The ultimate toy box: Wilkinson’s auction for R&M Motors

Welcome to the R&M Motors toy box, folks. Good gravy, this is a neat auction. There’s literally something for just about everybody on this sale — whether you push dirt, collect tractors, float gears, or just want a snazzy pickup!

If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself!

R&M Motors Retirement Auction listing

Auction Date: April 29, 2024 at 10 a.m.

Auctioneer: Wilkinson Auctions & Realty

Location: Berlin, Wisconsin

Format: Online and in-person

Who is R&M Motors, anyway?

Glad you asked.

In the late 1960s, Richard Moriarty and his wife, Karen, opened R&M Motors, a repair shop in downtown Berlin, Wisconsin, about an hour southwest of Green Bay. Richard was a good mechanic who loved equipment, and built a healthy business keeping the local milk trucks on the road. He also moved quite a bit of used farm equipment from the locals. Karen handled the accounting, as well as raising their sons Jon and Pat.

The 1980s brought considerable growth. R&M Motors had relocated to a new building on the outskirts of town on Highway 49 in 1980. Richard also started selling new equipment, becoming one of the first Deutz dealers in the area. Pat told me that they picked up quite a few short lines over the late 1980s and into the 1990s. If I remember right, he told me that at their peak, they sold new equipment from 42 different companies — plus quite a bit of used equipment!

This is what the dealership looked like when the Google Street View car drove past it in October 2008. As you can see, they’ve got quite a bit of used equipment on the left, plus a lot of 3/4/5000-series Massey Ferguson utility tractors near the sign.

Over time, manufacturers increased pressure on R&M Motors to expand. That wasn’t the direction Richard and the boys — now partners in the business — wanted to go. In 2011, they made the decision to drop their new product lines and focus on used farm and construction equipment.

That was a wise decision, too. The used equipment business has been good to Jon and Pat, and their hard work has allowed them to build a pretty sweet collection of interesting tractors and trucks.

Previewing the R&M Motors auction

Here’s the 10,000-foot overview from Pat & Jon.

One of the most interesting things about this auction is the makeup of what’s on it. There’s been quite a bit of buzz about the low-houred SoundGuards on the sale, and a couple of other things here and there, but not much about the rest of it.

The majority of the assets on the sale are pieces of late-model construction equipment — and I mean a bunch of it — with 13 excavators of all sizes, 11 backhoes, eight dozers, eight wheel loaders, five skid loaders, and a lot more. There’s also a few service trucks, a half-dozen very nice pickups, a couple of very nice tri-axle detach trailers, and quite a few other odds and ends. There’ll also be a lot of attachments listing pretty soon, too. Wilkinson is cataloging its buckets and blades as we speak.

However, you read this blog because you like toy box-type stuff.

So, let’s look inside the R&M Motors toy box.

IH 826 Gold Demo

I think IH’s Gold Demo tractors are some of the more interesting tractors from the golden era (no pun intended), mainly because the way the program rolled out was so weird. The program included 544s, 656s, 826s, 1026s, and 1456s, and only tractors produced in 1970. The serial numbers of tractors that were painted gold were seemingly chosen at random, and as far as I know, nobody ever thought to keep track of them. They were supposed to promote the hydrostatic-drive tractors, but there are lots of examples of gear-drive tractors that rolled out wearing gold paint! Such is the case with this 826 in the R&M Motors collection. It’s a gear-drive 826 Gold Demonstrator.

Jon and Pat bought it at an Iowa auction about 15 years ago. They’ve never been able to find out much of the history of this tractor, but it sure looks to me like an all-original machine. I did a little digging at the Wisconsin Historical Archives and, based on the serial number, this one was built in late October of 1970, so it’s definitely late in the production run.

Originality is a big deal for tractors like this, and this one has it. Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with the way this tractor has survived. The gold paint is thin and typically didn’t fare very well. If I had to guess, while this tractor has almost 8,200 hours on it, it didn’t sleep outside very often. The paint never would’ve held up as well otherwise.

John Deere 4020

Yes, I know 4020s are a dime a dozen. This one has an interesting story though, and some interesting features.

Pioneer bought this tractor back in the day to plant test plots with a 4-row planter mounted on the 3-point hitch. That's why it’s so heavily loaded on the nose. The big red box on the console is a Murphy Tattletale switch that would kill the tractor if the motor lost oil pressure or overheated. It also has mounts for multiple fire extinguishers as well. I suppose if I were in Pioneer’s position, I’d probably try and outfit the tractor with as many safety features as I could, too.

This is a pretty original side-console synchro tractor. The wheels have been repainted, but near as I can tell, nothing else has. It’s been remarkably well-preserved, too. Since it’s a corporately-owned tractor, I’d sort of expect that there were policies mandating that it was stored indoors when possible. I’m not sure how many years it was in service, but I’m impressed the paint survived as well as it has.

