Semi Tractors Converted Into Farm Tractors

Semi Tractors Converted Into Farm Tractors TRUCKS Conversions 27-2-5 Larry Klein, Alhambra, Ill., called us recently to see if we had ever done a story about converting semi tractors into farm tractors. He had just bought a used Mack truck with a newly rebuilt engine for $2,500 and he wanted to convert it for field work. "There has probably never been a better time to buy a used semi because many older trucks are failing the newer, tougher federal regulations. If there's the slightest thing wrong with a truck, they won't license it for road use," says Klein. "The semi I bought has a 300 hp engine with enough power to pull an 80,000-lb. trailer. It would cost you $150,000 to get that much power in a farm tractor." FARM SHOW has had a few stories on farmers who converted semis to farm tractors. In 2000 we wrote about Gerald Oetken, Larned, Kan. (Vol. 24, No. 5) who turned a 325 hp 1978 International into a farm tractor that he rated at about 234 drawbar hp. It had an 855 Cummins engine and a 10-speed Fuller transmission. He cut off the frame and attached a new rear end fitted with tractor tires. Then he installed a hydraulic system off a Versatile tractor. We had another story in 1986 about Brian Simonson of Plentywood, Mont. (Vol. 10, No. 2) who converted a 1970 International with a "sleeper cab" into a farm tractor. He got the idea from a nearby farmer who had converted three semi tractors for farm use.

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