A little "good ol' days"

[cayoterun]

This was a common sight crossing the mid-US when I was a kid in the 50s.

A friend sent this pic of the matched trucks and combines.
Thought I'd share.

These were huge machines with 16' headers, then.

The combines now have 30' headers, and trucks are tractor-trailers.

[G&R's57GMC]

That's COOL ! Thanks for sharing.

[Katrina/10]

That looks like quite a load for those trucks, how did they get the combines on there?

[cayoterun]

Short version:
1: Back down in ditch until rear combine wheels almost touch the ground.
2: Lift truck bed, (header gets higher above cab), until rear wheels are on ground and lift rear of combine up clear of bed.
3: Ease combine back and gradually adjust bed height so all will clear until drive wheels are almost ready to come off bed.
4: Readjust bed heigth so rear of bed touchs the ground, then back the drive wheels off.

Notice the truck beds are tilted up some and blocked between truck frame and bed rails, so header is clear of cab while loaded. A chain is run around truck frame and bed rails and boomed down tight, so the bed won't flop around in transit. Also, a removable 4X4 is hooked to the bed stake pockets so a little more than half of the drive tires are on the bed. Truck bed sides are hauled under combine.
It take two guys to do this. One guide, and other on combine.

Massey-Harris designed those combines overall low profile for this purpose. Custom cutters loved them, as well as individual farmers. They were a good combine in the field and long trouble-free life, too.

The Jimmy and Chevy trucks were faithful old workhorses,too. There are still some sitting around in farmers junk piles, and were running when replaced.
The cabs and front clips make great replacements for pickup restoration. They are almost rust-free from our dry climate.

[_Ogre]

i've been watching the local farmer harvest soybeans, wheat and corn in the fields next to my house the past couple of weeks.
i worked with that era of combine in the early 70s and some pto driven by the pulling tractor, these new ones are nothing like that.
the operator never leaves the cab that has all the amenities of the modern living room
the front bar is 30 ft wide and gets changed for each different harvest product.
it's still a lot of work but nothing compared to the old stuff

[mr48chev]

I met a later years version of those custom combiners on the road a few years ago in Oklahoma headed to the next fields. They start in South Texas and work their way north harvesting as they go. The trucks that hauled the combines were also the trucks that hauled the grain to the storage silos. The trucks all had hoists on them to dump the grain.

[Katrina/10]

Originally Posted by cayoterun

Short version:
1: Back down in ditch until rear combine wheels almost touch the ground.
2: Lift truck bed, (header gets higher above cab), until rear wheels are on ground and lift rear of combine up clear of bed.
3: Ease combine back and gradually adjust bed height so all will clear until drive wheels are almost ready to come off bed.
4: Readjust bed heigth so rear of bed touchs the ground, then back the drive wheels off.

Notice the truck beds are tilted up some and blocked between truck frame and bed rails, so header is clear of cab while loaded. A chain is run around truck frame and bed rails and boomed down tight, so the bed won't flop around in transit. Also, a removable 4X4 is hooked to the bed stake pockets so a little more than half of the drive tires are on the bed. Truck bed sides are hauled under combine.
It take two guys to do this. One guide, and other on combine.

Massey-Harris designed those combines overall low profile for this purpose. Custom cutters loved them, as well as individual farmers. They were a good combine in the field and long trouble-free life, too.

The Jimmy and Chevy trucks were faithful old workhorses,too. There are still some sitting around in farmers junk piles, and were running when replaced.
The cabs and front clips make great replacements for pickup restoration. They are almost rust-free from our dry climate.

Thanks for the explanation! I don't know a lot about farming, but I'm fascinated with the equipment and methods they used.

[dan42]

Wow, it doesn't look like like they have much of a view of what's behind them; or even on the side of them.

[Denee007]

love it! thanks!

[cayoterun]

Originally Posted by dan42

Wow, it doesn't look like like they have much of a view of what's behind them; or even on the side of them.

The combines were designed with the headers off-set, to the right, and extended very little past left drive wheel, as well as the off-load grain auger folded to reduce being past the on-coming center line.

Vision back wasn't too bad, considering those HUGE 4" round mirrors hanging on a shaky pipe.
The right clearance of the headers for posts, stop-signs, etc, kept the drivers on their toes as much as left side for traffic. The header was high enough, it would clear alot of stuff, including cars, and was easy to watch from the truck drivers seat.

We didn't have near as much traffic or as good of roads 55yrs ago as today, so traffic was much less, and people drove much slower, too. We also stayed on the less traveled paved roads, if possible.

I used one of those combines here on our place up into the '80s. I wish I'd kept it, and the '65 Chevy truck. Should have kept it up in shape, and went to the neighbors, and cut with the big boys for a day or two, just for fun.

[1project2many]

The custom guys would come through MT every year on they way to Canada. They still load the combines on the backs of trucks. And they own the road. You're just not going to mess with a piece of equipment that big that's moving along at head height.

And if you've ever been asked to fix their equipment? Well, working in the pits at Daytona isn't anywhere near as much pressure as what these guys are under.