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QUESTION:Could someone please tell me if there are any new walking tractors being
sold on the market in Australia. I live in Oakleigh (a suburb of Melbourne).
Also, does anyone have a website giving the benefits/downsides of using a
walking tractor on a small-holding. Can one harvest grains? Are
roto-tillers different from walking tractors with a plough attachment? Can
the same machine be switched from one function to another.
I suppose some of these questions have been asked and answered before; so is
there somewhere I could read-up on all this info?
ANSWER: What's a "walking tractor" ? One like a dragline excavator, with legs
that walk, or one like a rotovator (in UK speak) that's two wheels
with a driver (sic) walking behind and holding handlebars ?
I've never heard of this. Can't really imagine it either - who grows
cereals in that small a space ?
In the UK, "roto tillers" are still thought of as vertical axis
devices (like the old Fowler gyro-tillers). We generally use
rotovators, with a horizontal axis.
There are two forms of rotovator; powered drive and non-powered.
The smallest have powered tines, but no powered wheels and are
manually pushed. The very smallest have no wheels at all, just a foot,
and are roughly equivalent to a powered spade; only much bigger,
heavier and less useful. The wheeled versions are bigger and heavier,
but little better. None of these are much use - they tend to dig
themselves downwards, rather than forwards. Pushing them through the
soil is nearly as much work as digging it by hand.
Much better are the powered drive rotovators like the popular Howard
Gem or Dragon models. These have a two wheel drive (fixed axle) and
can pull themselves through the soil yet to be dug. Despite being
much heavier, they are easy to handle. For maneouvering in tight
spaces (orchards or glasshouses), a powered reverse is useful, as are
the Dragon's easily swivelled handlebars.
The rotovator is available in different styles and widths; special
blades for producing extra-fine seedbeds or breaking fallow ground, or
narrow boxes for rowcropping.
For ploughing, a single share plough is fitted in place of the
rotovator box. The wheels also need wheel weights and a simple set of
hub ratchets to act as a differential. Ploughing without both of
these is a loser and not worth it. To be honest, I've never found the
plough any use at all - a smallholding only needs a plough once in a
blue moon, and it's easier to borrow a tractor and a multi-share
plough.
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