At any rate, it’s got about 5,500 hours on a working tach, and it’s getting hard to find original 4020s like that.

Oliver 1955

Oliver front-wheel-assist tractors aren’t the rarest things in the world, but they’re still not all that common. Original examples like this one are out there, but they’re not easy to find. Jon and Pat bought this tractor at an auction in central Illinois a few years ago. Initially, I think they were debating on whether or not to restore it with pretty paint and all that. I’m glad they chose not to, as the patina will ultimately end up adding to its value. This one shows 7,133 hours, and it’s knee-deep in rubber, too.

John Deere 4055

This 1992 John Deere 4055 MFWD is something of a unicorn. As I understand it, this tractor was sold by a Kentucky Deere dealer to a local attorney who liked tractors. The guy apparently took it home and parked it in a dirt-floor tobacco shed on a farm he owned, and it sat there for at least 10 years before it went to a used-equipment dealer in the area. When it made its way to R&M Motors from Kentucky 10 or 15 years ago, it had a whopping 17 hours on the meter, and they’ve only put five hours on it since. The meter reads 22.9 right now.

It’s a nicely optioned tractor, too: Powershift, three remotes, mechanical front, PTO, three-point, and front fenders. It was perfectly spec’d for a medium-sized Kentucky farm back in the day; it just never got to actually do any farm work. If I had to guess, the attorney who bought it had a farm as an investment and picked this one up because somebody said, “Well, you bought a farm, you probably need to buy a new tractor for it!”

As strange as it may seem, that does happen from time to time. A doctor in Michigan bought a 2WD Quad Range 4055 from a mid-Michigan dealer and hung on to it as an investment. He sold it at an auction about 10 years ago with about 500 hours on it, and it brought close to $64,000! These low-houred unicorns are out there. They don’t show up very often, but they’re out there — and this one is part of the R&M Motors toy box.

John Deere 4455

The 4455 is the 55-series that everybody wanted. When they were launched, they outsold every other tractor in Deere’s lineup by at least double, and clean examples are still hard at work earning a living on farms across the country. I can just about guarantee you that somebody you know either planted with a 4455 back in the day or plants with one today.

The Moriarty brothers picked this tractor up at a farm auction in Iowa. As best as I can tell, it was one of those “I'm going to splurge just this once” deals for the original owner. Whoever that guy was, he set it up right: 42-inch rubber, axle-mount duals, three remotes, quick hitch, Powershift, and a full rack of front weights.

This tractor evidently never saw much use, either, because it only has 2,260 original hours on it. Everything is original to the tractor: rubber, paint, the works. Heck, I think even the fuel filter is original.

I wasn’t at all surprised when Donnie Bleich, the auction manager, told me that he’d fielded a ton of phone calls on this tractor. Furthermore, nearly every one of them wanted to put it to work. Honestly, I see their point, too. These machines were built to last!

John Deere 7510

I don’t know what it is about Kentucky doctors and lawyers and low-houred green paint, but this is another example of it. It was originally sold by Roeder Implement in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (which is now a Hutson location, I believe) to a local doctor back in 2002. If I had to guess, he probably had a farm or an acreage and felt like he needed a tractor. However in the 10 or so years he owned it, he only put about an hour per year on that machine.

One hour per year. Crazy, right?

Then in 2012 or early 2013, he brought it back to the dealership and traded up to a new tractor. Jon and Pat bought it from Roeder in the spring of 2013 with the same 10 hours on it. They brought it back to Berlin, Wisconsin, and since then, they’ve only put three hours on it.

It's loaded, too: deluxe cab, axle-mount duals, triple remotes, fenders, e-Range Pow-R Quad transmission, and the corner-mount exhaust. This is a really nice tractor. I’m not sure what’ll end up happening to it on auction day, but I suspect that it’ll go to work when it’s all said and done. I hope so, anyway.

That brings up an interesting discussion about these super-low-houred tractors.

Use them or stash them away?

Honestly, I don’t know where I come down on this one. The 4455 will go to work, I’m almost sure of it, and that’s probably where it should go. At 2,200 hours, it really deserves to be used. The motor’s had enough time to break in, and you can do a heck of a lot of farming with a tractor like that (and fix it when it breaks).

But 13 and 22 hours? I don’t know. I think Jon and Pat are torn on the deal, too.

At any rate, those are the highlights on the tractor side, and it’ll be interesting to see where they end up when the hammer drops on April 29.

That’s just the tractors, though. Let’s talk about the semis on this sale for a minute!

The R&M Motors semis

There are a handful of semis on the auction, and they’re all really nice. Let’s take a look at some of them.

