We received over 800 photo entries and the results are in! Visit SteinerTractor.com/tractor-photo-winners to view the photos chosen to appear in our 2016 tractor parts catalog. See our choice of winners for the top three categories as well as many other winners for the multiple brands. The top three winners will receive their choice of either a $300 Steiner gift card or a $300 Shutterfly gift card. The other photos chosen for the 2016 catalog will receive a $25 Steiner gift card. Thank you for participating and we encourage you to participate in next year’s contest. Also watch your email for our 2nd Annual Calendar Photo Contest. Congratulations to all those chosen and thank you again to everyone who participated.
The Spork Tractor (Avery Ro-Trak)
The tractor that I’m about to show you today is one I lovingly refer to as “The Spork of Tractors.” Produced by Avery Farm Equipment as their go-big-or-go-home attempt to save the company, the tractor was a fascinating concept that never really took off. Like a spork, it was intended to be a two-in-one solution for farmers who could only afford one tractor. With a jack and a half-hour of work (so the advertisements said), the tractor could be easily converted from a wide-front to narrow-front configuration. The rear wheels could be set at a variety of treads as well, allowing one tractor to plant and cultivate a wide selection of crops.
The tractor, if you haven’t guessed by now, is the Avery Ro-Trak. Because it lacked a conventional front end, springs were included in the vertical tubes.
The tractor boasted a powerful 6-cylinder Hercules engine. Some owners have complained that the engine is too powerful for the differential gears and report that they failed often. Other complaints include difficulty steering and under-powered brakes. Perhaps Avery could have fixed these problems if they had more time and money – but the company’s weakened financial state no doubt made innovation difficult.
While it’s an interesting concept, the tractor never took off. Production ceased with the start of World War 2. Avery had already gone through a succession of reorganizations and didn’t resurface after the war.
Today, the Ro-Trak tractor is highly collectible. It’s such a unique piece of innovation! Have you ever seen one?
Right Size, Right Color
Fathers Day is almost here and if you are like many of us you wonder how many ties and ‘Greatest Dad’ coffee mugs a guy can need.
If your Father is an antique tractor enthusiast why not get him the gift that is always the right size and right color, a Steiner Tractor Parts gift card. You can order the card online in any dollar denomination. Just type in the quantity equal to the dollar amount you would like, Qty 25 would be a $25 gift card. Order now at www.steinertractor.com/gift-card
A Trip to a Tractor Museum
Last Friday the BF Avery Collectors and Associates gathered in Davison Michigan at the Best Western for their Winter meeting and a day of tractor fun. After the morning meeting the group was picked up in a bus furnished by Steiner Tractor Parts with a first stop in Hadley Michigan at Chuck Schneider’s. Chuck owns one of the biggest Orchard tractor collections in the country, and many neon signs and other collectibles. It was a rare privilege to be invited to see this private collection and hear Chuck’s stories about how he came across these restored tractors.
After the tour at Schneider’s the group loaded back on the bus and headed to Steiner Tractor Parts in Lennon for a quick tour of the warehouse and store, an overview of how things are run and a history of how things began.
It was a great afternoon full of old iron history and stories of these antique tractors. Rows of Orchard, Vineyard and Grove tractors, an aluminum Ford, John Deere, Case, Oliver, McCormick-Deering, Massey Harris, Love Tractor, to the rare 1938 Minneapolis Moline UDLX with and without the cab.
Some more pictures, sent in from Mark Cunningham of the BF Avery Group. Thanks Mark.