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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | A two wheeled narrow front won't go down rows. Also, a single wheel like that puts a tire in every furrow if your using two row equipment (36" beds) like everyone here did. That was also when everything was row irrigated with siphon tubes. Having each furrow packed made a big difference, kept the water running the same. Otherwise that middle furrow would run slower, and you'd have only 2 out of 3 furrows done, all the way across the set.
Then, everything went to solid set sprinklers. Those tricycle tractors made the best pipe wagon tractors, or even just pulling a pipe trailer since you can turn so tight on the headlands you can pull the trailer axle straight to the end of the field and not run over the rows on the ends with it. Still see some guys who use them for that reason.
Having a tire track still makes for more uniform beds, which is nice in flat bed onions. But now, everything is 6 row. I've seen guys run triples to pack each furrow, that gets pretty wide when each tire is 36" from the other. Center to center of the outside duals is 18'. Also a weighted idler wheel hanging off the weight rack to pack the middle furrow, or just someone driving a little tractor around to catch the unpacked middle furrows.
Those do ride rough as can be though, not a big issue in a nice soft potato or onion field, but you do not want one in a hay or grain field. I thought it was all tricycle tractors until a few years ago when I ran a turning rake on a "rollomatic" trike tractor. Those ride much better. | |
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Why did tractors come with a single front wheel?