The Day Cab

This W9 day cab was a special order from the Kenworth dealer in Green Bay. It’s got a 565-horse X15 under the hood with an 18-speed, 3.91 gears, and it sits on a heavy-duty single frame with a factory pusher axle. If there was ever a truck built to do work, this one is it. This was Jon’s baby, and he put a lot of time and effort into making it the way he wanted it. It’s a sharp truck, it’s loaded, and as he put it, “All it’s really missing is a driver and a license plate.”

The 379

This truck sure looks good for a million-miler. It’s a 2005 Pete 379 American Class edition that started out as an all-black truck when the Moriarty brothers bought it. At the time, it was a stock, well-optioned 600,000-mile truck with a C15 CAT and a 13-speed. That wouldn't last long, though. After a trip home from Missouri with a fully loaded detach, it felt pretty lazy, and that just wouldn’t cut it. A local CAT wizard worked a little magic on that truck and let it breathe a little easier. Now it makes an easy 750 hp, and fully loaded trailers aren’t nearly as much of an issue now. At the same time, they gave the truck a bit of a cosmetic makeover, too: custom paint, stacks, and a few other things. It’s a looker now, that’s for sure!

The inside is just as nice as the outside, with hardwood floors, leather, nice sleeper, the works. It’s sitting at just over 1.1 million miles now, and it’s been the main workhorse for R&M Motors. It has picked up and delivered equipment all over the country!

Here’s a walk-around video of both the day cab and the 379.

The 389

This truck is the one that honestly has me scratching my head.

It’s a 2021 Pete 389, and it is beautiful. Pat special-ordered this machine with almost every single option box checked. It’s got the big Cummins X15 under the hood, rated at 605 hp; an 18-speed push-button shift transmission; 3.42 rear axle; air ride; two-tone Platinum & Sahara Tan interior; and a 78-inch UltraCab sleeper. I mean, this is an absolute Rolls-Royce of trucks. There was a ton of time and effort spent on this truck after it got home. Pat shaved the frame, had it custom-painted (it was originally painted Legendary Teal top to bottom — the White Diamond and gray stripe were custom-applied), added the big stacks, and probably a million other little things he forgot to tell me.

After all of that time and money was put into this truck, why would you never drive it?

I asked Pat that question. He told me, “Ryan, it was initially ordered to replace the 379. However, after it was all said and done, it just felt like it was too nice to drive. I had grand designs of putting it through its paces and honestly, I was really looking forward to not having to row gears in that truck, but it was just too nice. Believe it or not, one of my kids probably has more miles on that truck than I do. Avery and I went up to Green Bay to get it, and he wanted to drive it home!”

Here’s a walk-around with Pat.

This last truck, though? This one is probably my favorite machine on the sale.

The A-Model

My oh my, I really like this truck! Pat did, too, because he went to some length to get it.

He wanted a really nice, all-original A-Model because, like most of us, he has a thing for “Smokey and the Bandit.” Since he worked hard for his success, he was in a position where he could create something similar, so he did. I don’t have a CDL, nor do I really need a semi, but if I were in the same position, I’d probably entertain similar ideas. I mean, wouldn't you?

The search for this truck took a long time, but eventually, he ended up finding this very unique, very original 1981 W900A. It was essentially a barn find. It had sat for quite a few years, but the farmer who owned it had taken very good care of it. The last thing it had pulled was a hopper bottom, and I’m fairly sure that was a pretty brief stint.

It shows 390,000 miles, and they are original. Donnie Bleich, the auction manager, took it down the road not too long ago to test it out. He told me, “Ryan, I wish you could experience this thing for yourself. Those miles are accurate, and the second it goes down the road, you can feel it. It’s remarkable how much this really feels like driving a new truck.”

An A-Model … in an A-Model

I did a little bit of research on how this truck was optioned. I’m not prepared to say that this was a one-of-one truck, but I don’t think Kenworth turned out too many A-models like this. It was definitely a custom order for an owner/operator.

It’s a loaded truck, especially for 1981 standards.

I believe it’s a 265-inch wheelbase truck with a full diamond-tufted two-tone VIT (Very Important Truck) interior and 60-inch flat-top sleeper. It’s powered by a 3406A CAT set at about 400 hp, and it all runs through a 13-speed. It sits on an eight-bag air-ride suspension too (all bags are new), so it probably rides pretty darn nice. The paint and stripes are both original too. The pattern is called Mojave, and it’s not a real common pattern. In my opinion, they really lend a nice, period-correct look to the truck!

As I said earlier, this is probably my favorite machine on the sale. I’m a sucker for old-school stuff like that, though. Would it be a great truck to run up and down the road every day? I mean, you could, but if anything happened to it, it’d be awfully hard to ever get it back to the way it was.

Here’s a pretty detailed walk-around video with Jon, Pat, and Ryan Kelly. The video is a long one, but it’s well-worth watching. Toward the end, Ryan gets Richard Moriarty talking about growing up and spending summers at his grandpa’s farm just west of Berlin, Wisconsin.

