Old Tractors Full Load and Full Out

Bill VA · Sep 9, 2022

Baling a little hay end of next next week if the weather holds. Not a lot left to do to finish out the hay season.

Thinking about putting the square baler on my 1958 Farmall 350, which will require it to work hard, full load and full out.

Question is - how many of you still run your old gas row crop tractors from the 40s and 50s on the farm for hours on end full load and full out - just like a farmer would have done when new? What are you running, what is the typical chore and how long - hours, days on end?

Just curious.

Thanks!
Bill

Dieselsbest · Sep 9, 2022

The longest so far Ive ran is 6 hours on mta sickle mowing. But Im not really working it with 7ft in 3rd high, was tall grass but wasnt loaded up. The rust in the tank stopped me lol. Its be cool to be able to run it for a full day. Only had them for a few months however

caterpillar guy · Sep 9, 2022

Our H is a putter tractor used mostly to haul wood and run augers in the fall and winter. The othersw 806,856 both don't get the hours nor use they used to. I still work them some for a day at a time. Mostly for haying now and bale with the 806 and mow with the 856 rake with 574 or what ever is available to rake. Haul with what ever is available too. Load with the loader and put in barn with 6036 Skytrac with 4x4 bales in the mow and in the old freestall barn on mow floor there too. 1466 is even getting to small for most work now. It doesn't have the hydraulics for the planter and is almost to small for pulling it. Will pull the field cultivator well and struggles with the mulch finisher. Works it's tail off to pull the chisel plow if I use it. The chisel plow works much better on the 7140 or one of the Steigers. The big Disc is out of the question for anything but the Steigers. Want to get a newer field cultivator and then that will be out of the question for anything but the Steigers also. Would be close to 40 foot. Yes the old Steigers get the same workout each year all spring. Still 70's models tractors.

gtractorfan · Sep 9, 2022

My thought is if you're using a small square baler it's not much of a load for the 350. Years ago we baled with a Farmall H or a Fergy 30. Not too handy without live pto but it wasn't that much of a load. As I remember we got at least 200 bales an hour.

Swittig · Sep 9, 2022

Not that I have a lot to do but I do work till and plant 10 acres with an A John Deere and 350 farmall. So about 12 to 20 hours between for the year.

gene bender · Sep 9, 2022

NO PROBLEM FOR THE 350 IF ITS IN DECENT SHAPE NOT EVEN A HEAVY LOAD

sotxbill · Sep 10, 2022

Full load, but at pto rpm setting? Or at full throttle... (from a previous post) If it holds pto rpms, and does not run hot, its doing what its designed to do. Keeping the radiator clean of chaff and grass so that it can also work properly at high loads so it can also do its job. Now plowing on the other hand, can get away from you if your not careful. Too deep, and too fast are my common problems.

farmallsandcoops · Sep 10, 2022

Don't know if it qualifies but just got done running my Co-op E5 70 miles at full throttle in road gear. Wasn't pulling anything. Neighbor and I drove it and his 1963 Oliver 1800 to a threshing show. Left at 830 am and got to the show grounds around 330 pm. Had a nice hour break for lunch. And no, my bu** was not sore at all when I was done. Used around 2/3 of a 21 gallon tank. It has been gone thru mechanically so I had no worries there. Tires were the only question as they are co-op tires and don't know what age they are.

MARK ROBKE · Sep 10, 2022

Before I bought my diesel CIH485, my 300utility was the main horse. Besides hay-mowing tedding, raking, square baling, and later round baling, and hauling the hay to the barn- it also was used to plow, and disc 1-2 1/2 acres of tobacco, plus bush-hogging 20+ acres of hill pasture. Not to mention loading and hauling manure and setting out roll bales in winter. My main/only complaint about my 300u is the lack of power steering. But the 485 is a better tractor-easier to operate-easier on fuel- so it is now the main horse. But the 300 is ready when I need it, and does most of the tedding and raking. And we no longer raise tobacco. We tried hemp in 2019, and the 300 did all the plowing for that fiasco. Mark.

mschwartz · Sep 12, 2022

Been running my Farmall 350 pulling my all crop 60. Pto machine and 60-80 bushel spring wheat giving it a pretty good workout. Probably the best thing for the tractor. Use all of my letter series tractors like they were meant to be used, I feel even the F series tractors can be used all day long if you keep them serviced up. I think all of these older tractors were way overbuilt for the power that they made, thats why they are still working. Raked hay with a massey harris 22 and baled with a Farmall M this morning. My Farmall 350 has plenty of power for running the small baler but it had no fluid in the tires so a little light to handle baler on my hills. Have fun, Mike

BarnyardEngineering · Sep 12, 2022

On paper there's no problem with using your 350 on most small square balers, as long as you're not trying to pull hills with a loaded 9x20 kicker rack behind you.

The wild card in this discussion is, you're working with a near-70 year old tractor. Any piece of it can break down at any moment. Wheel could fall off. Engine could blow up. Clutch could decide it no longer wants to participate.

None of it would have anything to do with how you're using it. It would have everything to do with it being an old tractor.

Bill VA · Sep 13, 2022

Thanks for the replies!!!

Bill

Old Tractors Full Load and Full Out

Bill VA

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Dieselsbest

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caterpillar guy

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gtractorfan

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Swittig

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gene bender

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sotxbill

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farmallsandcoops

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MARK ROBKE

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mschwartz

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BarnyardEngineering

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Bill VA

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