In reply to why a crawler vs wheel tractor.For us we did not have a wheel tractor big enough to pull our harvester.It would take a big front assist tractor and even then I doubt it would pull the harvester up our hills.Our wheel tractors were for cultivating.The TD 9 we had also pulled a 12 row bean planter and a 47 foot harrow.Tillage work was all bigger crawlers.
The crawler makes it easier to maneuver the machine especially backing it up.
One year the TD9 broke down.Rather than take time to fix it we just put another crawler on it.Sure missed the TD9 though

A friends tractor and harvester several years ago.

Thanks for the explanation. We are about out of support business for grain growing down here. Always a few hidden growers, but crop report was showing 10,000 acres for a year or 2 ago. Back in 197? it was 100,000 and near that much summer fallow. Today wine grapes, back to rangeland or government set aside, oh I forgot ranchetts up to 30 or 40 acres. You know a citydot with 2 dozen chicken 13 goats or sheep, 2 cows and a few horses for good measure. To make hay growing sometimes profitable.

So some need an old Cat to help keep fire danger down too.

Many people use wheel tractors and others crawlers. We like the cats for several reasons. First they have a lot of torque at a speed slightly more than idle in first. Second the Cat will turn much tighter than the wheel tractor. Third is the hand clutch makes it easier to inch through tough spots if the bean straw is green. Finally when the thresher is full it can weigh well over 25,000 pounds and with the Cat it’s much more stable. 

Did the White 4x4 have an 1160 or 3208 CAT engine in it?
The Sutter Basin area here there used to be a lot of dry beans grown here at one time as well. The soil is unique, as many would irrigate their beans by method of "sub irrigation". Planted on flat ground, and then V type ditches cut every 300' or so, and then the main/perimeter ditch would be filled up with water. It would percolate across without the need for furrows, siphons, gated pipe or anything. That's when the crawler comes in handy during harvest; the top looks bone dry, but you could hit moisture very shallow. Saw some highly efficient farmers here try using some humongous double row self propelled machines, only having to resort to tried and true old school methods with tracks. JM

Juiceman,I seem to recall it was a 6 Cyl Perkins in the White.But I stand to be corrected

Gary if you remember the Oliver we had, it had a later model White engine, it was a 1800 but had a 1850 engine I know there was some with Cats but I kinda think most of the sixes were whites or Moline, the 4 wheel drive was great for moving but when it got real sandy or hilly that harvester was too much for it ,time too get the Cat

Thanks Mike.Yes I remember your Oliver.

I thought one of the Brothers told me it was a Perkins but maybe it was the harvester, but I thought it had an International engine.
Too many years ago

Gary the 1951 Bertha they had a Perkins 354 I think, the 65 Bertha had an International, you might be right White was doing a lot of different things then

Just throwing it out there; I thought White Motor Corp. put V-8 Cat motors in some of their wheel tractors, hence I asked about 3208 or 1160 etc.
The nearest dealer was in Walnut Grove/Rio Vista area south of here; quite a few of them still being used along the river. JM