PULLING A COMBINE WITH AN 8N

[ZANE]

Combining grain at the farm in Renfroe. About 1950

Once when I was about 15 years old I was pulling an IH sack tie combine behind a 48 8N on a dirt road. I came to a big steep hill and stopped and put the N in first gear and set it at idle as I started off the hill. The old dirt road had a big ditch on both sides of the road. I just got over the crest of the hill onto the steepest part and the combine began to push the tractor so the back wheels were just beginning to slide. That little slide started the rear of the tractor toward the ditch and the ditch was about four or five feet deep. Just before it got into an unrecoverable jack knife and I went into the ditch sideways I threw in the clutch pedal and took it out of gear and let it roll so I could control it. Then it was me and the combine down the hill. If I had met a car somebody would have died. Probably me. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill I'll bet I was easily doing 50 MPH but I was still in the middle of the road. I let it coast up the next hill till it was about the speed where it should synchronize with third gear and dropped it in third and went on up the hill. I had night mares about that one for years!
 

[JMOR]

[ARCO petee]

That is a serious Oh Poop moment. Thanks for sharing.
 

[BillM (OH)]

Zane: I had a similar experience not too long ago when exercising my 8N in the winter - took it for a spin around the property and started down a fairly steep hill - glare ice under the snow and it started sliding - kicked it out of gear and steered like hell to keep the front in front of the back - worked - I'm still here!
 

[John in Mich]

The highest hill that I grew up near was a mole hill. We did get lots of snow and ice. When I was about the same age you mentioned I had been down the road to the neighbors to plow their driveway. Going home an 8N with a Sherman combo does giddy-up go.
I was not thinking about the packed snow on the road being slippery and that I would have to do a right turn into our driveway which crossed a 4 foot deep ditch. As stopping became NOT and option, and going straight past NOT a thought, I cut the throttle, nailed the right brake, which turned me sideways, double clutched down to 3rd and then threw the throttle wide open. Somebody was looking down on me.
The tractor got enough traction to enter the driveway center and cross the ditch. I never told Dad.
 

[Bill Rowles]

Your story brought back a memory of me at about age 15 on the 8N going up a hill similar to the one you came down. I had finished preparing a yard for grass seed and needed to get the disc and rear blade home...about 3 miles. I wanted to do it in one trip so I loaded the blade on the disc and unfortunately the old 8N lifted the combined load...but the front wheels were barely on the ground. I was aware the tractor would usually climb the hill in fourth gear, so being in a hurry I started uphill in fourth at wide-open throttle. 2/3rds up the hill, engine speed was dropping at a rate indicating we were not going to make it....decision....speed-shift to third gear and pray I don't miss the shift. It worked ...but the front wheels came up and stayed up and the rear gang of disc blades was grinding on the asphalt road....stopping was not an option so on-up we went noisily wide-open in third gear and steering with the brakes....never told mom or dad about that adventure but I will never forget the lessons learned.
I wonder how many teenage kids have not been so lucky as we were to survive poor decisions.
 

[Ultradog MN]

You paint a great word picture Zane.
I always like your little vignettes about times past.
 

[01BIRDDOG]

[Colin King]

Holy buckets, Zane, that's a heck of a story. Glad you were able to tell it to us.

Colin, MN
 

[cleddy]

To bad we aren't very smart when we are that age? I was pulling a big load of grain up a big rocky hill with a "C" allis in 1st gear and got stuck spinning the wheels on loose rock. I turned the engine off in gear and locked the brakes to get off and try to figure it out. Tractor was barely staying on the hill sliding some on the rocks. Dad finally came looking for me and got on the tractor-put it in second gear and climbed right up the rest of the hill only more in the driving track.Person sure feels dumb after that.
cleddy
 

[R Geiger]

Great story, thanks for sharing. We forget how light these machines are. The mention of a sack tying combine reminded me of the fact that I learned how to sew up grain scks when I was a kid. I could not move the 100 pound sacks of wheat or barley but I did lean how to sew them up. Years later when I was going to college, I had a job in a feed mill and the owner was surprised that I knew how to use a needle and string!! I till have a couple of needles around here some place!
 

[Britcheflee]

[ZANE]

thanks goodness most of those old talents are no longer needed since macines have taken over most of those old hard ways.

I sometimes think that kids could benifit a lot from learning skills and good old fachioned hard work. Mostly now the kids just excersize thiir thumbs.

Zane
 

[Swift III]

I"ve had a few close calls skidding logs over the years with my leyland. But the thing that stands out the most is the time my father decided to mow with my 9n.
He set the 5ft brush hog far too low and left it hanging on the support chains. I came out of the shop just in time to see him hit a stump. Pop was going along in second when the mower caught a stump and stopped him cold. The tractor reared up almost to the tipping point before he could hit the clutch. Broke the top link, the pto shaft, and cracked some welds on the mower. But he was fine, though he decided to take the rest of the day off....