Million Dollar "Farm Tractor" Sports 770 hp

Million Dollar "Farm Tractor" Sports 770 hp TRACTORS New Tractors 22-4-19 Not too many farmers in the world are likely ever to shell out the $1 million price tag on this giant new Komatsu tractor, but some California growers are willing to pay $200 per hour to rent it. Komatsu's latest behemoth has a V-12, 1,861 cu. in. turbocharged engine. Designed primarily for use in construction and mining, the tractor weighs 120 tons. Featuring 28-in. wide steel tracks that exert just 16.9 psi's on the ground, the tractor uses about 35 gal. of fuel per hour from its 402- gal. tank. It can be fitted with a 3-shank ripper that breaks up hardpan to a depth of 7 ft., says Tom Wurster, whose Fresno, Calif., ag rental company, Cal Star, bought the tractor last fall and has since used it to prepare 2,000 acres for fruit trees. To adapt the tractor to agricultural use, Cal Star removed a big dozer blade and mounted a five-section, 30,000-lb. counterweight on front. To transport the tractor from job to job, the tractor is loaded on a special 9-axle trailer, one of only two in California that can handle the load, Wurster says. Cal Star rents the tractor out for $200 per hour with a 6-hour minimum. "Generally speaking, on jobs larger than 500 acres, it's more cost-effective than a smaller tractor because it rips to 7 ft. in just one pass. Other rigs need two passes to dig that deep," Wurster says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cal Star Rentals, 3035 East Malaga, Fresno, Calif. 93725 (ph 209 233-1041; fax 1271).

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