The John Deere R was another highly successful and popular tractor model produced by John Deere. It had a manufacture run of 5 years from 1949 to 1954 in Waterloo, Iowa before being superseded by the John Deere 80. The JD R was noteworthy for so many reasons, but most of all because it was the first tractor produced by John Deere with a diesel engine even though you could also get it with a gasoline engine. The diesel engine was a 6.8 liter, 2 cylinder made in Iowa by John Deere. While the gasoline engine was a again a 2 cylinder engine manufactured by John Deere, but with a slightly smaller engine displacement. The fuel tank for the engine held 22 US gallons (83.3 liters) of fuel, while the engine produced 43.52hp. The motor was started using a 6 volt electric starter system.

The total width of the John Deere R was 85.5 inches (2.17m) while it measured 147 inches (3.73m) in length. When it was coming of the production line, the R weighed in at 7400lbs (3356kg) but after it was properly fueled up, and oil, hydraulic fluid and other bells and whistles added, it weighed in at 7603lbs (3448kg). Going forward the John has 5 gears, maxing out at 11.5mph while in reverse it has just 1 gear.

The JD R is the final tractor in John Deere’s line of lettered tractors (that is John Deere tractor models named by letter, not number). Like many tractors made during this time, the R did not come with either a roll bar or a cab. Fortunately for safety though many owners and users have added their own roll bars and cabs themselves, although some hardcore enthusiasts have tried to maintain theirs just as they first got them.

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