Survival Tractor

[bigezfosheez]

Just curious how many people have considered getting a tractor for a Survival prep.

I've boughten 5 antique tractors at auction previously that i fixed up to flip. I don't live on a farm and only have a couple acres, but I'm considering getting another built up and some implements just to have on hand.

The older the better and diesel is obviously better than gas/kerosene. I've found its incredibly easy to retrofit these old tractors with modern live hydraulics and valves to make them just as versatile as today's tractors, with the great benefits of simplified design, cheaper replacement parts, and heavy-duty cast parts, rather than folded and punched-out steel sheets.

A lot of older tractors are multi-fuel that will accept gas and kerosene fuels. But if you are going full-scale prepper, then setting up a simple bodiesel reactor isn't that hard or expensive and fuel can be made from accessible renewable resources. In 2005 when diesel was at $4.00/gal I was making biodiesel for $.86/gal. It's probably around the same cost now.

1950s-1970s diesel tractors can be bought for around 1-2k in bad(but servicable) shape. Most of the time, you just need to change the fluids, service the pumps, change some gaskets, replace an electronic component or 2 and your back to reliable condition. Keep it looking haggard as a disguise or rattle-can it back to new.

I find a tractor to be key in prepping to allow you to cultivate food, build defenses, and service other items around the property (front end loader, 3pt auger, boom lift, grading blade, etc.)

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[CountryGent]

We don't have a tractor, per se, but we do have a Kawasaki MULE utility vehicle for all the work I do around the acreage. I bought it, lightly used, for "a song" from the same person who sold us the spread. With various attachments and tools, and supplemented with a 4x4 F150 pickup, it has worked thus far for the projects.

All that said, I'd be hip to buying a decent tractor too. I've rented some equipment locally, and borrowed one from my FIL over the years, so I can see the utility.

 

[bigezfosheez]

I like having a mule for everyday property needs. I just got a 1950s cushman turf truckster and I just can't wait to get it up and running. $180 at auction, primered and almost ready to paint with a 22hp omc opposed twin(aircraft design engine made by boat motor company and thrown in a scooter) and tilting-stepside flare bed. I want to paint it fire engine red and do a crushed gold leaf trim. I already have the shriner's fez to go with it.

 

[Camelfilter]

...I just got a 1950s cushman turf truckster and I just can't wait to get it up and running. $180 at auction, primered and almost ready to paint with a 22hp omc opposed twin(aircraft design engine made by boat motor company and thrown in a scooter) and tilting-stepside flare bed. I want to paint it fire engine red and do a crushed gold leaf trim. I already have the shriner's fez to go with it.

One of those 3 wheel ones with a cab, like an old-school ice cream cart?

 

[The Heretic]

Walking Tractors

I have a Grillo 110 and a BCS 732

These are two wheel walk behind tractors. They look like a rototiller, but you can swap out the attachments. I have a tiller, a chipper/shredder, a sickle bar mower, and a flail mower. I mostly use the flail mower for brush cutting.

You can get a lot of different attachments, including a genset, power rake/harrow, rotary plow, conventional plow, snow blower, and so on. Popular in Europe for small plots.

If you need to lift and move things - i.e., you need a front end loader or something like that, then you need a 4 wheeled tractor, but for small acreage, one of these is pretty useful.

 

[bigezfosheez]

Walking Tractors

I have a Grillo 110 and a BCS 732

These are two wheel walk behind tractors. They look like a rototiller, but you can swap out the attachments. I have a tiller, a chipper/shredder, a sickle bar mower, and a flail mower. I mostly use the flail mower for brush cutting.

You can get a lot of different attachments, including a genset, power rake/harrow, rotary plow, conventional plow, snow blower, and so on. Popular in Europe for small plots.

If you need to lift and move things - i.e., you need a front end loader or something like that, then you need a 4 wheeled tractor, but for small acreage, one of these is pretty useful.

Nice!

I got an old Waterloo walk-behind tractor from an estate sale for $15 but have had a hard time finding implements. I got a sweet sulky for it a few months ago, but it's too short and i'll have to extend it.

