 Well, it has been a while for “Pedaling around Pennsylvania, so this month I am shooting for “Pulling around Pennsylvania!” Many people often attend tractor and truck pulls throughout the United States, and the world, and so Jay Hasert and me always enjoy having June as our “puller” month. Even though the grandstands are often packed for pulling events, most people do not realize what it takes to get a tractor down the track. From the stands, it seems like a very simple concept with a vehicle that the driver has built. However, it is much more complex behind the wheel of that puller.
I started my IH 1066 “Teacher’s Pet” pulling project in February of 2003. During that summer, I spent many hours working to get my tractor ready for Farm Stock pulling. However, in 2004 and 2005, the tractor would change into a East Coast Sportsman’s Series “Limited Pro Stock” pulling tractor. The Limited Pro Stock tractors were meant to be a stepping stone to the “big boys” of pulling, the Pro Stock and Super Stock tractors. However, it has quickly become one of the premier pulling classes in the Eastern United States. The Limited Pro’s are “limited” to 540 cubic inch motors, an “A” fuel pump, and any size turbocharger that the puller can spin.
The “Teacher’s Pet” IH 1066 went through many of the same changes that most pullers put their tractor through. The rear-end had needle-bearing work done by Tim Engler for about $1400. The transmission no longer could take stock gears, so Tom Urmson of Valenica, PA, built several sets of gears for my puller for about $3000. My friend, also a puller, advised me of building from the back to the front, so the transmission and the rear-end were finally finished. Next, the clutch had to have a steel flywheel…in all….about $3500 from Rursch Specialties. The DT-466 engine had to have pistons cut by Hypermax Engineering, new valves and springs in the head from Hypermax, and new fuel pump and turbocharger from Columbus Diesel Supply. The turbocharger was a smaller charger, so it was “only” $1700. The fuel pump costs about $3200 new. All of the building of the tractor was done by my friend and me in order to keep down on costs, or else
 I would never be enjoying this fun sport.
As you can see, the sport of tractor pulling is not cheap by any means. The top running Super Farm and Limited Pro Stock tractors run anywhere from $50,000 to $125,000. Most Pro Stock and Super Stock pullers are running a fuel pump that costs $12,000 alone.
So, the next time that you are at a tractor pull, remember that these guys are not making any money pulling their vehicles and simply enjoy putting on a good competition for their fans. They REALLY appreciate your support and always enjoy seeing people coming by to take pictures and to say thanks or praise them for their pulling vehicles.
In closing, please feel free to visit my website, www.teacherspetpulling.com, to cheer me on and to take a look at what is going on here on the East Coast Sportsman’s Series.
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