He Added Hydraulics To His Garden Tractor

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #5, Page #10

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Samuel Troyer made his 212 Deere garden tractor even better by adding hydraulics. He always preferred the 212 over later versions for its pulling power and lack of hydrostatic drive.
“My brother brought a wagon loaded with 140 small square bales to our farm but couldn’t get it to the elevator,” says Troyer. “I hooked on with the 212 and pulled the wagon up a slight grade and into place. You can’t do that with the newer, lighter garden tractors with hydrostatic drive and hydraulics, all of which add to their cost.”
Troyer likes fixing up garden tractors for resale. The hobby gives him many chances to compare his old favorite with others.
“With a manual transmission like the 212, the drive is controlled by your feet, and it’s easy to turn around,” he says. “The only problem is it has a manual lift, no hydraulics. I couldn’t use it with a plow or other attachments like a snowplow or snowblower.”
Troyer mounted a belt-driven hydraulic pump to the electric clutch intended to power a mower deck. The pump can produce up to 2,300 psi. Removing the front grill made room for a hydraulic reservoir between the uprights the hood hinges to. Then, he installed a three-bank of hydraulic valves by the seat.
“I mounted a cylinder under the seat for a 3-pt. hitch, a port under the toolbox at the rear and one on the left side at the front,” says Troyer.
He fabricated a 3-pt hitch for the rear after modifying the OEM hitch. “The stock hitch is ahead of the rear wheels, which makes it easy to jackknife if turning tight with a trailer,” says Troyer. “I built back from it and raised it with a pair of steel plates that form a sleeve. I can slide one of several 4-in. wide steel plates into the sleeve and pin it in place. One plate has a 1 7/16-in. ball; another has a hole for a standard hitch pin.
He fabricated a 3-pt. hitch like one on his Deere 140 and bolted it to the tractor’s backplate. The cylinder under the seat pins to a clevis lever on the rocker arm of the 3-pt. to lift and lower the 3-pt.’s lower arms.
“The cylinder provides enough down pressure that when I have the single bottom plow attached, I can nearly lift the rear of the tractor,” says Troyer.
The port at the rear can be used as an auxiliary for hydraulic attachments, while the one on the front is used with Troyer’s snowplow and snowblower.
When he first bought the 212, Troyer replaced the original turf tires with ag tires and added weight to the rear wheels for traction. He also added a chrome straight pipe to the front corner of the tractor frame.
“The exhaust on the 212 is under the hood,” says Troyer. “I mounted the pipe just for fun and ran flexible tubing from the motor to the bottom of the chrome pipe.”
With the 3-pt. in place, he needed weight on the front to counter rear attachments. Having removed the grill, he fashioned a brush guard for protection and added weight.
“I got some steel grate from dairy barn gutters from a local scrap dealer and used it for the lower half of the brush guard, extending it out past the front wheels,” says Troyer. “I wanted the upper half narrower and removable so I could open the tractor hood. I welded short pieces of 1 1/4-in. steel tubing to the lower half and framed the top half of the brush guard with 1 1/2-in. steel tubing. It just slips in place until I need to remove it.”
The grate portion of the brush guard hooks into a quick-attach for front attachments. A reinforced hole in the grate provides access to a 12-volt winch mounted to the tractor frame and under the hydraulic oil reservoir. It’s easy to remove when mounting the snowblower or front blade.
“The brush guard adds about 20 lbs. to the front end, and the oil reservoir adds a few more,” says Troyer. “We have less than two acres, so we don’t need a larger tractor or skid loader. The 212 does all I want to do and doesn’t tear up the yard.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Samuel L. Troyer, 59078 Lepley Rd., Colon, Mich. 49040 (ph 269-221-3680).

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He Added Hydraulics To His Garden Tractor TRACTORS Cabs Samuel Troyer made his 212 Deere garden tractor even better by adding hydraulics He always preferred the 212 over later versions for its pulling power and lack of hydrostatic drive “My brother brought a wagon loaded with 140 small square bales to our farm but couldn’t get it to the elevator ” says Troyer “I hooked on with the 212 and pulled the wagon up a slight grade and into place You can’t do that with the newer lighter garden tractors with hydrostatic drive and hydraulics all of which add to their cost ” Troyer likes fixing up garden tractors for resale The hobby gives him many chances to compare his old favorite with others “With a manual transmission like the 212 the drive is controlled by your feet and it’s easy to turn around ” he says “The only problem is it has a manual lift no hydraulics I couldn’t use it with a plow or other attachments like a snowplow or snowblower ” Troyer mounted a belt-driven hydraulic pump to the electric clutch intended to power a mower deck The pump can produce up to 2 300 psi Removing the front grill made room for a hydraulic reservoir between the uprights the hood hinges to Then he installed a three-bank of hydraulic valves by the seat “I mounted a cylinder under the seat for a 3-pt hitch a port under the toolbox at the rear and one on the left side at the front ” says Troyer He fabricated a 3-pt hitch for the rear after modifying the OEM hitch “The stock hitch is ahead of the rear wheels which makes it easy to jackknife if turning tight with a trailer ” says Troyer “I built back from it and raised it with a pair of steel plates that form a sleeve I can slide one of several 4-in wide steel plates into the sleeve and pin it in place One plate has a 1 7/16-in ball; another has a hole for a standard hitch pin He fabricated a 3-pt hitch like one on his Deere 140 and bolted it to the tractor’s backplate The cylinder under the seat pins to a clevis lever on the rocker arm of the 3-pt to lift and lower the 3-pt ’s lower arms “The cylinder provides enough down pressure that when I have the single bottom plow attached I can nearly lift the rear of the tractor ” says Troyer The port at the rear can be used as an auxiliary for hydraulic attachments while the one on the front is used with Troyer’s snowplow and snowblower When he first bought the 212 Troyer replaced the original turf tires with ag tires and added weight to the rear wheels for traction He also added a chrome straight pipe to the front corner of the tractor frame “The exhaust on the 212 is under the hood ” says Troyer “I mounted the pipe just for fun and ran flexible tubing from the motor to the bottom of the chrome pipe ” With the 3-pt in place he needed weight on the front to counter rear attachments Having removed the grill he fashioned a brush guard for protection and added weight “I got some steel grate from dairy barn gutters from a local scrap dealer and used it for the lower half of the brush guard extending it out past the front wheels ” says Troyer “I wanted the upper half narrower and removable so I could open the tractor hood I welded short pieces of 1 1/4-in steel tubing to the lower half and framed the top half of the brush guard with 1 1/2-in steel tubing It just slips in place until I need to remove it ” The grate portion of the brush guard hooks into a quick-attach for front attachments A reinforced hole in the grate provides access to a 12-volt winch mounted to the tractor frame and under the hydraulic oil reservoir It’s easy to remove when mounting the snowblower or front blade “The brush guard adds about 20 lbs to the front end and the oil reservoir adds a few more ” says Troyer “We have less than two acres so we don’t need a larger tractor or skid loader The 212 does all I want to do and doesn’t tear up the yard ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Samuel L Troyer 59078 Lepley Rd Colon Mich 49040 ph 269-221-3680

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