Wikia

Big Bud Tractors
Predecessor	Northern Manufacturing Co.
Founded	1968
Defunct	1992
Headquarters	Harve, Montana, USA
Products	agriculture machinery tractor

Big Bud was a brand of articulated tractors built by the Northern Manufacturing Co., later renamed Big Bud Tractors, of Harve, Montana, USA. The Big Bud 747 tractor was for many years the biggest tractor in the World at 900 hp (670 kW).

HistoryEdit

The company has built a range of high horse power tractors for use in the prairies of America and the Canadian wheat belt. The company went bankrupt in the early 1980s and was bought up by the Messner Brothers in 1985. Production slowed in the late 1980s due to the farming recession and increasing competition from mainstream manufactures building ever bigger tractors, and the last Big Bud rolled off the line in 1992.

A few various Big Bud models were built and painted in what has come to be known as "Bafus Blue" for the Bob Bafus of the Oregon-based Bafus Farms. These are unique in livery, and various models of them have been built or customized. There were also models built in what is known as "Iranian-Gold" which were sent to Iran.

The competitionEdit

Several manufactures now offer tractors of 500 hp (370 kW) in their line-up after buying up some of the specialists manufacturers.

Ford bought Versatile in 1987, Case IH bought Steiger, and John Deere put Wagner out of business after a contract deal that ended with Wagner no longer being about to sell tractors as a competitor during the late 60 early 70s. Ford then sold out the tractor business to Fiat which then operated the agri business under the New Holland brand in 1993. Fiat then later bought out Case IH & merged it with New Holland becoming CNH Global. CNH had to divest Versatile and McCormick Tractors due to competition restrictions, as they also owned Steiger. Versatile was sold to Buhler Industries Inc. in 2000

Fendt is testing a 6-wd tractor of a reputed 540 hp+ rating.

Challenger is a 'new' entry in the sector taking on the Caterpillar Challenger Tractor range when Caterpillar Inc. decided to exit the agricultural sector & divested its range of rubber tracked Crawler tractors that revolutionize the Ag crawler market in the early 1980s

Big Bud 747Edit

Main article: BIG Bud 747

The Biggest Big Bud ever built is Big Bud 747. It was built in 1977 for deep plowing (UK spelling; ploughing ) on a cotton farm. The Rossi Bros Cotton Farms in Bakerfield, California had the tractor custom built at a cost of $300,000 in 1977. The tractor works at the impressive rate of 1 acre every minute whilst crossing the fields at 8 mph

EngineEdit

The tractor is fitted with a 24.1 litre Detroit Diesel V16 92Turbo engine that produces 900 hp. This immense power is transmitted to the wheels by a 6F + 1R Gearbox. The Tyres are a massive 8 ft tall. The tractor can potentially be opened up to 1100 hp by replacing the unit fuel injectors with higher flow models. Fuel is carried in a huge 1000 Gallon (US) tank with a 150 gallon hydraulic reservoir for the steering and implement control system.

SizeEdit

Big Bud 747 is;

28½ feet long,
14 feet high,
21 feet wide
16 feet wheel base
weighs is 45 tons with a full diesel and hydraulic oil tank.

Current ownersEdit

Big Bud 747 is owned by The Williams Brothers of 'Big Sandy' who's farm is in Chouteau County, Montana. The tractor is now retire and is in a museum at the Heartlands Acres Agritec Centre.

ModelsEdit

Big Bud Tractor Models
Model	Year(s) Produced	Horsepower	Engine Type	Misc Notes	Photo
Big Bud 320/10	1979
Big Bud 360	1976-1989				-
Big Bud 360/10	1979-1980
Big Bud 360/30	1980-1987
Big Bud 360/30 Bafus Blue
Big Bud 370	1986-1989
Big Bud 370 Bafus Blue
Big Bud 375	1986-90
Big Bud 400/20		400 hp (300 kW)	Detroit Diesel
Big Bud 400/30	1978-1987	400 hp (300 kW)	Detroit Diesel
Big Bud 400/30-1	1980
Big Bud 400/30K1	1979
Big Bud 400/30K	1979
Big Bud 402	1986-1989
Big Bud 440
Big Bud 450	1986-1990
Big Bud 450/20	1979
Big Bud 450/30		450 hp (340 kW)
Big Bud 450/50	1989-1990	450 hp (340 kW)
Big Bud 500	1986-1990
Big Bud 500/30		500 hp (370 kW)
Big Bud 525/50		525 hp (391 kW)
Big Bud 525/50 Bafus Blue		525 hp (391 kW)
Big Bud 525/50-1	1979	525 hp (391 kW)
Big Bud 525/50-2	1979-1981	525 hp (391 kW)
Big Bud 525/84	1980	525 hp (391 kW)
Big Bud 550/50		550 hp (410 kW)
Big Bud 600/50		600 hp (450 kW)
Big Bud 650/35	1981	600 hp (450 kW)
Big Bud 650/50	1981-1986	650 hp (480 kW)	Detroit Diesel
Big Bud 739	1986-1987
Big Bud 740	1987-1990
Big Bud 747
Big Bud 950/50	2000s?	950 hp (710 kW)	Detroit Diesel	a rebuilt/repowered tractor
Big Bud HN250		250 hp (190 kW)
Big Bud HN320	1976-78	320 hp (240 kW)
Big Bud HN350		350 hp (260 kW)
Big Bud HN350 Iran Gold		350 hp (260 kW)
Big Bud HN360		360 hp (270 kW)	Cummins
Big Bud HN360 Bafus Blue		360 hp (270 kW)	Cummins
Big Bud HN400	1986-1989	400 hp (300 kW)
Big Bud KT350	1975	350 hp (260 kW)
Big Bud KT360	1977
Big Bud KT400	1978-1979
Big Bud KT450		450 hp (340 kW)
Big Bud KT525	1977-1978	525 hp (391 kW)	Cummins
Big Bud KT525 Bafus Blue	1977-1978	525 hp (391 kW)	Cummins