First try roading the tractor. Turns out I'm not a fan....

[jbrumberg]

SmallChange depending on which state you live in it might be "technically" illegal to drive on the public roads w/o lights and hazards going, a SMV decal, and an ag plate (which I do not have). In theory it is illegal here in MA, but not enforced locally. I was advised by a State Trooper that I must keep all 4 tires on the public road and not use the auxiliary lights. I used to drive my tractor the 1.5 miles to the private school where I worked to till the school's gardens. As both my home and the school are situated on hills I had a very steep hill with which to deal with either going to or returning from the school and no way no how I could safely operate in my HST's high (3rd) range with the tiller and FEL. In 2nd range I had no problems. My little old geared 13HP Ford 1100 handled those roads better than my HST NH.

Honestly you are probably a lot safer using your station wagon on the road. Many drivers, distracted or not, do not "see" tractors traveling on the highway even with the lights going. I had enough close calls to now keep my tractor home.

Good luck.

 

[SmallChange]

So glad that you posted this to let other Tractor owners know about Road travel
I was considering driving mine to the Local Gas station less than a mile from my place. But I would have to travel a very Busy road.
I my self have decided that even tho the Gas station is so close the Traffic made me decide No going to the Gas station with my Tractor.

The busy road would seriously scare me! I would have two roads to take, both with 35 mph limits (which of course people exceed). At the time of day I tried this, about 1:45 PM, there was not much traffic. I only went about 500 feet on the road, and I did have one car waiting behind me when I was fumbling around on the hill and backing down into the driveway. I saw one car go by the other direction before I pulled back out onto the road again. That's only 2 cars during the several minutes this took. So, I don't have busy traffic to deal with. If either of these roads were what I'd consider busy, I wouldn't have tried.

 

[SmallChange]

SmallChange depending on which state you live in it might be "technically" illegal to drive on the public roads w/o lights and hazards going, a SMV decal, and an ag plate (which I do not have). In theory it is illegal here in MA, but not enforced locally. I was advised by a State Trooper that I must keep all 4 tires on the public road and not use the auxiliary lights. I used to drive my tractor the 1.5 miles to the private school where I worked to till the school's gardens. As both my home and the school are situated on hills I had a very steep hill with which to deal with either going to or returning from the school and no way no how I could safely operate in my HST's high (3rd) range with the tiller and FEL. My little old geared 13HP Ford 1100 handled those roads better than my HST NH.

Honestly you are probably a lot safer using your station wagon on the road. Many drivers, distracted or not, do not "see" tractors traveling on the highway even with the lights going. I had enough close calls to now keep my tractor home.

Good luck.

Several local people have told me it is no problem to have the tractor on the road, providing I have the lights and hazards going and the SMV on the back. All of which I have. I spent a while trying to research whether it was technically legal, and it sounds like I should have an ag plate, but I've been watching for the past 6 months and have only seen one tractor with an ag plate. I've probably seen more than a dozen without. It looks to me like the ag plate is practically ignored, and, unlike the other items, it isn't improving the safety any.

If it weren't for the hills, I might have felt fine about the whole thing. Riding a bicycle on the public roads is a bit dangerous and people fail to see them, but I did that for many years. As it is, though, it just felt way too unsafe, especially considering that the station wagon would work just fine.

 

[CobyRupert]

The biggest surprise was that I can't go up a hill in top gear, and even a couple down from the top. That means I couldn't maintain even 10 mph. The tractor is 25 horsepower and 5,000 lbs. Unless I was doing something wrong, this simply means the power to weight ratio is extremely low relative to cars. I'd have figured it was lower of course, but didn't figure it was this much lower. There are two steep climbs on the way there, and one steep climb on the way back.

The other thing is that I take a little time to figure out what I'm doing, and the need to think fast on a public road is too critical. So I'm realizing driving it isn't going to be quite what I pictured, and it's threatening to stall on the hill, and I'm figuring out how to back it downhill into somebody's driveway to get out of people's way and turn around, and farting around with gearshifts and whatnot, when ALL my attention should be on the car right behind me and on whatever is about to crest the hill coming the other way. This is probably 500 feet from the end of my own driveway.

Unless I'm missing some major clue about how to do this, I think this means lugging the cans.....

I assume this is a geared 12x12 transmission and not hydro? Why wouldn't you just downshift instead of backing up and turning around if you though it was going to stall? I guarantee the tractor can climb the hill. ....just maybe not in top gear.

ALL your attention shouldn't be on the car behind you...some of it should be focused on what you're driving..