I mainly got it to putt around and haul my picks at the swap meet

 

[CoastRange57]

I have had tractors with front loaders off and on over the years. The front loader is the huge thing. Makes a lot of chores easy. I have a Long right now. It is a Romanian Ford. My son found it and we got it for $ 2,000 with loader. 38 hp. The tranny has an issue by as long as we only use R and High 1, we are good.

I have a bush mower, box scraper and tiller for it. Use the mower for keeping 4 acres of field grass mowed, and the front loader is coming in real handy on the massive amount of clean up and restoration work I have to do before selling my property ind 2 years. Tractor, laoder nad box scraper will come to Central Oregon with us, not mowing grass over there so will sell the bush mower.

You can find good tractors with loaders in the 10K range. Expect to work on them if less than that price. Well worth the investment in my opinion.

 

[The Heretic]

A non-4WD tractor wouldn't work very well on my property and the 2 wheeled tractor is better for some areas where it is difficult to get a large tractor between the trees.

 

[CoastRange57]

Agreed 4WD if at all possible. My current one is 2WD and paying attention to where I take it is important,cause when you get a tractor stuck, getting it unstuck sucks.

 

[USMC-03]

Funny, this has been my thought for a while. I have an old John Deere B and a mid-50's Ford from the farm I grew up on. I keep them mostly for sentimental value but there's no doubt that I could have both out working fields with minimal maintenance if it really came to it.

Us old time plow boys have a knowledge base that's rare these days. Put that together with significant military experience and a general bad disposition you've got a very valuable addition to your circle of assets if things turn out the way I think they might. I kind of like that thought...

 

[CoastRange57]

I keep them mostly for sentimental value but there's no doubt that I could have both out working fields with minimal maintenance if it really came to it.

Us old time plow boys have a knowledge base that's rare these days.

You can still find a lot of used parts on the internet in Midwest. I built my sports field business with a couple of old Ford tractors to start with and was always ordering parts online from a couple of tractor wrecking yards in Iowa and Kansas.

Semper Fi.

 

[USMC-03]

Yep, I order parts for the tractors as well as my old Willys truck online also. My current conundrum is affording putting up a pole building to store them all out of the weather. Next is tires; there is a mint these days.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Great thread! I thought I was the ONLY guy to think about the use of a Tractor for STHF and other non farm/yard uses. For me, I split/haul/store many cords of wood during the season ( I haul wood for extra income during the summer month) so having a tractor is a must for me! I built a tracked tractor from scratch, sort of like the old Cushman Trackster's, but with out the two stroke and hydraulics, but it uses the same tracks! I also have a 1968 Tucker Sno-Cat that I converted to diesel and rubber track belts and steel grousers. Between those two, I have the ability to move a lot of wood and to do other things most others cannot, plus, both rigs can go places you wouldn't even try in a Jeep! I am currently looking for an Older 4 cylinder diesel Grapple Skidder to round out my needs! I would prefer Cat, but a John Deere would work just as well!

 

[The Heretic]

Great thread! I thought I was the ONLY guy to think about the use of a Tractor for STHF and other non farm/yard uses. For me, I split/haul/store many cords of wood during the season ( I haul wood for extra income during the summer month) so having a tractor is a must for me! I built a tracked tractor from scratch, sort of like the old Cushman Trackster's, but with out the two stroke and hydraulics, but it uses the same tracks! I also have a 1968 Tucker Sno-Cat that I converted to diesel and rubber track belts and steel grousers. Between those two, I have the ability to move a lot of wood and to do other things most others cannot, plus, both rigs can go places you wouldn't even try in a Jeep! I am currently looking for an Older 4 cylinder diesel Grapple Skidder to round out my needs! I would prefer Cat, but a John Deere would work just as well!

 

[CoastRange57]

This is a pretty good buy here. A lot of these smaller tractors have low hours on them. Nothing wrong at first look on this one.

If I did not have my current machine, I would buy this in a heartbeat.

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