Heavy-Duty Scat Tractor

Heavy-Duty Scat Tractor TRACTORS Made-It-Myself 14-5-4 This new "Scat Tractor" invented by John Myers and built by Don Beckloff, Oakwood, Okla., was originally designed for land clearing but also works great as a utility tractor with a variety of 3-pt. and loader-mounted attachments. "There's nothing like it for cutting and stacking trees, even in heavy underbrush, because it's built so tough and so maneuver-able," says Beckloff. The "Scat Tractor" is hydrostatically-driven and is powered by a4-cylinder diesel engine. It's equipped with large 18.4 by 26 front tires and small 7.00 by 15 rear castor tires that steer it like a swather. "It'll take more punishment in heavy brush than a conventional tractor because every-thing is enclosed," says Beckloff. "Tree limbs aren't likely to poke into the radiator or jerk off hydraulic hoses, and the Tuffak plastic glass on front of the cab is nearly unbreakable. It has more powerful hydrau¡lics than a skid steer loader and can go where a skid steer loader can't go because of the large tires and improved center of bal¡ance. The weight of the load is over the drive wheels which makes the tractor easy to maneuver in soft soil. It maneuvers much like a swather. The combination of rear castor wheels and hydrostatic-drive front wheels makes it possible to turn the ma-chine around in its tracks without skidding or tearing up ground." The front 3-pt. hitch, specially designed for the tractor, can be equipped with a 29-in. dia. tree-cutting blade that mounts on a 6-ft. long boom. The blade can be used to cut trees at ground level or can be raised up to 3 ft. high. A two-pronged tree stacker that folds back on the boom while the blade is cutting flips forward to stack fallen trees. The tractor can also be fitted with a conven¡tional Dual loader that can be equipped with a bucket, grapple fork, or bale spear. According to Beckloff, the tractor-mounted saw takes only three seconds to cut a 3-in. dia. tree and five to six seconds to cut a 6-in. dia. tree. The blade can be used to cut trees up to 3 ft. in diameter. "I've used it to cut up to 1,000 trees per hour," says Beckloff. "If there aren't any rocks, you can cut one to two inches under the ground to avoid leaving stumps. After you've finished cutting and stacking trees you hardly know they were ever there." The engine is available turbocharged (107 hp) or naturally aspirated (72 hp). Sells for $38,000. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW followup, Don Beckloff, Scat Industries, Box 90AA, Oakwood, Okla. 73658 (ph 405 891-3406).

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