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Gravely, of Brillion, Wisconsin, is a manufacturer of powered lawn and garden implements which it describes as "walk-behind, zero-turn mower and outfront ". About Gravely on official website It started as a manufacturer of "walk-behind" or two-wheel tractors.
F. W. Wilcox, a friend of Gravely, owned a machine shop in Middleport, Ohio. He allowed Gravely to build more tractors at his shop. It was there that Gravely designed the engine and built six or seven of the first tractors, which weighed about 190 pounds each. He also developed several new tools for the engine and drive train. His third generation grandson, Shawn Ryder, has his grandfather's Gravely tractor collection in Warrington, Pennsylvania.
Within a few years, sales outlets had been established from coast to coast, with international sales representatives in Germany, France and Switzerland.
Ben Gravely sold his stock in Gravely Tractor in 1940 and died thirteen years later. His company was gradually acquired by the Studebaker Corporation by 1960 and later sold off by Studebaker-Worthington.
Studebaker purchased Gravely to strengthen the Studebaker Corporation, but decisions that were causing Studebaker to decline also affected Gravely Tractor. With a strong work force at the Dunbar, WV, plant, wages had increased. Studebaker presumed moving the plant to North Carolina would allow them to hire farm workers at a lower wage. They asked the management team to move to the new factory. Building a large facility at Winston-Salem, they made the move. However, in the same area GE built a plant for motors and other units, and a large beer producer built a brewery for their products. They started employees at almost $3.45 per hour which was $1.45 more than Gravely paid at Dunbar and $2.00 per hour more than they had hoped to pay in the new plant. The management then tried to recruit former employees, but only a few went. Most of those returned home within a year. With a lack of workers and other problems, the tractor started to decline. To head off further problems and attempt to save money, they opted to purchase outsourced engines to retrofit on the Gravely tractor. This stopped the production of the Gravely built engine which was simple and efficient. Studebaker eventually got out of Gravely. Due to a large amount of loyal owners, Gravely survived, but did lose much of their large market share to competing companies.
Earlier models had attachments such as rototillers and flail mowers. Later attachment options included snowblowers, snow blades, and a sprayer. Gravely in the 1970s had 38 attachments, but through innovations of various companies the list expanded to over 80. Sulky and steering sulkies were available for walk-behind tractors, as well as an optional solid platform with space for carrying small amounts of cargo (trailers).
While it offered walk-behind mowers, brush-cutters and other equipment, by 2014 Gravely no longer produced general-purpose walk-behind tractors.
In 1965, Kelly G. Cunningham used the Gravely 7.6 tractor to create the Terramite Model 1 compact backhoe, now known as the T1.T7 Operators Handbook, Maintenance, Service & Parts Manual, Terramite Construction Equipment, published 3/2007
In 1967, Gravely introduced its 400 series riding tractors, with the all-gear drivetrain that would come to define the company in future years.
The tractor had four speeds, two in low range and two in high range, with power configurations of single-cylinder 10, 12, or 14 horsepower Kohler or Onan engines. In 1969 was the debut of the 16.5 HP Onan CCKA twin-cylinder powered Commercial 450, the most powerful tractor the company offered at the time. The commercial-grade units were painted a characteristic yellow and white, while the home-use units were painted red and white.
The 400 series was produced until 1971, when Gravely introduced its replacement: the 800 series tractors, which gained popularity in the consumer market. This tractor had eight speeds, with four speeds each in low and high range, with engine options ranging from a cast-iron 10 horsepower Kohler Company single-cylinder, to an 18-horsepower cast-aluminum twin-cylinder Cummins. The 800 series was replaced with the 8000 series by 1978, which offered more powerful engine configurations and an improved hydraulic lift option, yet retained the eight-speed transaxle. Many of the parts for the 800 and 8000 series designs, excepting the engine, are the same or compatible, and are readily available as new and used parts online, in a rather impressive after-market.
The 8000 series remained in production until 1987, when it was replaced by the professional-grade "G" series. The G series ended production in 2004.
The eight-speed transaxle was standard on all 800 and 8000 series tractors, with the engine being the only major difference. The design of the drive clutches was visibly changed to a simpler arrangement around the early 1980s; the two designs are generally interchangeable. The rear-engine mounting and simple construction allowed Gravely owners to service and even upgrade their engines on their own.
Gravely also released an economy version of tractor in 1970, featuring a belt-driven 4-speed transmission and eight-horsepower (Kohler) engine, known as the 408. The engine was mounted at the front. This did not sell nearly as well as the popular all-gear units and was discontinued in 1977, when it was replaced with a heavy-duty professional grade of tractor known as the 900 series. Another tractor of this type, called the 9000 series was also released later that same year and replaced the 900 the following year until production ended in 1982. This tractor, much larger than the 8000 series and its predecessors, was equipped with a 27-horsepower I-4 water-cooled Continental engine.
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