THE STEERING BOX JUST FAILED ON MY.... TRACTOR!

[MattLaurence]

Sorry for the clickbait title, couldn't resist.

I was hoping to haul some firewood out of rough backwoods areas and continue prepping for the winter when I found that after almost 70 years, my 1952 Ford 8N steering box finally failed! And unfortunately, that little Ford is the only implement I have to pull the ol' wood haulin' cart up that crappy dirt road to get the firewood. I resigned myself to the fact that instead of a fun day of hauling and stacking wood, I would now be scraping my knuckles and snapping bolts trying to fix an ancient steering box. Oh, if only there was a way to get that cart back there and not spend this glorious day in the garage, looking for that ratchet that I just had, and it was just right over here....

But then I remembered some old Jeep ads, also probably from the 50s, touting that Jeeps could be used as farm equipment. Yes, the Jeep could work... there are lots of ways I could attach the cart, and the Jeep might just be skinny enough to make it between some tight spots on the road....

30 minutes later I was all hooked up, saws and tools all thrown in the cart, and I began my slow journey in 4LO, 1st Gear up the winding road. And to my delight everything worked perfectly! My Jeep had been transformed from nice SUV with a good sound system and a killer AC right back into a farm tool, and the transition was seemless. Even the sensation of shifting the 4WD gear from 4LO to 2HI to go around tight turns and then back to 4LO for more uphill reminded me of driving a tractor... you have to really give it some confident shifts and let it know you're in control, but sometimes you have to...." here, ease it forward a little while you shift so that it kinda..... *CLUNK* There you go!! Now she's going! "

After a long day of good work, I started the journey home, made it back down the road, and unhooked the trailer. As soon as I put the windows back in and put it in the garage, the Jeep was transformed right back into my trusted daily driver. I'm confident, after 68,000 miles, I made a good purchase.

Now.... to fix up that broken steering box on the tractor...

Out of curiosity, is anyone using any farm tools on their rigs? Gravel blades, plows, etc? Would love to see some more farm tools made for Jeeps!

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[EJWF11]

Well hell, get on twitter and raise hell that you arent getting what you needed yesterday and youre angry about it!

 

[cOtter]

Looks like a great day!!!!!

Very interesting, just yesterday I hauled multiple loads of limbs and saplings into my woods from my yard.

I too used my Jeep hooked to my cart.

worked like a charm and helped make the process more enjoyable for certain!!!!

 

[YairCollins]

Your story about using the Jeep as a farm tool is epic. It's amazing how versatile these vehicles can be. Turning your Jeep into a wood-hauling machine on the fly is the kind of stuff that makes owning one so much fun.
I haven't personally used my rig for farming tasks, but your experience makes me want to explore those possibilities. Farm tools on Jeeps sound like a cool idea, and it's great to see how well it worked for you.
And hey, if you're still on the hunt for info or want to share more stories like this, you might want to check out local Diggers & Excavators clubs. They're often filled with folks who have inventive ways to use their vehicles.

 

[OrneryBear]

Good ol' 8Ns. Grew up driving one as young as I could reach the foot controls.

My father is still rocking his, and it's still on the original steering box. His hydraulics went out a few years ago and he hasn't gotten around to fixing it.

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