Built From Scratch

Built from scratch MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 12-6-36 "It's in a class by itself. So far as we know, there's not another machine like it any-where in the world," says Jack Johnson who, along with his son Alan, built a king-size 40-ton winch tractor with a wide, hydraulically-set "anchor blade" that digs into the ground to provide a solid towing base. The Johnson family has operated a winching and "rescue" operation for more than 40 years for other farmers within a 70 mile radius of their farm near Banks in England. The area is primarily a vegetable-growing area and farmers grow on contracts that require them to deliver crop to factories on time regardless of weather conditions. The result is that combines, tractors and wagons frequently get bogged down, sometimes as deep as 10 ft. in some of the heavy clay soils of the area. The Johnsons average 300 to 400 "rescues" per year. "In the worst conditions we can be called out 20 to 30 times in a day, although the average throughout winter months is once or twice per 24-hr. period," says Johnson, who charges anywhere from $50 to $150 per winch job. Johnson worked out the design for the built-from-scratch winch tractor to meet the rugged needs of his farmer customers. The chassis frame consists of 3/8-in. sidewall 5-in. box steel beams. The front and rear drive axles, which both have limited slip differentials, came out of a "junked" U.S.-built Pettibone mobile crane with a matching torque converter. The tractor can switch from conventional front-wheel steer on the road to all-wheel crab steering in the field. A Volvo combine cab provides operator comfort and a 97-hp. turbo charged Volvo engine, also from a combine, provides the power. A hydraulic-powered 10-ton winch mounts just ahead of the operator cab (the engine mounts in back) for unrestricted visibility in use. The big winch anchor, supported by 10 by 7-in. legs, is lowered into the ground with two 3-ft. hydraulic cylinders. The anchor blade can be driven into the ground as far as necessary. If the tractor starts to slip backwards when pulling, the anchor bulldozes dirt which causes the blade to dig in deeper. Johnson says the solid base provided by the anchor gives the winch tractor better than a 40-ton tow capacity. In addition to the tow tractor, the Johnson's also build their own wreckers and lift trucks. They still use their conventional winches for road towing and rescue work, saving the big self-propelled tractor winch for off-road work. Total cost of building the winch tractor was about $3,500. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, J. Johnson, 45 Hoole Lane, Banks, Southport, Fnaland (nh 0704 27076).

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