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Beginners pulling

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DrAllis View Drop Down
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
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    Posted: 12 Jul 2024 at 3:21pm
Just some thoughts about the Antique tractor pulling sport/hobby. I belong to a local club that has two categories: Antique/Classic (cut tires, wheelie bars, and much more than stock HP)and then farm stock (16 inch high drawbar that is 14 inches beyond the end of the PTO shaft, no cut tires and low gear unless it has a creeper gear, then 2nd gear). Both categories are 1960 and older and RPM's are to be stock. For the last 15 years the farm stock classes (3750 thru 9000 lbs) simply DOMINATE for total hooks on any pull day. Many teenagers and young men in their 20's have been bitten by the bug and enjoy a day competing against each other. Older men and some women also compete, making it a family event. Points are awarded and a points champ is then declared at seasons end. On the Antique/Classic side, the numbers have not been as well for a long time. Last event I attended had 7 or 8 in my 4500 lb class and only 4 or 5 in the 5500, where the farm stockers have numbers of 15 to 20 hooks in a good share of theirs.  Had it not been for the creation of the Farm Stock classes, this club would have died a slow death 15 or 20 years ago and that's a fact. Farm Stocker hooks pay the bills and make it worth hauling a sled and scales miles down the road to even have an event.  For any motorsports club to survive, you've got the have the NUMBERS !!!   Most of our events have 100 hooks and a few have 150 hooks all dependent on the weather.

Edited by DrAllis - 12 Jul 2024 at 4:58pm
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DougG View Drop Down
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Joined: 20 Sep 2009
Location: Mo
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DougG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2024 at 5:36pm
This seems to go in stages- /years,, I got in it with a guy I worked for with a 3010 JD- back in prolly 1990,, done great but my heart was always with Allis- bought a rough straight 190- no turbo,, Kieth showed me tricks of watching the track , that ole 190 without a turbo won some trophys! Also made folks think -WTF !!!  Its been on and off here over the years-  Had a sweet 200,, that was nice pulling,, The Farmers Pull is going good , but they keep pushing the classes, speed, that takes power- when one flys apart- lots of liabity is on someone! 
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tbran View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tbran Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jul 2024 at 10:43am
Same here and about everywhere. Tractor pulling in the 60's- early 70's started out with stock then added turbows ( in the late 60's a couple of farmers actually SHARED turbos on 4020's at the same pull). They had a non turbo class and then they put on the turbo and pulled. Then someone added larger fuel pumps, bigger turbo's, heavier clutches, pressed steel wheels and stripping down to lighter weight classes, then on and on increases by cubic dollars and the crowds were good, but the tractor #'s decreased. Now it is hard to draw a crowd - partially due to the decrease in # of people connected to the farm - and could go on for other reasons.  AC had a hand in pulling, then withdrew due to lawsuit threats from , believe it or not , some AC pullers... we received a memo in the mid 70's that no employee would be involved tractor modification to increase hp for competition.  Sad thing is to go from top gear to 20 -30 % over cost mega bucks and loss of dependability ... just my rant and memories. 
And by the way the same thing happened to Antique Pulling, it turned into $ pit .  Sure are proud for those areas who can sustain the 'club' competition and enjoy the sport and the economics to support it.    


Edited by tbran - 13 Jul 2024 at 10:44am
When told "it's not the money,it's the principle", remember, it's always the money..
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Charlie175 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Charlie175 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jul 2024 at 12:15pm
Around this area the farmstock is by far the largest class in Antique.  The hot class while fun, only have a few tractors. 
My WD-45 with 14.9x28 I can pull 3500 to 5000, so that is about 5 hooks I get in. I'm sure people get tired of me going back down the track but it makes sense for me after driving 2 hours to pull as much as I can.
"Farm stock" big tractors is a joke, nothing stock about them when you can run high gear down the track. 
Charlie

'48 B, '51 CA, '56 WD45 '61 D17, '63 D12, '65 D10 , '68 One-Ninety XTD
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HudCo View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HudCo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jul 2024 at 10:27am
charlie 175  that is why i want to stick with my budgit biult 37wc because that is where all the tractors are in my area  farmstock   so i have alittle compression   i did pull the wd last night track was very hard i realy started losing rpms and clutch was slipping then ijust spunout  just had a twisted clevis in the draw bar    right from the baler to the sled 
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Steve in NJ View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steve in NJ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 9:25am
Well Doc, I can see where today that would be a problem. People are having a tough time just making ends meet now a days, never mind having a hobby of building a pulling Tractor, hotrod or a drag car. Hopefully 2025 will be a better start for most folks, and folks will be able to have a little more money to work with for their hobbies in general, and maybe things will come back along with the fans and the competition. We can only hope and pray....  Thumbs Up

