A: Surprisingly, this job doesn't require a crane (though I do have one on the truck), unless there are cast iron wheel weights involved. Traditionally, the tractor is safely supported at a height where the studs that hold the wheel on are centered in their holes and the wheel is "walked" away from the tractor and very carefully rolled to the destination. Balance is the key--you can not overcome the weight. Considerable distance can be covered in this manner.

I demonstrated this last summer when I had removed a rear wheel from a Massey Ferguson 65, then realized that I hadn't previously selected a sturdy upright object to lean it against. So there I stood, all alone in a field in Jefferson County, West Virginia, with 2000 pounds of metal, rubber, and calcium chloride. I spied a sturdy-looking woodpile in the distance and headed for it, rolling my new companion along with me. Arriving at the woodpile early the next day . . . just kidding. It was only about thirty feet, and I could've just let the wheel drop, then picked it up with the crane later, but rolling it the short distance was actually less labor. Still, I felt like a character in a 'B.C.' comic strip. Usually, it is next to impossible for more than one person to move a tractor wheel. Such precise orchestration is rare, and the result is often that the people wind up working against each other. Yes, I have had one of these wheels fall on me, about twenty-five years ago. It was a relatively small one, from a Massey Ferguson 35. I escaped injury, but I sure wasn't going anywhere. I was liberated by two husky, adrenaline-charged, West Virginia farm boys.

Another question that arises: how much spread does the tractor actually need? A tractor at full spread is great for somewhere like a high mountain orchard, where it does nothing but repeatedly traverse the steep rows. But if you're mowing horse pasture in rolling countryside, a narrower tractor may be better for ducking in and out of nooks and crannies. Further, it is my opinion that some maneuverability is sacrificed when a tractor's spread is maxed out, making such things as big rocks and gullies harder to avoid. It's a good idea to seek the advice of someone who has farmed the place extensively or, if possible, hire him to mow or work the steeper ground that you may feel unsure about, until the land is cleaned up, the hazards made visible, and you are more comfortable with your new machine.

Another story, if I haven't already bored you to tears . . . I had just completed servicing a tractor for someone who had purchased a somewhat hilly and overgrown property in Warren County, Virginia. Since I had worked some steep ground in my orchard days, I agreed to mow some of the steeper slopes (however, by West Virginia standards, I'm considered mildly timid). As I crept along the slope, eyeing the brush and tall grass for the hidden limestone crags (for those with an intimate knowledge of the Valley's terrain, who may assert that these limestone crags are rare in Warren County, this property was on the border with Clarke County, whose limestone spires are legendary). I kept the brushhog mower low as I moved the low-slung, ground-hugging 550 Oliver carefully along. Sensing some unusual motion nearby, I looked up to see the wry smile of the land's previous owner, an elderly gent who had farmed this land since childhood. His meerschaum pipe puffing blue smoke, as he putt-putted past me, sickle-bar mowing with an old narrow-fronted John Deere 60 rowcrop tractor! There's no substitute for knowing the land.

Don't try to move those big wheels yourself until you've seen it done a time or two. Give me a call when you're ready!