Articulated "Mower Tractor" Still Going Strong

Articulated "Mower Tractor" Still Going Strong MOWERS Mowers (31H) 34-5-15 A few years ago FARM SHOW featured a 4-WD articulated "mower tractor" built by Harold Tribitt mostly from junked parts (Vol. 27, No. 3). It's equipped with dual wheels on front and back and a front-mounted 6-ft. deck that rides on a pair of 400.8 2-ply caster wheels. Tribitt recently sent us photos of the tractor with some changes that he made to it. The tractor's frame was fashioned from parts off an IH 37 disk, while the transmission, axles, and 6.50 by 16 wheels are out of a pair of 1960's Chevrolet 3/4-ton pickups. A 4-cyl. water-cooled gas engine from an Owatonna self-propelled windrower supplies the power. The tractor articulates via a single 2 1/2-in. hydraulic cylinder that acts on a 1-in. dia. shaft. A double hydraulic pump that came off a combine provides power steering. The mower deck is home-built and is belt-driven off the engine. "I removed the 4-speed transmission and replaced it with a hydrostat unit from an IH 4000 windrower," says Tribitt. "I split the double pump and used just the front one with the input shaft, but had to swap parts since the oil suction tube was on the rear pump. "I also cut down an oil cooler from a front-end loader and built a 10-gal. oil tank that mounts under the seat. I haven't had any problems with the tractor since I built it back in the early 1990's, except for a couple of belts and replacing all 4 wheel grease seals. I recently gave the tractor a fresh coat of paint." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Tribitt, 16108 482nd Ave., Revillo, S. Dak. 57259 (ph 605 623-4491; trifarm@tnics.com).

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