A classic piece of Americana is the tractor. Invented in 1892 in a tiny town in Iowa, tractors would end the hard manual labor of bringing in crops to feed families across this great nation and around the world. This first tractor went a whopping three miles per hour, was cumbersome, and had coils that could spark a fire from its thresher boiler. However, this first tractor was improved upon, and modern tractors are amazing machines that save farmers countless hours and work. Tractors and other heavy equipment have so streamlined the food production process that despite the fact that only one percent of workers in the United States work in agriculture, the United States is the world's largest producer of corn, the third-largest producer of wheat, and the fifth-largest producer of potatoes. These facts are stunning considering where agriculture was a mere 100 years ago. Wagner Used Equipment is proud to support farmers and agriculture in the United States by offering the best new and used heavy equipment, including tractors, combines, headers, chemical applicators, planters, tillage tools, and more. Our mission is to help farmers succeed, and we do this by being a full-service Ag equipment company. We not only sell Ag equipment, but we also service it, even at your location. Our knowledgeable staff can help you with your questions. Below, we'll take a look at the parts of a tractor. Contact one of our Caterpillar dealers in Colorado, New Mexico, or far west Texas today!

PARTS OF A TRACTOR

Engine The heart of any heavy equipment is its engine. The engine is a simple piece of machinery that uses combustion, which is the chemical process of the release of energy when fuel and air is mixed to power your tractor. The engine uses a fixed cylinder and a moving piston. The process of combustion moves the piston, which turns the crankshaft, which then moves the tractor's wheels through the powertrain. Caterpillar specializes in high fuel-efficiency engines that result in low emissions, while providing you with the power and torque you need to till the toughest of land and harvest your crops. Hydraulics Hydraulics are found in almost all modern machinery, including tractors, that help your machine do the work it is asked to do. Hydraulics in its simplest form uses compressed fluids to transfer force from one point to another. Many components make up a hydraulic system, including pump, valve, hydraulic fluids, motor, hose, reservoir, cylinder, and more. All of these component parts work together in a somewhat complicated process that transfers the hydraulic fluid throughout the system to work upon the rod and piston within the hydraulic cylinder to transfer the force and do work. Tractors use hydraulics for breaking and steering, as well as for moving Cat attachments. They are also used to control planter seed drives. Tires & Rims Without tires, your tractor would be going nowhere. Throughout its invention and history, tractors have always had smaller tires in the front and larger tires in the back. This is because tractors pull things so the larger tires on the back are better for distributing the weight of heavy farm tools, as well as the tractor itself, which protects the land from compaction and the crops from being smashed. Large tires also provide more leverage. If you think about the principles of physics, objects that are at rest will stay at rest unless a force is acted upon it. Hence, when pulling a plow, you need a big force to pull it through the muck of a farm field. Bigger tires also offer better traction, especially in wet fields. The smaller tires in the front offer many advantages as well. They are better for steering and turning the tractor. They offer the driver a better view since they don't have to look over huge tires. The driver's seat is higher as well due to the bigger tires. Overall, the tractor's tires are designed for stability and ease of use. Steering and Cab On modern tractors, the steering elements, or the steering wheel and column, are usually enclosed in a cab. An enclosed cab is nice because it protects the driver from any sort of dirt particles flying up. It offers heat and air conditioning for comfort, as well as protection from the elements, while farming. Most cabs have windshield wipers so you can still farm when it's raining out. A cab also helps to reduce the noise of your farm equipment. They offer amazing views so you can see all around, and many are now equipped with machine control systems, such as our partner, SITECH Rocky Mountain, offers for optimal ease and usage of your farmland. Many seats now use hydraulic suspension systems so the ride is not as bumpy as it used to be. From digital displays to cup holders, the cabs on Caterpillar's tractors can't be beat. Counterweight Many tractors will have a counterweight added to them. This is because it can be easy for tractors to become unbalanced due to the heavy loads they are lifting, such as hay bales, and the fact that they have different sized tires. Tractors can then tip over either forward or backwards. To solve this problem, you simply make your tractor heavier by adding in a counterweight either at the front (the more popular choice) or the back of your tractor. There are many options for counterweights that you can pick from, including suitcase weights, ballast boxes, wheel weights, and liquid tire ballasts. Pulleys Some tractors today still use pulleys, which is a type of drive that uses a belt to connect the pulley. Power from the engine then drives both the pulley and the belt to help with the alternator, power steering pump, air conditioning, water pump, and more. Most modern vehicles and tractors use one belt to move all of the pulleys. Caterpillar sells four types of pulleys for our tractors and heavy equipment: crank pulleys, accessory pulleys, idler pulleys, and tensioner pulleys. The crank pulley is used with the crankshaft. Accessories pulleys help power accessories, such as the air pump and alternator. Idler pulleys help to ensure the belt's path. Tensioner pulleys help supply proper tension. At Wagner Used Equipment, we offer a well-stocked Cat Parts Store at each dealer location for your convenience. If we don't have the Caterpillar part you need, odds are, a nearby store does, or we can order you one from our Caterpillar parts store online and have it shipped to your door. While belts and pulleys are long-lasting, they do wear out, so give us a call when you need a replacement Cat part today.

CHOOSE WAGNER USED EQUIPMENT TODAY

Wagner Used Equipment offers a variety of tractors to suit your needs, from midrange tractors to tillage and row crop tractors. We offer financing on our used tractors so you can begin using them today to help pay for themselves in your business. You can search online to see where our tractors are located at which Cat dealer in Colorado, New Mexico, and far west Texas. You can call our stores to inquire about them as well. In addition, Wagner offers other Ag equipment for your tractor, such as tillage tools and planters, as well as Cat attachments, such as buckets. We offer combines, headers, and more. Our hay tools include balers and mowers. You can find great deals on our used Ag equipment every day here at Wagner. Wagner Used Equipment Co is a full-service heavy equipment company, offering Cat parts as well as Caterpillar heavy equipment service when you need it. We have over 230 field service technicians who can come to you and help you diagnose and repair your Ag equipment. We also offer rental Ag equipment to fill a short-term need. You can consign your heavy equipment, as well as your tractor, with us, which will get you a spot on our website and other international websites. You are 100% in control of the price, and, on average, you'll earn a higher resale price. Wagner Used Equipment has invested heavily in technology to make our website easier and more functional for you. You can make payments online, find Cat parts you need, and find new and used heavy equipment for sale. You can create an account and get your oil analysis results 24/7. Thus, not only is Caterpillar the name you can trust when it comes to all of your heavy and Ag equipment needs, but Wagner is your local Cat dealer that goes the extra mile to take care of all of our customers' needs. Contact a Wagner Equipment Cat dealer in Colorado, New Mexico, or west Texas today!