Gravely Walk Behind Tractor

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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Staff member
During the course of clearing out the swamp to create a hole for planting duck food plots I started looking for equipment that could go over the soft bottom and not sink. The Gravely walk behind tractor peaked my interest. Seems like it would be the perfect food tractor with the brush hog, and tiller attachements. Anybody own or use one of these tractors? I see they have a loyal fan base and can fetch a high price when complete and in good shape. Curious if anyone here has experience with them.

Eric

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Don't know anything about the Gravely but you might want to look at the BCS tractors also. I was close to getting a BCS for working in a large garden. I looked at one and searched all over for info on them. It was easy to see they are overbuilt, tough and fairly simple. They ain't cheap either.
The one thing I can tell you just looking at the tiller on the Gravely is that unless it weights a ton I wouldn't want to use one. With a mower or sickle it would probably be great but tillers in the front can suck.

Tim
 
Eric

When I was a kid, our next door neighbor had a Gravely. The Neighbor on the other side of him had given it up for dead, with no mechanical ability whatso ever, went out and bought a new tractor. Mr Johnson got that old Gravely running, using it to mow his lawn(2+ acres) till the garden and plow snow for 15 years untill he moved and took the Gravely with him. Alway a thorn in the side of the neighbor who had given it to him...especially when his new tractor quit on him while that Gravely kept running strong.

I know Mr Johnson had a set of dual wheels for his (which would give you added floation for what you want), and also had a surry to rid behind it. Another tractor that I have been interested in is the David Bradley. You might not find as many attachments that are useful for your endevors, but I like tha larger, ag tires...they would help on uneven ground.

Chuck
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Chuck,
that david johnson saw blade looks just about awesome. I can hear the lawyer crying now in court........


I have seen the dual wheel set up on the Gravely and it will help with flotation. The mower head is heavy and does a good job on brush but the comment about front tillers is spot on. Troy built for that.
But food plotting is easier with a harrow and cultipacker. But wet areas require proper timing to avoid headaches.
Eric,
If you havent seen it, the QDMA and some of the midwestern whitetail forums have awesome info on planting and land management. I can send you some links.
 
Eric you are in business. I have used a number of Gravelys my entire life and own my fathers that he brought in 1975. They are a killer machine and just keep on running. I have one with a 14hp Kolher engine and it is a work horse. I ahve a 30 in brush hog and if you can push the tree over it will cut it. I have a snowblower and that too throws snow on my neighbors house. I picked up a snow blade this summer and a powerhead at a Gravely Mow In (no Mary did not want to go to it :)

I intend to take the powerhead this winter and build a powerwasher for it. I can have one engine and run all these implements instead of having all these little engines to care for. It is a great machine and lots of fun to rebuild like the wood working machines. Let me know if you have other questions. Hank
 
Eric, get the one with the mag wheels, it will go faster! Seriously the Gravely's are built right. I used a rear engine Gravely riding mower to cut the owners lawn when he became too ill. It was a beast. Take care of it and you'll pass it along to your grand kids. - Jim
 
I had never heard of BCS. Thanks to TimJ for mentioning them. Sure do look like they are built for many long hours. I hadn't heard of QDMA before but glad Bob pointed me over there. Looks like some great info can be gotten on planting food plots from that site. Next year when it comes time to plant I'll be searching that forum thorougly.

One thing I wonder is how a walk behind compares to the ATV towed equipment that is becoming to popular. I've got plenty of time to figure out what will work best for us but sure do appreacite the input and will have more questions down the road.

Eric
 
One thing I wonder is how a walk behind compares to the ATV towed equipment that is becoming to popular. I've got plenty of time to figure out what will work best for us but sure do appreacite the input and will have more questions down the road.

Eric
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My friend has a woodlot that we have hunted for many years. Over time we cleared a few acres on the edge of the beaver pond and he has been putting in a foodplot ranging from winter wheat to turnip and other deer treats. A couple of years ago I saw a set of discs for an ATV and I picked them up for him. They work great. We were not sure how well they would work but they have certainly surpassed our expectations.
 
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