Driving 8N long distances

Would there be a problem driving my 8N that far.
My 49 8N is in great shape.
But will I damage it in any way driving it that far.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

I saw a JD sickle ($75) and the
hook up looks difficult. I imagine the road wothyness of
the setup may be in question.

TOH

• Hobby farm

I've driven my 8N many times that kind of distance. To lessen the tire wear on the pavement, I often drive with the right side tires just off the road on the gravel shoulder. The road speed is approximately 15 mph, and the engine is not working very hard for that time.

The one caution is if you have a Sherman OD transmission. It will get the road speed up to about 22 mph, but it increases the speed of the hydraulic pump by the same proportion. As you carry the sickle mower back home, you will probably have to have the PTO engaged to keep the 3 pt arms up. If so, do not hook up the sickle bar's PTO shaft or else it will be trying to sickle, and it can not sickle when the bar is in the travel (up) position. If you are not familiar with a sickle mower, pay very close attention to this command: NEVER PUT HAND OR FINGERS ON OR BETWEEN THE ROCK GARD TEETH! The sickle may suddenly move or slip due to lifting the bar and it will cut fingers off instantly. When you lift the bar to transport position, only handle the bar on the backside, and watch, you will see the sickle teeth move.

The early Ford sickle mowers needed a special bracket which is placed just below the 3 hole top link attachment. The top connection of the sickle bar will not fit in any one of the 3 holes. And the bottom of the sickle bar is attached to a special bracket below the right fender axle attachment bolts. Without these 2 special brackets which were usually left on the tractor, you will not be able to transport the sickle mower.

If your tractor is fitted with the PTO ORC, the short driveshaft of the sickle mower may be too long, and as you lift the mower with the 3 pt arms, it may try to drive the PTO shaft forward into the tractor rear end and do some pretty nasty stuff.

I am not tying to rain on your parade, but just advising you of some of the things to watch for. I had one of the early Ford sickle mowers, and was convinced that it probably was the most dangerous implement that I owned. Fortunately some old timer warned me about the fingers and hands problem before I learned the hard way.

Good luck and be safe!

Paul in MN

The SBM is missing half the PTO shaft.
It is missing the half that attaches to the tractor.
It is a belt driven 3ph type.
It looks in ok shape. Not sure all the parts are there.
Best I can tell it looks complete tho.

Local police around here don"t care none.
It"s a common site to see tractors going down the road.

I don"t have a 3 hole connection for my top link.

Maybe I ought to just borrow a boom pole and use that to load the thing on a trailer and bring it home that way. I"d hate to drive my tractor all that way just to find that a bracket is missing that is needed to carry it home.
I would just take a trailer down there and get it if we had a way to load it. I doubt any of us can just pick it up and toss it up on a trailer.

Gonna have to investigate this more.
Make sure before I drive that far on my tractor.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

Now yer local law enfforcement might haff sumptin' ta say about it. You know triangular slowmoving vehicle sign 'cuz yer only gonnna be travelin' about 12mph at 3/4 throttle (1750rpms) Caution iff'n yer reartires are water filled. SLOOoowDown..... ....Dell