractor as the A. I've often also wondered why this tractor was built. The A seemingly could do practically anything the B was capable of. Or could the B run a wider cultivator because of that wider rearend?

Just from outward appearances it doesn't seem like the B was that much of a step up from the A to warrant a completely separate model. Looks like it would have been easier just to offer the extended left axle and narrow front as options for the A.

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Let it B

04-26-2005 10:56:27




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Ron in Nebr, 04-25-2005 22:11:26  
The B is a two-row cultivating tractor. The A is one-row. Powertrain and "user interface" wise, the tractors were virtually identical.

Never saw much point in the B myself. You could see that right-hand row really well, but the left-hand row was on the far side of the tractor.



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gene (Missouri)

04-25-2005 22:05:35




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
As a kid in Iowa the B and other small Farmall tractors were usually used on the cultivator as Old states. We also used the B (a lot) on the elevator and grain auger. We also used the B for general purpose light farm work like hauling a trailer full of fencing materials. Later years we use the B to mow CRP with a bushhog - It was a little under powered for this task, 1st gear only.

The neighbor (a real farmer), in Missouri, has his B mounted with a PTO driven spot sprayer. Which appears to be it's only use.

The B is/was a handy economical second or third tractor.

Gene

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old

04-25-2005 21:01:02




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 20:37:03  
The single wheel up front was an option. The B was a cultivator tractor mainly



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Fred Reynolds

04-25-2005 22:14:20




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to old, 04-25-2005 21:01:02  
Okay, one wheel was an option but why just one wheel? was there an advantage by just having one wheel. What kind of crop would the be best suited for? What area?



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Dick Davis

04-26-2005 02:32:20




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 Re: purpose of Farmall B in reply to Fred Reynolds, 04-25-2005 22:14:20  
The B on our mid Iowa 360 acres row crop farm was for planting as well as cultivating. It was the first tractor dad could get after the war and it joined an H and F-30. The mounted planter took most of a day to install and remove and then it was time to cultivate. It stayed a main player until 4 row stuff came along. Then it became a light chore tractor. My nickel Dick Davis



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