NEWBY NEEDS HELP

[sodbuster 1]

I AM NEW TO THE WHEEL HORSE CROWD. WANTING INFORMATION ON WHAT TRACTOR I NEED TO BE LOOKING FOR.I AM LOOKING FOR A REPLACEMENT FOR MY 318 JD.MUST HAVE 3 POINT. IF YOU HAVE INFO OR TRACTOR DROP ME AN EMAIL.ALSO WANTING TO KNOW THE VALUE OF A RAIDER 12 HAS KOHLER AND PUSH BLADEAND MOWER DECK .GOOD OVERALL CONDITION.ITS BEEN IN THE FAMILY SINCE NEW

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Your not new to wheel horse.....you said you have a Raider 12

family owned since new.....that was almost 40 years ago!

If your looking for a wheel horse with a 3pt. hitch I know of a few

models....others will have to chime in if there are more/newer models.

The GT-14's had 3pt. hitches...made from 1969 to 1973. The early

1970's had an 18 auto that I "think" offered a 3pt hitch. Of course all of

the D series a 3pt hitch was offered. 1973 to the early 80's

The C-195 offered a 3pt. hitch and were made in 82 & 84.

Anything else I am not familiar with, but as I said there might be

others that have further info..

As is always said around here......we would need to see some pictures

of your Raider to give you an estimate of it's worth as tractor prices

vary greatly on condition and mechanical reliability.

[sodbuster 1]

Mike thanks for the info.I have a few attachments for my 318 and hydralic front blade.I was hoping to find a tractor these items would work on.I will have to get some pics of the raider.overall I would say its a 7 on a 10 scale.all original it has set most of its life! I just got into tractors and now thinking of fixing it up.just curious what it was worth.will never part with it,been in the family to long! thanks,again,todd

[wh500special 2,267]

Mike thanks for the info.I have a few attachments for my 318 and hydralic front blade.I was hoping to find a tractor these items would work on

I know this is heresy on this board, but why not look for another 318 Deere to replace your old one ? Even though they were the wrong color they are excellent tractors and have some features similar WH's did without.

Your 3pt attachments from the 318 will fit any category 0 hitch, but all the rest of your Deere stuff is only going to fit another Deere. You could make brackets and rig hydraulics to accept the front blade, but the only Wh that came factory equipped to handle something like that would be the 1978/1979 D250. Everything else would require modifications. if you want to continue having power steering on a WH you're going to have to either cook something up on your own or find a used 5xi series Toro...but then you'll be designing a 3pt hitch.

if you really want to find something WH that was an analog of the 318 Deere, I think you'll be looking at the D-series. They are physically a little bigger and therefore less maneuverable than your 318 but they are similar in power and capabilities. Like TDB said, a three point was available on these and they seem to be popping up with regularity on eBay. The PTO shaft is a little tougher to find, but the speed and direction (2000 rev/min, CW) is shared by your 318 I think so I'd assume with some shaft hookup mods the Deere tiller and rear finish mowers would work.

Price on a fully accessorized D-auto will probably start over $1200. Implements for the D-series are unique for the D-series so look for a package deal if you go this route. A 48" deck, 56" blade, and 38" and 50" tillers were the primary implements you'll see.

GT14's also can be equipped with a 3pt, but since they lack a conventional rear PTO it is tougher to find powered implements for them since they were made specifically for that tractor. The C195 is a relative hen's tooth...great machine but they are pretty scarce. And they have their own real PTO issues. The advantage they have over the D-autos is the ability to use some of the C-series implements (decks, throwers) which are cheap and plentiful.

Finally the D250...These tractors were 30 years ahead of their time but were poor sellers. Early ones (1976) suffered from transaxle problems. They are wonderful, powerful, quiet machines but nothing on them except the air in the tires interchanges with anything else WH made. The deck was a modified Deere deck. The tiller was a two-point mount type thing that also have a PTO shaft "snorkel" that was used to mount and stabilize it. And, the PTO shaft was non-standard in both speed and direction so swapping any other cat 0 implment will require creativity and fabrication. Parts and implements are very tough to find but they are a pleasure to operate.

Since the 318 Deere enjoys tremendous resale value and a huge following of people that regard it as the best GT ever made by anyone you'd likley have no trouble selling it for a good price. But replacing it with a WH and the corresponding implements might be tough to do out in KS. Show Me State Frank might see this and might be close enough to steer you in the right direction, but KS wasn't really very heavily populated with our beloved brand.

Now, if you're willing to drive to the IN/OH/PA you can probably find about anything red that your heart desires. or, watch eBay for Rick in Stover, MO who seems to be clearing out a lot of his nice stuff lately.

Even though I am a deep rooted horse fan, I'd be hard pressed to give up a Deere 318.

Best of luck,

Steve

PS - direct all hate mail to my PM's.