On the way from Montana, the trucks transporting the Bid Bud and its 8’ diameter tires, moved around 56 mph to 63 mph. The truck that carried the carried was said to weigh north of 122,000 lb., and 30 chains secured the load.
The tractor is 27’ long, 20’ wide, and 14’ tall, and it can weigh more than 100,000 lb. when filled with 1,000 gal. of fuel. Outfitted with a 16-cylinder Detroit Diesel engine providing 760 hp, the Big Bud 747 is said to the be the largest tractor built in the U.S.
The crew that transported the well-known workhorse hit the road June 29 and arrived at the show site July 2. For a complete chronicle of the adventure,
read this Twitter page. It will be on display from July 9 to 12 at the Penfield show, and from Aug. 27 to 30 in Rantoul, Ill. for
the Half Century of Progress IV.
Built in 1977 in Havre, Montana by Ron Harmon and crew at Northern Manufacturing Company, the tractor has already had a road trip around the country before returning to service in its home state. Originally built for cotton farmers in California, the Big Bud’s second life was deep ripping on a farm in Florida. Then in 1997, the Big Bud returned to Montana, and only 60 miles from where it was built. Since then the Williams brothers have used the well-loved tractor for tillage, pulling an 80’ cultivator and working more than an acre per minute.
