The roots of 4WD tractors

Discovered in the photography archives of the Nebraska Tractor Test Museum, the fuzzy black-and-white image of the Rogers Brothers tractor is a glimpse back to when tractor design was in its infancy and any concept was worth a try. Rogers Brothers and other little-known manufacturers, such as Heer, Fitch, Nelson, and Olmstead, were pushing the then narrow limits of tractor design by embracing a newfangled concept of applying power to all four wheels.

The concept was sound as this meant more power was put to the ground, but the engineering to accomplish this required greater final drive costs. In the end, manufacturers would embrace powering only rear wheels both for engineering simplicity and cost savings.

Yet today, more than 100 years after those pioneering efforts in all-wheel drive, the vast majority of tractors over 80 hp. employ either front-or four-wheel-drive.

First FWD tractor

Although the very early history of tractor development is often shrouded in mystery, what certainly appears to be the first four-wheel-drive tractor to be sold hit the market in 1912. The brainchild of Chris Heer of Portsmouth, Ohio, the Heer tractor employed the services of a two-cylinder engine to power all four wheels of the machine. The 7⁄8-inch open-link chain ran through the transmission and around sprockets on front and rear differentials.

As if four-wheel-drive propulsion wasn’t innovative enough, the Heer also offered four-wheel steering. Both the front and rear axles pivoted opposite of each other to provide amazingly tight turns for such a huge tractor. To accomplish this, a steering shaft with two worm gears was employed. Chains from the worm gears ran to each axle.

The firm created to build the tractor, Heer Engine Company, would join with Morton Tractor
Company and continue to manufacture the tractor. It appears that company and its 4WD tractor ceased to exist by 1920.

Interest in 4WD design continued to expand. Already in 1912, tractors being built by the Nelson and Olmstead organizations featured 4WD with chain drives. The Nelson, like the Heer, also featured four-wheel steering. Both tractors were on the market for only a short time, however.

In 1915, what could be considered the first successful 4WD tractor, based on its popularity, was introduced by Michigan farmer John Fitch. The Fitch Four-Drive tractor represented a major breakthrough in design; it employed driveshafts, not chains, to transfer power from its engine.

A market success

Built sturdy to a fault, the Fitch machine led to the creation of the Four-Drive Tractor Company, which produced a variety of 4WD models sold across North America and overseas.

Fitch’s first tractor, built in 1915, was unique in the use of driveshafts to transfer power to differentials on both front and rear axles. That advance, along with the fact that the firm Fitch founded, the Four-Drive Tractor Company, remained in business until 1930, qualifies it as the first practical four-wheel-drive tractor.

The strongest evidence of the tractor’s popularity is the fact that the firm produced eight different models of the Four-Drive. A further testament is the fact that Four-Drive flourished even after John Fitch’s untimely death in 1916. Investors not only continued to market the tractor after Fitch’s death, but also expanded its distribution.

To prove the tractor’s superior traction, the company staged an extraordinary promotional stunt in July 1918. During the National Tractor Demonstration in Wichita, Kansas, a Four-Drive Model 20-35 pulled a four-bottom plow nonstop and through a rainstorm for 88 hours, tilling a total of 100 acres.

The original Four-Drive models produced were designated as 15-26 or 16-26. These machines employed a four-cylinder Waukesha engine. With a 72-inch wheelbase and 8-foot turning radius, these 3,000-pound goliaths sold for $1,000.

The even larger 20-35 weighed in at 5,100 pounds and fetched a selling price of $2,500.

Massey’s venture

The next major breakthrough in 4WD technology was made by Massey-Harris in the late 1920s.

The company had entered the tractor business just a decade before and wanted to make a big splash. Massey engineers, directed to think big, fashioned the General Purpose (GP) 15-22. It hit the market in 1930, offering four-wheel power employing the use of a transfer case and front and rear differentials. The front axle featured a universal joint design that allowed the tractor to turn in a 6-foot diameter.

The thoughtful engineering at work in the General Purpose was also reflected in the fact that the tractor was offered in four widths to accommodate different row spacings.

Orchard, industrial, and turf variations, offered with both steel and pneumatic tires, were built during the tractor’s six-year production run.

The General Purpose cost $1,000 when introduced. That price tag caused buyers to flee during the Great Depression. The Massey-Harris tractor also had to compete against the far more affordable IHC Farmall. That sealed the GP’s fate.

After the General Purpose died, 4WD advances languished and didn’t resurface until the 1950s.