(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

What are some cheaper must-haves for tractor owners?

N

nrowles

Member
New to having a tractor. Currently have a MF 135 with loader. I have a drawbar, box blade and rough cut rotary mower.

One thing that I'm wondering its use is a clevis? What is the purpose of a clevis and when do you use it? I also have a fixed straight bar out the back and I'm thinking this clevis would bolt in nicely to lift some logs with a chain to move.

What do you guys feel are some of the cheaper must-haves for tractor owners. I know there are many different uses for a tractor but it seems like there are some things we all have in common.
 
Unless you have a drag disc or a trailer plow, you will rarely use a clevis.

Spend the money on a drawbar chain hook.

Dean
 
The only time I remember using a clevis was when
we had a set of chain harrows we used to drag the
yard with. A spinner on the steering wheel is nice. It
really depends what you need it for as what
attachments you could use ex. bale spear,log
winch,snow blower depending where you live
 
I guess I could say that I will mostly be doing some hobby farming on a few acres, food plots, woods/tree/trail/brush work, snow plowing (with bucket for now).
 
When I caught my 8n Ford on fire I realized that I really needed a fire extinguisher.Lesson learned. A very useful thing to have on any piece of
equipment is a chain with hooks, preferably a grab hook and a slip hook. I also carry a length of chain with only one hook. It is handy to use for
lifting something that only has a place where a hook won't work or to extend a chain.
 
(quoted from post at 19:26:08 10/29/16) Unless you have a drag disc or a trailer plow, you will rarely use a clevis.

Spend the money on a drawbar chain hook.

Dean
Click to expand...

I looked this up and I like it. When lifting logs you don't need to wrap chain around many times to get it tight, correct? You can let the excess drag.
 
(quoted from post at 19:35:09 10/29/16) When I caught my 8n Ford on fire I realized that I really needed a fire extinguisher.Lesson learned. A very useful thing to have on any piece of
equipment is a chain with hooks, preferably a grab hook and a slip hook. I also carry a length of chain with only one hook. It is handy to use for
lifting something that only has a place where a hook won't work or to extend a chain.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that my tractor currently does not have anywhere to store anything like this. I will have to do some research to see what I can do.
 
a 3 pt platform or carryall ,you can get the frame at tractor supply and build the platform yourself,,they are handy to have and not too costly,,I dont have a picture of one,,maybe someone can post a picture of theirs
 
I forgot Bib overalls, or full coveralls with insulation Dickies, Fire Hose, or Car Heart brands are fine. Jim
 
Don't forget the battery tender. Look at all of the discusions on here
about the . Wally world and go pick up a good Schumacher. Also change
your antifreeze!
 
I believe the list from Dan in North Houston is spot on. The two best, but more expensive items for my tractors have been a tooth bar for the loader bucket and a set of pallet forks for the same. It difficult to imagine all the uses for the forks.
 
Big old ABC type fire extinguisher. Mounted on the tractor. Also one inside the barn by the exit door.
 
Good luck finding a cultipacker for not too much $$$.
I looked for 6 or 8 years before I found an 8 footer at a reasonable price.
Around here they get most of $100/foot for them.
Till I got the packer I just used an old bedspring behind a 4 wheeler.
100_2094.jpg
 
A piece of black Romex about 2 feet long, to check the fuel level in the tank. I don't believe I've ever owned an old tractor with a working fuel gauge.
 
Just bought a Brillion 8ft tandem cultipacker at an auction 2 weeks ago for $25 had to do about 10 minutes welding on the hitch,that's why I love going to auctions.Think I have
7 cultipackers now all from auctions for cheap except the 4ft Oliver packer that came from a scrapyard pull it with a Simplicity Sunstar garden tractor.
 
Clevis on single tang trailers put the tongue on the draw bar then with the clevis straddle the drawbar with the pin through it the tongue will stay on. Not much use for one otherwise. For the guys wanting to lift with one they should get a shackle. The pin screws into it and will not be hitting you in the head when the pin bends and comes out or just comes out.
 
Wow.
$25. That's excellent!
I paid $300 for this one and had to braze a crack in one of the cast iron end frames. Not hard tho.
And 7 of them.
The man has his IRA in cultipackers. Wink
100_1787.jpg
 
Here is my home made carry all 6' wide 4' deep and 2'high also a landscape rake that's great for driveways and spreading loam and many other uses. the rake picture didn't show up. I made a gas gauge stick with graduation marks on it and keep one on the wall in the barn another on a post in the tractor shed and a 3rd in the garage the ones in the barn and shed have marks on both sides one side for the 8ns and the other for the 1710. My wife loves the carryall and uses it for all kinds of chores it attaches to my rear forks in seconds come to think of it the rear forks are mighty handy as well as forks for the bucket and don't forget a rear blade for snow removal driveway work and general dirt moving jobs.
a241241.jpg
 
There used to be a whole lot of small farms in my area and they all did crop rotation so everyone had a drill,disk,plow and cultipacker so there is still lot of that stuff around.Yesterday
at a sale they sold a really nice Brillion cultipacker with a double seed box on it for small grains and grass/clover seed would have been real nice but bought $950 so I figured I didn't need it that bad.
 
