 Tractors 1
kfz-tech.de/YLa1
We have treated the topic a little too neglectfully. Below you can see a tiny selection of what is already available on the kfz-tech.de website. We want to approach this topic more systematically without wanting to tell the whole
story.
What is actually special about a tractor? What distinguishes it from a car and a truck? To do this, let's first look at the Fordson tractor from 1917. What distinguishes it from the Model T?
Certainly not the engine, at least not essentially, although the engine that also runs on petrol has considerably more torque for the same power thanks to almost twice the displacement. So we are looking for more
significant differences.
Take a closer look and you might notice that it lacks a chassis, a ladder frame or, compared to today, even a body. The front axle is rigid and is basically connected to the engine at a pivot point at the front.
The rear axle has absolutely no freedom of movement compared to this. This means that the supporting part of a tractor is for a long time its own drive block. It starts with the engine, perhaps with the radiator in front of it, and
ends with the axle drive, slightly extended by the large wheels.
For a long time, these were the distinguishing features of a tractor, even from a distance: large wheels at the back and small wheels at the front. This meant that for a very long time it did not have four-wheel drive, but it did
have a limited-slip differential very early on.
The clutch and transmission also quickly evolved away from cars, for example in this example away from the Model T, simply in terms of the overall gear ratio and thus the speed. Around 60 km/h, unthinkable for this
example with iron wheels.
It was happy when, after working in the fields, it found its way back to the farm on roads that were as unpaved as possible. Soon after, solid rubber tires were introduced, but it was still a long time before it received tires
comparable to those on cars, of course always with a particularly rough profile on the rear axle.
No, the front axle was only used to indicate the approximate direction. For example, if plowing was taking place, it could be turned as far as it wanted, the tractor would follow the furrow, basically a powerful work machine that
you could also use to drive home after the work was done.
Since it was repeatedly subjected to the stress of starting on difficult terrain, the clutch soon developed away from that of a car, but not entirely towards that of trucks. Because these also drive continuously for much longer.
The gearbox was retained and, together with the axle drive, perhaps received reinforced gears in addition to the reduction ratio. What is also noticeable about the example shown above are the side cover caps.
They conceal the possibility, already present on this very early tractor, of driving various machines via a pulley and a leather belt, which, for example, carried out partial tasks of today's combine harvesters. It seems to be a
particularly important additional function.
Henry Ford, although not the son of a farmer but grew up in a rural area, was particularly keen to relieve people of the burden of hard work in the fields. Incidentally, the first steam-powered machines only had this function
and were not self-propelled.
https://www.kfz-tech.de/Engl/Hersteller/Fiat/Fiat7021919.htm
https://www.kfz-tech.de/Engl/Buchprojekte/Lamborghini/LamborghiniEinfuehrung.htm
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