I spotted this video on cristian_ybarra_bermudez’s Instagram page. He told me he saw this white Wrangler YJ towing a hay rake on the outskirts of Tulare, California. “I was on my way to pick up power tools and when I was driving, I noticed some John Deeres pulling those rakes,” he told me over an instant message. “And as soon as I saw that Jeep, I couldn’t believe it. I pulled right over and started recording.” Here are his clips of the Jeep tugging the hay rakes: The Jeep in question appears to be a post-1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ with half doors, some aftermarket alloy wheels, and a slight lift. It’s a nice setup, though far from a tow vehicle with its low curb weight and short wheelbase. For a raking job, though? Seems to do just fine:
Some of you Jeep fans may have read my intro paragraph and rabidly started smashing your keyboard, typing out “YOU’RE A FOOL DAVID,” and though I think that’s a good instinct to have when reading my work, in this case my claim that Wranglers were never marked as farm implements is technically correct, because the early convertible Jeeps that Willys-Overland sold to farmers were technically CJs, not Wranglers. Still, let’s use this as an excuse to look at old Willys Jeeps doing work on the farm, courtesy of some vintage ads:
And here’s a great Jeep farm-implement show that happens in Ohio, and that I attended a few years back:
Willys Jeeps were built for the farm, and the YJ definitely traces its roots to those old CJs, so it’s nice to see the 1990s machine showing off its ancestors’ skills. Video/screenshots courtesy of cristian_ybarra_bermudez’s. Brochures courtesy of company. But I see people driving pickups without towing or hauling so noone needs a pickup. People should not be allowed to drive them. They should not even be built.S;/ My YJ didn’t have a hitch, but the KK Liberty that replaced it gets used similarly. Like semi trucks have “only” ~500hp but try hooking your Hellcat to an 82,000lb trailer and see how far it can shift it. 100hp sounds pretty light for a 5 bottom plow, but maybe it’s sandy soil. Rule of thumb is 30hp/furrow around here. (Or would be if plows were still common.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEKZji5z90M We had a tractor we were pulling a cultivator with lose a hydraulic valve and we just hooked the fold/unfold to that one. At the end of the day we got a different tractor just close enough, folded and put the lock pins in. Did the same for in and out of fields for 3 more days. As long as they’re not lifting it on turns, it can run flat behind the jeep. I never used this style of rake, and only raked hay a few times in the early 90’s, using equipment from the early 60’s. Are the “wheels/tines” on these powered or just roll as the rake is pulled?
