4-WD Tractor Built From Two Ferguson Tractors

1998 - Volume #22, Issue #5, Page #06

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"It isn't a big, fancy tractor but it still gets my tillage work done and I don't have much money invested in it," says Elfurt Blomenberg, who built an articulated 4-WD tractor out of two 1953 Ferguson TO30 tractors.
The Decatur, Ind., farmer built a steel framework to connect the two tractors. The front axle off an old car serves as the pivot point between the two tractors. A pair of hydraulic cylinders connect the axle directly to the rear tractor's steering wheel. Turning the steering wheel causes one cylinder to extend and the other to retract so that the front tractor turns with the rear one.
Blomenberg uses a pair of lightweight wooden poles to operate the throttle and to shift gears on the front tractor. The poles are connected directly to the throttle and shift lever. Both poles are suspended in steel loops
attached to the front tractor. To operate the clutch on the front tractor, he removed a brake slave cylinder off a pickup that was equipped with a hydraulic clutch and hooked it to the tractor clutch. The brake cylinder is connected to a foot pedal located next to the clutch on the rear tractor.
"I use it to do most of my tillage work," says Blomenberg, who farms 140 acres. "I use it to pull an 8 1/2-ft. wide chisel plow, 3-bottom Deere moldboard plow, and a land leveling system that consists of a 9-ft. wide blade and a 9-ft. wide culti-mulcher and heavy-duty harrow combination. It makes a nice seedbed. I mounted dual wheels on the rear tractor because the wheels on the chisel plow followed directly in the tractor wheel marks, making the chisel plow not level. When I don't have to pull much of a load I don't even start the front tractor. I can operate both clutches at the same time or operate them individually.
"It gets a lot of looks. The most fun I had with it was some years ago when we were pouring concrete. A ready mix truck got stuck trying to back out. The driver asked if I had something to help him get out, or else he would have to call a wrecker. I can still see the look on his face when he saw my tractor."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elfurt Blomenberg, 10266 N. 550 W., Decatur, Ind. 46733 (ph 219 547-4342).

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4-WD Tractor Built From Two Ferguson Tractors TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 22-5-6 "It isn't a big, fancy tractor but it still gets my tillage work done and I don't have much money invested in it," says Elfurt Blomenberg, who built an articulated 4-WD tractor out of two 1953 Ferguson TO30 tractors. The Decatur, Ind., farmer built a steel framework to connect the two tractors. The front axle off an old car serves as the pivot point between the two tractors. A pair of hydraulic cylinders connect the axle directly to the rear tractor's steering wheel. Turning the steering wheel causes one cylinder to extend and the other to retract so that the front tractor turns with the rear one. Blomenberg uses a pair of lightweight wooden poles to operate the throttle and to shift gears on the front tractor. The poles are connected directly to the throttle and shift lever. Both poles are suspended in steel loops attached to the front tractor. To operate the clutch on the front tractor, he removed a brake slave cylinder off a pickup that was equipped with a hydraulic clutch and hooked it to the tractor clutch. The brake cylinder is connected to a foot pedal located next to the clutch on the rear tractor. "I use it to do most of my tillage work," says Blomenberg, who farms 140 acres. "I use it to pull an 8 1/2-ft. wide chisel plow, 3-bottom Deere moldboard plow, and a land leveling system that consists of a 9-ft. wide blade and a 9-ft. wide culti-mulcher and heavy-duty harrow combination. It makes a nice seedbed. I mounted dual wheels on the rear tractor because the wheels on the chisel plow followed directly in the tractor wheel marks, making the chisel plow not level. When I don't have to pull much of a load I don't even start the front tractor. I can operate both clutches at the same time or operate them individually. "It gets a lot of looks. The most fun I had with it was some years ago when we were pouring concrete. A ready mix truck got stuck trying to back out. The driver asked if I had something to help him get out, or else he would have to call a wrecker. I can still see the look on his face when he saw my tractor." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elfurt Blomenberg, 10266 N. 550 W., Decatur, Ind. 46733 (ph 219 547-4342).

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