Backwards driving tractor

[woodbowl]

Tractors could be much more versitile if only they could drive backwards as well as they could forwards. By that I mean, swivel the seat around and presto, your operating a conventional forklift, moving items with a grapple arm ect. Driving backwards also allows steering to cut sharper.

When the seat is turned around on a front end loader backhoe the controls are right there to let the outriggers down and start operating the hoe, but not driving backwards.

Surly some of you must have seen a homemade conversion.  I've only found a couple of things on the subject.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?p=324564

 http://evolution.skf.com/zino.aspx?articleID=497

[thecfarm]

I have seen a Ford tractor around a 1950 that was made into a forklift.This looked like a kit to me.I have pictures of it somewheres,but have no idea where.Probaly in the old farm house somewheres.

[Bioman]

Check out these links

http://www.acamerica.com/

http://www.antoniocarraro.com/dynamic/index.php?&idL=2

Carraro has been making and selling in Europe for years.  Lastec is distributing these reversable tractors here in the US.

[solodan]

They are supposed to be real good on steep terrain too. I have never seen a used one for sale though and I have never even bothered looking at the price of the new ones.

[Radar67]

Don K and I looked at a couple of them at Moultrie. Never did find out a price.

[Bioman]

Surprisingly, they are not very good on hillsides.  They are actually pretty bad if you travel sideways, but pretty good if going straight up and down the hill.  I tested one in step mowing conditions earlier this year.

But as far as versitility and quality goes it is a great machine.  I don't know why the concept hasn't caught on here in the US yet.  They have sold 1000's of them in the UK.

[ScottAR]

McCormick is making a farm machine with reversible controls available in Europe.

It's basically a extending boom loader but with a regular 3pt and pto on the rear.
Trans is hydrostatic if I remember.  I want one but we'll all have to wait till
they decide it's a good idea in the USA too. 

[woodbowl]

Don K and I looked at a couple of them at Moultrie. Never did find out a price.

I didn't see them Radar, but I did see an old Farmall from the 30's or 40's that was factory converted to attach a cotton picker and drive backwards. The brake peddles, clutch, throttle ect were linked with push rods to reposition them to another seat. I don't remember how the steering wheel worked.

This is more of what I had in mind in this topic. The steering is what would be the challenge  in converting the regular farm tractor to the configuration. I don't see why a cable wraped spool, simular to an outboard boat steering wouldn't work to mount another steering wheel.

I'd like to hear some good ideas from you all. 

[thecfarm]

woodbowl is looking to convert a tractor into one that he can drive backwards.I looked at a NH tractor like what some of you are talking about.I looked at thier website,but did not see it.The drawback on the way NH designed it,I feel,you had to buy their attachments to fit on it.Any regular 3 pt hinge would not hook up to it.I think all they had was a snowblower and a mower deck.

[beenthere]

Seems to me there are many brands in this country too...Deere model 110 TLB (tractor loader backhoe) has conventional 3pt if the hoe is removed. They've had the rear-facing models for years, as have other brands as being mentioned. 
How these are the same or different from the original request, is what I'm trying to understand here. 
 
Or does it need to be homemade conversion?   

[thecfarm]

I think he wants a tractor that he can drive backwards.Has a steering wheel that can be driven backwards,not like a back hoe that needs to have the seat turned to drive it backwards.He wants to sit in a seat and have the steering wheel and all the controls in front of him and drive backwards,I think.
I am surprized some of the old tractors site don't have some infro on it.I only really seen 2,one that I mentioned and one I saw at a lumber yard.This had a forklift attachement on it.All I remember it was yellow.

[DanG]

Converting a tractor to drive backwards shouldn't be too big of a challenge, if the original design lends itself to the conversion.  The real trick would be to make it convertible, which I think is what WB is asking here.  The steering wouldn't be the hard part, as you could just link 2 steering wheels to a common shaft.  The clutch and brakes would be tough nuts to crack on most tractors, though.  It could be done, but there would be a lot of rods and bellcranks to fabricate and locate.  A "shuttle-shift" arrangement would make it a lot easier.

[beenthere]

Or, work with a tractor that has hydrostatic tranny and power steering....

[DanG]

If the Hydro-tranny's selector was mounted on the side, it wouldn't be a problem at all.  All my stuff is old, so I don't know nut'n about hydrostatic.   The steering on my IMT is pure hydraulic.  The steering wheel just actuates a valve and a regular hyd. cylinder does the work.  On the old MF I used to have, the steering was power assisted, like on most cars.  If the PS failed, you could still steer but it took some muscle.  On the IMT, if it fails the wheel turns easily, but doesn't do anything.  I'm not sure which system would be harder to convert, but I can think of ways to do either.

By far, the easiest way to do all this stuff is to have 2 machines.  Old forklifts can be had for a pretty reasonable price.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 Boat steering hydraulics for upper and lower station would be real easy for steering. Convert pushrods to small cylinders and use hydraulics similar to brakes and clutch slaves for the rest. Wouldn't be all that difficult 

[stonebroke]

Go buy a new holland TV 140.

Stonebroke

[DanG]

I'm sure that would be nice, Stonebroke.  But, anything old enough for me to afford would say "Ford" and not "New Holland."  Not all that long ago, the NH name was just for the implements.  I don't know what happened to the Ford name.  Maybe FMC sold off their interest in it?

[ely]

yes we have a 9030E new holland at work and it has a seat in it that the whole driving station swivels around in and drives the other direction.  it has a brush cutter on the front end loader arms instead of forks/bale spikes.
i have always wanted it at home with forks and grapple on the loader arms, and a big farmi winch on the other end. it has the big skidder tires already installed. i think it was 80k all total, and that included the big brush cutter on the front from italy, a seppi is the name on it. i am certain they just give those away.

[stonebroke]

I have a ford 276.  It cost me 19,000$ but it is a 1989 model. It just depends on how much money you have. Ford sold its tractor division to fiat. Who merged it with Case IH. It is now CNH.

Stonebroke

[woodbowl]

If only I could afford the toys I wanted, I wouldn't have a sore neck from looking backwards at the lift pole and box blade. It just seems to me that someone would have done this a long time ago. Every farmer has a tractor and a lot of other folks have or want one. Maybe it is not practical with all the other implements availible. A front end loader with a bucket or forks can do a lot of things.

What I'm really getting at is the ability for a small tractor to be more efficient and able to do more work than expected. The counter weight is already in the front and the 3 point hitch hydraulics are in the back. Not everyone wants to have a log grapple on the back of a tractor, but I could really use it. It would be very quick. I do alright with a lift pole and tongs, I can hook and unhook without getting off the tractor. When I get off though, I've got a crick in my neck that bothers me for several days.

I think it's doable and wouldn't have to be fancy, expensive or danGerous.