Caption this: Amish wheels
This photo was taken in a Western Kentucky Amish settlement.
Amish have an interesting relationship with tractors. And some Amish tractors are more interesting than others!
KY Amish tractor photo: D Sniegowski/flickr
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Running this website for nearly nine years, I’ve had the privilege to not only learn about the Amish–but also observe how the rest of us talk about them. The Amish certainly generate a lot of discussion across the web and elsewhere. But since they are not the most accessible group, sometimes–often–the discussion is not what it could be. Below, I share what I think are the three…
Kite Kommotion in Shipshewana
Kite Kommotion is an annual event in the town of Shipshewana in the Elkhart-Lagrange Amish settlement. From the event description: “Folks can take advantage of flying their own kites or watching performances by international kite teams and professional kite exhibitions.” A reader shares photos from the event’s latest edition. I guess these photos speak for themselves. Lots of kites, lots of kommotion. As you can…
How about
“Slightly-warming rubber”
Comment on Caption This: Amish Wheels
Wheels go round and round. Whoo and they stop right here.
I thought Amish tractors were horse drawn tractors?
Marilyn mostly they are used for their engine power–say for filling up a silo, and not as a field machine. However a minority of Amish do use them in the field and even drive them around.
To make them road-unfriendly they often require metal wheels rather than rubber, though looks like this fellow has both.
I thought they were horse drawn tractors also.
LOL Tom in Ky
I lived in Stephenville Tx for 9 years, there use to be a bunch of Amish there. I have not been back since, are there still any there in that area?
From Bill on FB page
“I think I can get another year or two off these tires.”
Perfect! My dad used to say that about our car.
One for the road. 🙂
Franken-Farmall
AKA Road Wrecker.
That’s what’s left of a Farmall M.
The factory had a lot of extra metal they didn’t need that year. (always say that when you have parts left over)
I’d bet it pulls left nasty. It’s about 70 years old, good for another 70. Steel wheels in the back is the answer for fields, but grouters (cleats) stop you from getting from field to field on the road. Since temptation is the reason for requiring steel wheels to prevent the use of a piece of farm equipment for recreational use or driving to town, this is the best solution to keep the state happy from destroying asphalt roads when you must get it down the road. That’s probably a Tar and Chip surface that doesn’t take well to steel at all. Police frown on rear steel wheels even crossing a road.
“She thinks my tractors sexy”
Amish Wheels: caption this
“Why, thank you. Yes, I do believe I’ve conquered the deadly sins of pride & avarice.”
Notice his grip on the steering wheel. I have driven something similar, and let me tell you, driving it was an aerobic activity! It’s probably a struggle to keep that tractor in the road.
Amish Wheels
Good for another 100,000 miles!
Also, the rubber tores have installed backward.
Posted this pic to an antique tractor board for the humor value and got the explanation for this (from a guy who runs an Amish Taxi no less) — those old tires are covering steel wheels so he can move the tractor down the road.
That’s why they’re on backwards, the left is falling apart, and the right one has two bolts through it (which I missed looking at it before).
That’s right Matt this way of covering the wheels with rubber is actually pretty common in communities that can do it…I wouldn’t have recognized they are on backwards though–I wonder if there is a reason or it was just a goof-up here.
You’ve actually got a few more bolts on both tires if you can discern in the photo.
If there’s no rim, and no air in the tires, the sidewalls may have been cut on purpose to mount the tire to the steel wheels. The other tire may look the same on the side we can’t see. In basic nuts and bolts, the rubber is bolted to the steel wheel. This tractor is “tired!”
Lin–great caption–“A ‘Tired’ Tractor”!
I lived in Stephenville Tx for 9 years, there use to be a bunch of Amish there. I have not been back since, are there still any there in that area?
No more Amish in Stephenville
Hi Renee, the short answer is no–coincidentally we just had a post on the Stephenville Amish last week.
You can read about the Stephenville community here: https://amishamerica.com/amish-bee-county-texas/
It was an unusual Amish settlement.
Amish began moving here in response to the recession of the late 70s and early 80s. An illegal worker crackdown meant Texas had an abundance of jobs. Luthy notes: “Few were very eager to go, with one correspondent to The Budget commenting: “I’m sure these families don’t look forward to leaving the community, but sometimes you have to go to where the jobs are.”
Oh wow, I know there were several there 🙁
UPDATE ON AMISH BEARD CUTTING
Sorry to be off topic Erik but here is a update on the beard cutting attacks from the AP for those that may be interested.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g0ObtB121qV1Mv1EKk3mL6y78qKQ?docId=861327df6cdd41ccb65ce800b67ebca4
Thanks Tom, I’ve been following that. Looks like their plea to get the hate crime charge thrown out was denied.
There was also a defense of this group written recently by a local pastor, who seems to be butting heads with the authorities:
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/trumbull_county_minister_accus.html
A Trumbull County minister who is waging a campaign on behalf of 16 Amish men and women charged with federal hate crimes has accused U.S. marshals of intimidation for questioning him at his home about an earlier verbal confrontation with U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach.
Tractors, humor and captions ‘in traction’
Hey all, here are some captions I’ve come up with:
“This week on Pimp my Amish Ride”
“In the Amish world Bigger is Better”
“Just got back from the used tire sale and I got a real‘steel’”
Tires bolted backwards
The steel cleats on the steel wheels are the correct direction pointing like arrows downward from the front. Adding rubber tires with lugs the oposite direction makes the thick rubber lug CROSS the steel cleat making it solid. Rubber lugs going the same direction doesn’t work since there are a different number of lugs to cleats. Some hit the cleats, others miss them and makes the tire out of round. This way a rubber lug always contacts a cleat inside. Without air, the tires don’t conform to the ground well, so are not as good in the field as aired tires, or steel that have larger cleats. Pads made from belting can be added between steel cleats to run on roads, but it makes it very smooth, and in sandy soil they dig right down with very little bite. Adding rubber pads to steel wheels is for parade routes and show tractors, not field use.
Adding a piece of steel like a lever or handle on the outside, (think garden hose winder) or sometimes an old steel rim is used to wrap a cable or chain around if you’re stuck and the wheel spins like a winch to pull you out. Holding the brake tight on the other side makes the side spin with the “winch”.
Thanks for explaining this, Paul.
This poor tractor doesn’t look like it can go many more miles…
Don’t let the surface rust on the skin fool you. If that old M has been maintained; crankcase oil changed regularly, antifreeze in the radiator, filters serviced when needed, etc it should be good for a bunch of years more. Especially if he is just using it for stationary power and a little bit of stealth transportation!