Farmer Built His Third 4-WD Tractor

Farmer Built His Third 4-WD Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself Maury Collins is back with a bigger more powerful and more versatile tractor design First presented by FARM SHOW Vol 15 No 2 in 1991 he later introduced PRO II Vol 34 No 2 Like the earlier models PRO III has 4-WD with articulation and oscillation It also offers a 3-pt hitch and front and rear pto “I wanted to see what a diesel would do and I had a 90 hp Deere engine sitting here ” explains Collins Nelson Tractor Ltd “I also wanted a different design that would free up the rear end for more uses The last design was limited with the engine mounted there ” In PRO III Collins set the cab forward with the engine under and to the rear on the front half of the tractor That leaves the entire rear half available for use as a flatbed dump box or log bed “One of the big things with any tractor is serviceability ” says Collins “With many newer tractors it can take 2 to 3 hrs to get to the problems With PRO III I can have full access to the engine in 10 to 15 min ” Collins designed the fenders to swing away with the release of a bolt holding each The fuel and hydraulic oil tanks are on one side and the oil tank is on the other “If it is a serious problem I remove 4 bolts and tilt the cab forward at a 45-degree angle for full engine access ” says Collins The cab has also changed with the PRO III Fully enclosed and equipped with air conditioning and heating it also features a back-up camera for ground level rear visibility “PRO III also offers better visibility to the front and the side ” says Collins “It is also set up to accept many skid steer attachments with quick attach plates ” Like the earlier versions this one also uses Poclain hydraulic drive wheel motors While they are more expensive than some imports Collins values their quality The hydrostatic drive with low and high ranges and maximum speeds of 4 and 14 mph respectively has full power while creeping at low speeds While still using his first 2 versions on a regular basis PRO III is seeing limited use Collins wants to keep the hours as low as possible as he would like to sell it He has set a price of $99 000 “I already have lots of plans for PRO IV ” says Collins “I’m also looking for partners to work on bringing the concept to market ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Maury Collins Nelson Tractor Ltd 521 Old Stoddard Rd Nelson N H 03457 ph 603 847-3321; collinsworkall@yahoo com; www workall com

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