Steve@B&B

39'RC, 43'WC, 48'B, 49'G, 50'WF, 65 Big 10, 67'B-110, 75'716H, 2-620's, & a Motorhead wife
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DougG View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DougG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 11:51am
I used to luv pulling that 200- she weighed right at 8700, always took 1000 lbs of weights along , pulled the 9000- 10000- then the 11000, had 18.4 38,s Safemark tires , was fun ! It was turned up a little but you could pull a plow with it all day 
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PaulB View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote PaulB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 1:19pm
I haven't been a beginner puller since back when NTPA was just getting started, however I've seen many clubs come and go because they expect the pullers themselves to carry the entire financial load. Spectators will never pay to watch hours and hours of large classes of tractors that need an egg timer to measure forward progress. Spectators want action. When a club has a good mix of both, Spectators will come pay to watch. Spectators can make the difference of a profitable pull for a club, or just a group getting together to have a pull once a year at the local county fair, where the fair will carry the financial load. Lately Bracket pulling has gained in popularity, which may be interesting for pullers (to have multiple pulls at an event) although the average spectator gets dis-interested very quickly seeing the same puckita, puckita, puckita or there goes a M, there goes a M, there goes a M,,, for an hour or more per class or heat.  Spectators get excited with a good group of maybe 6 or more tractors that move with some speed and are closely grouped bunch along with varying makes and models.  
  Yes: I do believe there needs to be a place in all clubs that a beginner can get involved and be competitive enough to stay interested. Also all clubs need to be open minded enough to have classes that allow those that want to, step up a division or more, to have a place to do so within the club. This can generally works for beginners with lighter weights as a person just getting into pulling won't necessarily have a big truck and trailer to haul a big tractor. Big tractors do have an appeal because anybody can get on a big tractor and get it to go down the track, however the smaller the tractor the more skill is needed to be consistent and often a beginner won't come back when he ends up in the back of the pack continuously, so the trophy hounds need to be keep out of the beginner classes somehow.
  One BIG problem I've seen everywhere is that places have an "ANTIQUE" class that should be for unaltered tractors. Where the combination of skill, power and traction will be on top. However the reality is; Some trophy hound who doesn't have the skill, but has a fat checkbook to spend BIG money to do an unreasonable amount of engine work and then claim he still has a "STOCK" tractor. Any engine enhancements that are not available "Off the shelf" should not be allowed in an "Antique" class. Now the problem is enforcement, If the trophy hounds were honorable people they would call there tractor just what there are: Altered or Open class tractors. But then they would have to be in a class of equals instead of having an unfair advantage and then they wouldn't get a trophy every pull. I haven't called any tractor I've run a "Stock" tractor for more than 50 years. 
  Just my point of view from more than half a century of continuous pulling, other opinions may vary. 
If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
Real pullers don't have speed limits.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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DanWi View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DanWi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2024 at 8:56am
The county fairs near us have been having a farm pull in the afternoon that goes from stock to some hot classes. They have a few track officials that try to get them in the right class but sometimes tractors slip thru. I think speed limit classes help a little with that say 5 or 10 mph helps level the playing field a little but the guys with big torque motors can sandbag it and pull that throttle down when they start spinning usually enough to give them a win. Then the fairs put on a night pull with the pro pulling league tractors. That fills the grand stands up. Our local antique club puts on a good pull on Saturday afternoon in August. They have a few hot tractor classes to make the show more exciting. The spectators they attract like the slower older tractors
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Kip-Utah View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kip-Utah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 2024 at 9:59am
We never have trouble drawing a nice crowd. The majority of our tractors are true farm stockers @ 3.5 mph with a small hand full of what we call Farm Stock Plus that are limited to 5.0 mph. We actually pull both divisions at the same time. For example all 3500 pound tractors pull in the same class. Any tractor newer than 1959 but at least 30 years old is automatically placed in the Farm Stock Plus class. If any of the older tractors break out & run faster than 3.5 they automatically get bumped up from Farm Stock to Farm Stock +. Any tractor running faster than 5.0 mph is disqualified. This is easy on the transfer sled and helps keep our insurance reasonably priced. Our rules are pretty basic: 20” draw bars, no cut tires that can be one size over stock, 10% over on rpm’s, Farm Stock is mandated to use either 1st or 2nd gear, Farm Stock Plus any gear is allowed. Oh yeah our annual club dues is $30 and our hook fee is only $5/hook. This has worked well for us for over 20 years & we continue to be an active vibrant club regularly gaining new members. It’s common for several pullers to travel 300 miles or more one way to participate. We typically have our pulls in conjunction with different local festivals or fairs and they normally pay us to move our equipment and provide the trophies…So we never charge an admission & keep things alcohol free & family friendly. When things get rowdy, it’s usually a bunch of little kids in the stands, yelling “Go Grandpa”!🤭

Edited by Kip-Utah - 23 Jul 2024 at 10:17am
HANSEN'S OLD ORANGE IRON. Showing, Pulling, & Going!!
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HudCo View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HudCo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Aug 2024 at 10:35pm
how do you guys gauge the speed
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DrAllis View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DrAllis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Aug 2024 at 5:38am
My club has a digital readout speed board plus a horn on the sled.
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