The fuel station 1/4 mile down the road from me finally got diesel pumps, and I finally got sick of hauling 5 gal cans and drove down. I had FEL and 7' rotary mower on back, so rig probably stretch out 25ft (?) long and I had to back up to the pump to get the correct side. I didn't think it was that weird of a sight in an agricultural town, but I noticed one guy eyeballing me the whole time, until he finally got out of the car and took my picture. Don't know what that was about.

p.s. On blind hills and bends, DON'T drive on the right hand shoulder, take up the WHOLE lane so people are less tempted to pass you. Same with left turns, if no cars in oncoming lane, don't turn left suddenly, occupy the left lane so cars can't try to pass when you're turning left.

...and for the love of Gosh, DON'T travel with an escort vehicle that now increases the passing distance required (i.e. the distance passing cars are in other lane) by 10 times. That's one of the stupidest thing I see people doing all the time.

 

[jbrumberg]

SC- I do not "qualify" for an ag plate in MA, and even if I did I would not register due to the paperwork and the bureaucratic BS; and I live in a rural area which reads similar to yours. It's a rare day here when I do not see at least one tractor on the roads around here.

Insurance is another concern. My homeowner's insurance would cover me for losses/damages on my property and on the public road along my property lines only.

Maybe a decent "reason" to buy a pickup truck.

 

[Diggin It]

I assume this is a geared 12x12 transmission and not hydro?

The WM25 should be the NH badged version of the LS XJ2025 or similar which is a hydro.

 

[Deere Dude]

I let my rookie wife drive my 45 HP Hydro tractor to the dumps while I followed with truck and trailer. All was good until in the dump area where she had to go up a 500'
fairly steep hill. She was driving almost flat out for the 2 miles to the dump and all was good. But once half way up the hill she was down to 1/3 speed a starting to really hog down. Foot farther into the gas but not going any faster.

I was considering getting right on her tail in case she killed it and started rolling backwards. She made it to the top and I gave her a quick few lessons on how to go up a hill, like stop and gear down appropriately. That is all I know to do also, but is seems counter-intuitive.

 

[SmallChange]

I assume this is a geared 12x12 transmission and not hydro? Why wouldn't you just downshift instead of backing up and turning around if you though it was going to stall? I guarantee the tractor can climb the hill. ....just maybe not in top gear.

ALL your attention shouldn't be on the car behind you...some of it should be focused on what you're driving..

The fuel station 1/4 mile down the road from me finally got diesel pumps, and I finally got sick of hauling 5 gal cans and drove down. I had FEL and 7' rotary mower on back, so rig probably stretch out 25ft (?) long and I had to back up to the pump to get the correct side. I didn't think it was that weird of a sight in an agricultural town, but I noticed one guy eyeballing me the whole time, until he finally got out of the car and took my picture. Don't know what that was about.

p.s. On blind hills and bends, DON'T drive on the right hand shoulder, take up the WHOLE lane so people are less tempted to pass you. Same with left turns, if no cars in oncoming lane, don't turn left suddenly, occupy the left lane so cars can't try to pass when you're turning left.

...and for the love of Gosh, DON'T travel with an escort vehicle that now increases the passing distance required (i.e. the distance passing cars are in other lane) by 10 times. That's one of the stupidest thing I see people doing all the time.

This is a geared 12x12 transmission. I could downshift of course, but it was dawning on me that driving to the gas station at walking speed was not going to work nearly as well as I thought driving at 13 mph would. At top (level ground) speed, people could be a little patient and follow me for a hundred feet if needed to be able to pass safely, but at a midrange gear, I'd be going so slowly that everybody would try to pass. I'd be like the guy I see on a tiny riding mower sometimes on one of these roads, except wide enough that passing would be much more difficult (it's possible to pass this guy without crossing the center line). And, this was starting to look like a 20 minute trip to get there, not 5, so a lot more time to get into trouble.

Hey, I like your tips about taking up the whole lane, and not pulling a train (escort vehicle).

 

[oldballs]

Hey, around here, on a dead end, single lane rural road, often times somebody goes by me doing 40 mph while I'm mowing the ditch along the road. Geeze!!! It's a good thing that I'm paying attention, or I'd be dead by now.

 

[RjCorazza]

...
Hey, I like your tips about taking up the whole lane, and not pulling a train (escort vehicle).

I agree with both of these tips. Beside encouraging unsafe passing, operating partially off the roadway opens the tractor operator up to liability issues.
The only machinery in my area that requires plates are the higher road speed tractors that go faster than 25 mph I believe. All others need headlights, rear red, flashers, and the SMV triangle.
I road my tractor on occasion, and I do find it stressful. Most drivers in my area are used to machinery on the road, and cooperate. Pulling fully off the road when possible goes a long way in maintaining good relations.