Also you might want to get a boom pole they can be real handy to move things and skin a deer.A middle buster or lay off plow is handy to have to garden with and to put in things like a drainage ditch.Three point hitch trailer mover that can handle gooseneck as well as regular hitch equipment and trailers is handy
 
Surprised no one said extra 3 pt lynch pins and hitch pins. A tool box to store these and some tools in.
 
I have always used a twist clevis and sometimes a solid bolt on clevis when using a log chain to pull things. The only safe way to hook a log chain to the tractor drawbar is with a clevis. Hooking a chain above the drawbar is how many have tipped a tractor over backwards. I use a solid bolt on clevis to pull a pull type trip plow.
 
Of course you can hook a chain to a clevis but the chain hook is easier and not hard on the chain.

Dean
 
Mixed reviews on the clevis.

I have considered steering wheel spinner. Parents had one on their lawn mower and I liked it.

Definitely need to get tool box on.

I do have assortment boxes for pins and clips.

Forgot to mention will also be doing a small garden.

Gas gauge is good idea since mine doesn't work.

I also forgot to mention I did pick up a set of heavy duty forks for the bucket with a stabilizer bar. Saw a buddy use these and they actually worked real good with the stabilizer bar. Planning to make a carry all out of a skid.

Many of the 3 pt attachments mentioned I have on my wish list (most of these don't fit the cheap category).

As for the auctions, I like going as that's what I was doing before I picked up this tractor, but it just takes so much of the day. Both I went to I didn't come home with anything and took half the day.

Fire extinguisher not a bad idea.

Have a battery tender.

It is diesel so not sure how much the spark plug wrench will help.
 
(quoted from post at 06:16:58 10/30/16) Several Clevis are a must as many of the older pull type implements needed a clevis to hook them up.
Click to expand...

For $20 it would hurt for me to get the clevis and if I need it I have it.
 
If it has manual steering, be aware that a spinner could result in a sprained
thumb..btdt. My old Tractors all have a length of black wire, several assorted nails
and a vise grip as standard equipment....Ben
 
WHAT IS the shackle you are talking about? Never heard of that. And I have a dozen or so clevis and also the chain hook that fastens on with a pin. Some of the older clevis do have a screw in pin that is an od thread that if you loose the pin that came with it you are out, they were used mainly with the double tree setup for horses.
 
(quoted from post at 06:59:46 10/30/16) If it has manual steering, be aware that a spinner could result in a sprained
thumb..btdt. My old Tractors all have a length of black wire, several assorted nails
and a vise grip as standard equipment....Ben
Click to expand...

It has power steering.

Interesting list of items in your tool box. Can you list any specifics on when you needed them or are they there just in case?
 
A black marker????

Memory from year to year cant remember everything so what I started doing years ago was to pick a spot on each tractor or attachment and write down the required tools for general service while using it.
Always something that either comes loose, needs adjusting or wear items that can quickly be changed in the field if you remembered to bring the right size wrench, hex key, socket etc.
Being able to hook up to something you have not used in a year and grab the tools you need to bring along saves a lot of time and trips back to the yard.
I also write down filter numbers, how much oil for a change and the wrench size of the drain plug.
 
Yes, he needs a toolbox. However, toolboxes are a lot like car garages. The vast majority of them never have cars in them. Tractor tool boxes are much the same: 12 inch deep tool box translates to 10 inches of junk and two inches space for tools. Lol!
 
Nails to replace a roll pin or cotter key that shears, as a temporary fix, black wire
to reattach most anything that falls off or comes loose, and the vise grip to use as
a wrench or hammer for any in field 'adjustments' Ben
 
My must have list is"

Always have a place under roof to store and work on them.

You can never have too many tools to repair them.

Need a place with concrete floor. A good floor jack and jack stands.

Better know how to trouble shoot electrical issues along with a voltmeter.

Good battery charger.

Cordless grease gun and cordless impact to spin nuts off.

Have chains on all tractors along with a small tool box with essential tools.

Have a set of tire chains for pushing snow in winter.

An air compressor in shop and pole barn.

A quick hitch for 3 pt implements.
 
Hi, my dad made a carryall for the back of our
mf35. He just nailed 2 2x4 together for each side
and cut about a 6" gouge near the end of each
perhaps 1" deep. These would ride just under the
axle and the middle would sit just over the lift arms
at the linch pins. Then just some boards nailed
across. We hauled several bales at a time when
feeding young stock. Or taking tools etc when
fencing. Light enough for 12 yr old kid to mount.
Ed Will Oliver BC
 

I have probably three clevises and still run short sometimes. If you need to trailer it a clevis helps a lot in tying it down.
 

I have probably three clevises and still run short sometimes. If you need to trailer it a clevis helps a lot in tying it down.
 
This is some good stuff guys. Thanks.

Definitely a lot of the smaller things I need/should have were brought to my attention here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Looking for advise on tractor purchase
Replies
12
Views
658
jm.
jm.
M
Trying to figure out PTO & Tractor ID request.. 1950s IH 300 utility..?
Replies
6
Views
415
MARK ROBKE
M
F
Deere 4020 New Owner Questions
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
FFFAM
F
B
Acreage Tractor Recommendation
2
Replies
27
Views
834
ss55
S
C
weak spark on a ford 4000 forklift
Replies
4
Views
369
Charlie M
C
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top