1256 and field cultivators

The 1066 was equiped with no weight added as my real heavy work load was PTO. I had no problems whatever pulling either the 20' disk or the 25' cultivator. These big tractors don't need as much weight added as one might think. My 1066 did have chloride in tires when delivered to me new. I removed as I felt tractor was too heavy and too much hp was being used hauling that extra weight. I have chopped corn with forage harvester, pulling wagon. Field was partly done when I arrived. I had to start off in 2' deep ruts left by a 90 hp 4x4 tractor. Quite good advertizing 90 hp 4x4 on the dry side of field and that 4x4 was loaded with weights, and here is the 2 wheel drive 1066 doing the wet section of field. They had been using a second tractor to pull the wagon, before I arrived.

As I said I farmed for many years, Farmalls SA, 130, 300 and 504 all had weight added, they needed it to pull loads on hard ground. All the big ones need is more rubber on the ground. I never had any added weights on my 560, 656, 100 hp Deere and not very long in 1066. The chloride was dumped less than a month from new. Remember this the very best traction you can find is on loose tilled soil, dry enough to be worked. We got the notion years ago tractors needed extra weight added when tractors under 50 hp were quite often hauling loads to barn weighing 3 times weight of tractor.

I'll give you something to think on regarding tires. A Farmall Super A will pull 3 times it's own weight on a 4'x 10' flat bottom stone boat, on hard ground. Not many tractors will do that. The pounds per square inch of rubber on the ground is actually quite high on a Super A. This weight habit we in North America find out selves in got started when reasonably light tractors were pulling some quite heavy loads, primarily on hard roads to the barn. It also greatly stabilized some of those lighter tractors working on slopes. By lighter tractors I am refering to tractors under 6,000 lbs. One of the biggest thrills of my life on tractor came with 1066 on ice with duals and 12 ton manure spreader behind me, there again hard surface. If we further look at those big tractors, 90% of what they do is done in a field conditions. When it is wet enough that duals cant get traction on the field we probably shouldn't be there. Soil compaction can have some severe, adverse effects on crop production, and the damage will happen more quickly on rain soaked ground. In my opinion we in North America have to take a long hard look at soil compaction. The industry in my opinion has not been building great tractors to achive less soil compaction. I think articulated tractors with duals on both ends is the way to go. Problem is industry doesn't build them small enough. There is a use for the big ones, but so is there for small lighter articulated tractors as well. And definately not a 2+2, they just had less power, not much lighter.