Today’s high-clearance farm sprayers come equipped with boom widths of 100 feet or more, which makes getting them into sharp corners or tight places pretty difficult. And with some precision ag data collection systems now able to pinpoint small problem weed areas in a field, spraying them with very wide booms may mean wasting product. […] Read more
PHOTOS: Small-scale sprayers offer targeted weed killing
Make your in-field servicing easier
These custom-made truck bodies are designed to carry the shop right out to the field
The silver service body mounted on a 335 Peterbilt at Automatic Truck and Trailer Sales’ display during the Manitoba Ag Days show was bound to make anyone green with envy. The large aluminum service body was custom built by Total Works Truck and Equipment in Brandon, according to Ray Lewis, sales rep for Automatic Truck […] Read more
VIDEO: eQuipTV: “Big Roy” 3: A tractor ahead of its time
Scott Garvey pays another visit to the Versatile plant in Winnipeg to get an update on Big Roy’s restoration and gets some history on the big eight-wheel-drive tractor from Grant Adolph, Versatile’s COO. Video editing by Greg Berg.
Doing the robot math
In my last post I talked about the scale of some of today’s largest farm machines and what the future may—or may not—have in store for them. As technology advances, however, the question is becoming how much longer will we see very large scale equipment at work on broad-acre farms. The reason I say that […] Read more
How the 2016 pickup trucks stack up
Grainews helped out with the judging at the 2016 Canadian Truck King Challenge
When it’s time to bring home a new farm pickup truck, there are a lot of things to consider. For example, every new pickup on a dealer lot has a window sticker showing Transport Canada fuel mileage ratings. Trouble is, those mileage figures may not really reflect what a truck’s actual consumption will be on […] Read more
Finding the source when you have engine problems
If an engine that has been sitting for several months fails to start, don’t automatically assume the carb is the problem. There are some other basic checks to make before tearing into a rebuild. Some old mechanics used to say “most carb problems are electrical.” What they meant was what people often assume is a […] Read more
How to overhaul your own carburetor
In this instalment of Shop Class, we get back to the basics of carburetors
In the mid 1980s, carburetors quickly gave way to fuel injection systems in new cars and trucks. But it’s likely there are still a few carbureted engines on machines in nearly every Prairie farmyard. That handy ATV and small grain auger engine are probably two places they can be found. And, of course, there is […] Read more
How to pick a replacement carb
Occasionally when working on older machines, it’s common to come across a carburetor that is no longer serviceable. But finding an exact replacement can sometimes be very difficult, or prohibitively expensive. If a new OEM replacement isn’t an option and a search for a used part isn’t working out, there is little choice but to […] Read more
Carburetion. It’s all about the air to fuel ratio
There are three basic types of carbs: updraft, downdraft and sidedraft. Those terms refer to the direction of airflow through the carb’s air horn. A downdraft, the most common automotive type, mounts on top of the intake manifold and air flows down through the barrel and into the engine. And updraft, as you’d expect, mounts […] Read more
PHOTOS: PHOTO GALLERY: A look back at pickup trucks
How manufacturers tried to convince farmers to buy trucks in the ’60s
Stacked! Built!” are the first two words in the body of this Mercury Trucks advertisement from the early 1960s. Clearly, they have that nudge-nudge-wink-wink feel to them. I’m pretty sure those terms had the same double entendre meaning back then that they do today. No current marketing manager would ever let that kind of ad […] Read more