Roll-a-matic

Was the John Deere roll-a-matic tri-cycle front end a good invention or just a selling point but not particularly efficient? Has anyone ever considered/tried mounting one on an M Farmall? Just wondering. Ellis

It was first offered to IH by the inventor, but IH turned him away. Then John Deere took it and had great success.

The roll o magic was invented by a fella named Ronning. He designed many machines for IH. When he showed the first roll o magic on the front of a B Farm all they said no. He took the idea to JD and they loved it. I saw the original on the front of the B at Red Power Round Up in Albert Lea MN a few years ago.
As far as a good idea? Well if it was a good idea then someone else probably would have copied it. Power steering may have contributed to that also.

Yes, it helped.

I've spent a L-O-T of hours on Roll-a-Matic NFE JD's, much prefer them to WFE's. With the developement of anti-kickback power steering the R-o-M frt end wasn't as needed, like say when turning into a plow furrow from the land, w/R-o-M, one frt wheel steps down into the furrow, then the other, no jerking the steering wheel out of your hands like a solid NFE will do in the same situation. But P/S eliminated the problem. They do ride nicer than a solid frt end. Only problem was they couldn't carry as much frt weight as a solid frt end like big frt mount cultivators, loaders, etc. And they didn't like to be "Dropped" if you got the frt wheels too high for whatever reason. Makes changing a frt tire much harder, you needed a much taller block of wood to drive the good tire/wheel onto.

I think IH missed an opportunity by NOT taking the R-o-M when offered.

I have thought about making a "sprung NFE" for an H or M. Two sections of heavy wall square tubing, one smaller to slide inside the other. Then insert a std car shock absorber, or maybe an air shock inside the two sqr tubes. Would allow the frt end to cushion bumps and holes, but wouldn't work as well on loader tractors, too much weight variation.

have a rollamatic laying on the skid,not much to bolt one on 4 bolts just redrill a little

Roll o matic I meant. Darn auto spell check

Dad had 2 JD 60s with it and I liked it except in really loose sand. One had PS the other did not and as mentioned, it probably did more good on a non-PS tractor. In our neck of the woods, most tricycle JDs from '49 or '50 on had it.

Thanks for all the replies. I had no idea, I thought I might have had an original idea. Ellis

My dad owned a 4010 WITH roll-a-matic. I spent a lot of hours plowing and discing on the tractor. He also owned a 3020 WITHOUT roll-a-matic. I spent a lot of time on that tractor also, and honestly, dad and I absolutely COULD NOT notice ANY advantage or disadvantage to roll-a-matic. It was quite obviously nothing more than a marketing gimmick and did nothing to improve performance or handling.

I have some John Deeres with roll-a-matic, I don't see much advantage to them. Still feel power steering on an older tractor is really a big thing!

Back when I was in High School, Dad bought a JD 50 with a Roll-o-matic on it. No power steering, But it steered easier than the Farmall M we also had or the 2N Ford that the Deere replaced. That was it "81. Our first tractor w/PS was an A-C D-17 gas in "87. I"m sure someone somewhere has tried putting one on an M.

(quoted from post at 16:17:45 07/27/13) My dad owned a 4010 WITH roll-a-matic. I spent a lot of hours plowing and discing on the tractor. He also owned a 3020 WITHOUT roll-a-matic. I spent a lot of time on that tractor also, and honestly, dad and I absolutely COULD NOT notice ANY advantage or disadvantage to roll-a-matic. It was quite obviously nothing more than a marketing gimmick and did nothing to improve performance or handling.

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Dad had 227 mounted corn pickers on both of his 60s and that was where you noticed it most... turning on the end rows. We did a lot of custom picking and "opening up fields" in those days and with the ridges on the end rows it really helped. Plowing with the right wheel in the furrow it seemed to help also, but maybe it was just the perception that it did.

WE had them on a 70 and an A neither had power steering, I always thought they helped the most when we worked the ground canty cornered.

Just like tandoms on a trailor only side to side instead of front to back.

Biggest advantage I saw was less likely to jerk the Steering wheel away.

More of a big deal if you had a knob on the steering wheel. It hurt if it got away and slapped you on the wrist.

Smother riding also.

In HS I helped a neighbor some that had a 420 w/ roll-a-matic front. I felt it handled better in rough ground (moleboard plowed) than our IH tractors at that time that had nfs.

Disc a field that has been moldboard plowed utilizing a tractor that has NF and manual steering and you will easily see the difference.

Rollo-matic rides much smoother and the steering wheel is much less likely to break your thumbs when you put them where you should not.

While few people conventional plow anymore I do have a true story that some may find interesting: I was using my Farmall h this spring pulling a culti-packer to use as an improvised field roller to smooth a field that I had subsoiled in the fall. My Farmall was riding much rougher than I liked (even with the optional Monroe seat)and the steering was jerking too. Switched to the JD A with rollo-matic and the ride improved dramatically (even with the no suspension battery box seat on the JD). Also my A has power steering so the wheel jerking was solved too.

Would have preferred to use the h as it uses less fuel, but not going to punish my body to do it.

FWIW: I have both a Farmall h and a Farmall M. I have given thought to see what would be involved to bolt a JD rollo-matic on them both.