Earlier tractors (1920s and somewhat later) were probably designed with two things in mind: belt work and tillage. Three speeds were normal. Second was "plowing gear," at around 3 mph (I have actually seen that expression in old sales literature). Low was probably intended for emergency use in case of serious overload, or maybe for some machines that needed to go slow (but not as slow as some of the modern machines, like tillers). High, usually in the 4 mph range, was almost useless on a steel-wheeled tractor. The engines didn't put out enough power to make up for the loss to the ground through the lugs when pulling the rated load(I estimate about 35% loss on average, by looking at old Nebraska tests). For transport, you could barely stay on a steel-wheeled tractor at 4 mph on a gravel road. Been there many times on my father's 10-20. You ended up throttling way back in second, or running in low full throttle at around 2 mph. All of this is just my view on how tractors were conceived way back then. Ain't got no proof. Road gears did start to appear after rubber tires became common (roughly the mid-thirties), and as one commentator says here, IHC did offer 7-mph high gears for F-20 and F-12 and probably some of the other tractors of that era. Would have been welcome. I spent many an hour roaring along the road at 4 mph on our rubber-tired F-12, hauling loads of grain or hay. That's a mile in 15 minutes!
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. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Identifying Tractor Noises - by Curtis Von Fange. Listening To Your Tractor : Part 3 - In this series we are continuing to learn the fine art of listening to our tractor in hopes of keeping it running longer. One particularly important facet is to hear and identify the particular noises that our
... [Read Article]
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.
