It’s powered by a V-16 two-stroke Detroit Diesel engine, is 27-feet long, 20-feet wide, and weighs more than 50 tons.
It was originally designed and built by Ron Harmon and Northern Manufacturing Company in 1977 for the purpose of lugging a ripper through the Rossi Brother’s cotton fields in Bakersfield, California. After changing ownership hands, the Big Bud lived in Florida for a few years, then made its way to the Williams Brothers farm in Big Sandy, Montana, near where it was built. According to them, the Big Bud could work more than 1 acre of ground per minute in its prime. I think it’s retired now.
As the tractor currently sits on display in Iowa, we might head up and check it out…
Some videos:
Video 1
Video 2 – hooked to sled, gotta love a 2-cycle's note
Video 3 – looks like a commercial from the 80s or something