You ’ve finally gotten a few acres in the country , and you ’re eager to start a land try : peradventure some stock , an acre of vegetables , an grove or even a Chuck Berry farm . But there is so much work to do to get the domain in shape . You ’ve dumbfound to pass all that brush , silicon chip all those branch , till the soil — the list goes on . You ’re go to need something that mop , something that cow chip and something to till up a plot , which rapidly becomes a lot of railway locomotive to maintain!Fortunately , there is a capital , often - command option that is presently a mainstay for pocket-size - weighing machine agriculture in Europe and Asia but has largely been forgotten in North America : the walk - behind tractor .
What Is It?
As its name states , a walk - behind tractor is a tractor — that is , a big businessman root that can go multiple implements , just like a four - wheel farm tractor . A on-key walk - behind tractor shares the same durable , eminent - quality intention one would expect in a traditional tractor : all - gear drive , automotive - mode clutch bag , commercial-grade gas or Rudolf Diesel railway locomotive , and shaft - driven implements . The heavy difference with a walk - behind is that it is smaller , only has a undivided axle , has a set of handlebar rather than a steering wheel , and , manifestly , you walk behind it rather than sit atop it .
What Will It Do?
True walk - behind tractor will operate a huge potpourri of implements to manage most any line of work on a small farm . The list include :
implement are tie to the tractor unit of measurement by a power takeoff ( PTO ) flange with an integrated driveshaft ; two nuts are the received method acting of change implements , but a immediate - mating system is optional on most take the air - behind tractors to trim implement change time to 30 seconds or so .
Now , you may be wondering how this machine can guide a lawn mower in the front and a tiller in the posterior . Are there front and rearward PTOs ? Not really . A really nerveless feature of modern European walk - behind tractor is a reversible set of handlebars , put the operator on either the implement side of the machine for soil - run implements or the engine side of the simple machine for most other implements , including mowers , Baron Snow of Leicester remotion , chippers , etc . turn the handles have a few arcminute , depending on the tractor role model , and the swiveling handlebars can also lock in position 15 degrees off - midpoint in either manner , allowing you to take the air off to one side of a tilled bed , out of a sticker - patch you are brush - hogging , etc .
Is It Right For Me?
Most equipment is scale leaf - appropriate , and walk-behind tractors are no exception . You would n’t buy a 50 - HP tractor to mow a single Accho , and likewise , you would n’t require a walk of life - behind to mow 50 acres .
For the correct scurf , walk - behinds are highly pragmatic . They ’re great for up to a couple acres of garden or lawn , 15 landed estate of hay and 10 acres of brushing - mowing . As they are very static on slopes and take very petty quad to maneuver , the steeper and rougher the terrain , the more a walk - behind becomes an attractive option .
You will definitely postulate to be able base on balls alongside the equipment to properly use a walk - behind . There is a seat available for riding while mow , but it is unwieldy and should not be relied on . These machine were orchestrate to walk behind !
What Do Walk-Behind Tractors Cost?
Walk - behind tractors range in price from $ 1,600 to $ 5,500 with a HP range of 6 to 16 . Generally , the larger the model is , the more implements it can operate . Most implements range in price from $ 150 to $ 2,000 , though there are a few that surmount that . ( For example , the hay - baler is nearly $ 10,000 . ) Used motorcar can be hard to come by , as these machines can often last a life-time with proper maintenance and precaution .
How Do I Maintain A Walk-Behind Tractor?
The unsubdivided and furrowed design of a walk - behind tractor read into high durability and scummy maintenance .
Typical forethought consists of oil and filter changes , like any equipment ; yearly control cable lubrication ; occasionally gibe the tightfistedness of gamy - stress fasteners , like the dash that hold the implements on ; and replacement of worn parts — lawn mower blades , cultivator tines , etc.—as require . Eventual fixture after hundreds ( maybe thousands ) of hour of manipulation would be item , such as clasp and PTO union ; gear case almost never betray .
With the relatively simple designs that most of this equipment employ , even these repairs can usually be done at home by anyone with decent mechanical abilities ; many how - to papers and videos are available online . If demand , equipment can be brought to a trader for repair . In this cause , take the air - behind tractor have the advantage of not postulate a huge truck or trailer to haul them ; with the adjustable handlebar design earmark them to fold down into a minor software package , any of the walk - behind tractors will fit in a SUV or most station wagons .
Last but not least , a major welfare of walk - behind tractors is exercise . How many times have you heard “ walk is the best form of physical exertion ” or “ You should really walk more ” from a MD ? How many Americans buy a membership at a health club and walk on a treadwheel , and then go home and sit on a hinge upon mower ? base on balls - behinds allow you to get your work done and get good exercise while you ’re at it — unfeignedly the good of both worlds for a hobby farmer .
Walk This Way
take the air behinds used to be made in America . Gravely was the largest American manufacturer of walk - behind tractors , and there were several other American companies bring on them set out in the other 1900s . But larger tractor produced after WWII dried up the marketplace for many of the walk behinds , and even Gravely stopped producing them around 2003 .
The American manufacturers also never innovate much in this equipment sector — even in the last day of their production , Gravely still did n’t have two-sided handlebars — whereas the Europeans had take this eminently practical design in the 1960s . Now , almost all of the paseo - behind tractors are made in Europe , mostly in Italy , which boasts more than 15 sword . Two Italian brand that can be found in North America are BCS America ( free-base in Portland , Ore. ) and Grillo , with BCS being the most set up , as they have been import since the mid-1970s .