One thing to note: The Coors Banquet trailer isn’t on the sale; it’s staying with Pat.

So why sell now?

That’s the question that’s been on everybody's mind: Why sell the collection now?

There are a few answers, and they’re a lot more straightforward than you probably think.

It’s all about priorities, timing, and perspective.

Priorities

Jon and Pat are brothers, friends, and business partners. When passions and priorities change, however, for the sake of the business, you’re faced with decisions like this. Both Jon and Pat have lots of irons in the fire outside of R&M Motors, and there are only so many hours in a day. Jon’s got a few dump trucks that he and his sons run, and it makes more sense for his priorities to put more of a focus there. Pat’s planning to scale back on selling equipment a bit so he can continue building a paint-and-polish business — as well as his latest passion project.

See, just south of town, there’s a little bar and grill called The Old School. It’s a neat piece of local history. Back in 1871, it was a one-room schoolhouse; then, at some point in the 1950s, it was converted into a restaurant. In the 1980s, the owners added a bar area, but for one reason or another, it never opened. Well, Pat saw an opportunity, and bought the place. It finally opened in 2022, and it’s been pretty popular!

As I said, it’s a shifting in priorities. There’s more than that, though.

Timing

It’s also a case of timing.

Let’s face it: Ag and construction aren’t in a great spot right now. Grain markets are way down, and the economy isn’t all that great. Pat and Jon could certainly keep R&M Motors going, and maintain the collection as-is, but who knows how long it’ll take before the economy starts getting better again?

From where they’re sitting, it just makes sense to move the inventory out while buyers are still there. I can understand that, especially if the idea of collecting isn’t as important as it once was. I mean, a year or two ago, equipment prices were going crazy because the supply wasn't there. If you didn’t need a tractor, it was a great time to sell, and we saw a lot of that. In my mind, it’s a similar situation.

Perspective

Last, it’s about perspective. As we get older, we start to realize that at the end of the day, it’s all just “stuff.” To Jon and Pat, while it’s cool stuff, a lot of what makes it so cool is the memories attached to it. The thrill of the hunt, the process of building it together, and the people that they’ve met along the way — those are the important parts.

Just because the tractor or truck or whatever is gone, it doesn’t mean that the memories and friendships disappear. When this auction is all over and everybody goes home — or to The Old School for a burger and a cold one — the stories and friendships will remain.

That’s one of the reasons Jon, Pat, and the team at Wilkinson Auctions & Realty were intentional about having a live auction, in addition to the online bidding. For the Moriarty family, this will be a cause for celebration. It’ll be a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

I’ll just about guarantee that if you buy something at this auction, Jon and Pat will both want to know where it goes — especially Pat! When I was talking to Donnie Bleich the other night, he said, “Ryan, I've known Pat for a long time. When that 389 sells, he’s going to want to know who it goes home with. He’ll be that guy who wants to see photos from the places the driver takes it, because there’s a part of him in that semi, you know?”

Yep, Donnie, I get that. I’ve got a little bit of that perspective in me, too.

Wrapping up

When I was on the phone with Pat, he asked me to come up for the auction. He said, “You told me that you’re a storyteller. But when you write these things, how often do you get to see how the rest of the story plays out?”

He’s got a pretty good point, if I’m being honest. Since so many of the machines I write about are sold online, I rarely get to see the next chapter of the story play out. In all of the Interesting Iron articles I’ve written, there’s only been one buyer who reached out to me after seeing the article I wrote. It was a guy who bought a Versatile 145 on an auction in Minnesota a few years ago. He and his dad were planning to restore it and put it back to work!

Note to self: Time to check in with those guys and see how the restoration is coming along …

At any rate, I promised Pat that if I could make it work with my schedule, I’d come up for the auction. As long as nothing falls apart at the office, I’m going to head for Berlin, Wisconsin, for the sale. It’s been a while since I’ve had some good cheese curds, and it’s been ages since I’ve been able to get to a live auction!

If you’re there, look for the big fella with a camera wearing a Tractor Zoom hat. Introduce yourself, and tell me a story about a tractor that’s special to you! Who knows, maybe we’ll tell that story in an Interesting Iron article someday!

Make it a great week, folks! If you’re in the field planting, send me a photo here!

Full R&M Motors auction listing

Auction Date: April 29, 2024 at 10 a.m.

Auctioneer: Wilkinson Auctions & Realty

Location: Berlin, Wisconsin

Format: Online and in-person

 Hi! I’m Ryan, and I love tractors. It doesn't matter if it’s a showpiece, an oddball, or seen its share of life ... if it’s unique and it’s listed by one of our auctioneer partners at Tractor Zoom, I’m going to show it off a little bit! This equipment is all up for auction RIGHT NOW, so you can bid on it. I think it’s cool, and I hope you will too! This is Interesting Iron!