Roading a Combine

Charlie,

It can be an ordeal, it all depends on how out of round the tires are, and if the steering axle has been broken or is still virgin, and how well the toe in is set.

That said, if you have a good one, it is quite a pleasurable experience.

Out here in western KS and eastern Colorado, there is little traffic.

Dad bought a 12R30 Hugger cornheader at an auction (30 feet wide!) and fearing forklift damage, we actually hauled our pet R7 Gleaner up there to pick it up and road it home.

It was about 100 miles, and the R7 drove straight as an arrow, and I only met less than 10 cars, and the best thing was, they all know exactly what a combine is, and they pulled over at a field entrance to let me by.

The other trip was a 1980 L2 big engine/ hydro that was rescued from a weird family estate that was planning on scrapping everything. We saved the L2, a buddy saved the 1755 Ollie, and 5200 Massey 4wd (only 25 made)

The L2 sustained skid-steer damage to the tail between the time of purchase and pickup (just overnight, guy claims the skid steer "coasted" into it...) and it was suffering from silicate dropout (think silicone buildup in the coolant, plugged the t-stats) so dad pulled the t-stats and re-filled with water from a hydrant at an old farmstead, and headed for home, made it half way, and I went with him for day two and I took it home. Day 1, the flat spots were getting worked out, so it wasnt allowed to go full speed.

Day 2, the combine was happy it was being saved from scrap, and decided to do me proud, the axle and linkage was perfect, the toe was perfect, and she has the 23.1x34s, so the ride was on, 24 mph on the flat, and 26.5 coming off one hill, 24 foot header. I was impressed to say the least!