The connection between Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies

@trackboy If you have ever driven one of those tractors you could identify. Yes on screen the bouncing is exaggerated a bit but the ride on those tractors was pretty rough. When I drove them I would sit for a few minutes then stand for a bit then sit again.

@trackboy True.

@hippyjoe1955 That bites that you would have to stand on the tractor because of the bouncing. no springs for the wheels?? they did not have air in the tires and they were solid tires instead? the bouncing would have driven through your feet and knees and hips and back when standing up. How did you avoid motion sickness from all that bouncing??? 🤮

@FrogManSometimesLooksBothWays I could see him going up up and away like superman flying in the air with all that bouncing. 🙀

@trackboy If he were on the moon he'd go off into outer space. 🤣

@trackboy Tractors often ran on steel wheels. There are no springs are shocks on them. They are just a solid chassis. Add to that that you are behind the rear wheels gives a catapult effect. The tractor in Green Acres was a Fordson on steel wheels. Very rough riding.

@hippyjoe1955 Green acres would have been long after steel wheels were gone and they had put on air-filled rubber tires. why would they use a steel wheel tractor for the series decades after rubber wheel tractors came out? why no suspension? so the U-shaped spring under the seat was the only protection from hard bumps on the tractor? is that why he bounced up and down on that big flat U-shaped spring under the seat?? I wonder if anyone got motion sickness while riding on the tractor from all the bouncing?? That would be hard on the back. lot of visits to the chiropractor. 🍓

@trackboy The bouncing you see in the show might have been exaggerated for comedic effect, but it's true that older tractors, especially those with steel wheels, didn't have the smooth ride we're used to with modern agricultural equipment.

Without pneumatic tires or advanced suspension systems, the ride would have been quite bumpy, and indeed, standing up on such a tractor would transmit even more vibration to the body. The U-shaped spring under the seat was likely the only form of cushioning, offering minimal relief from the rough terrain.

As for motion sickness, it's definitely a possibility, especially for those sensitive to motion. Riding on a bouncing tractor for extended periods could certainly lead to discomfort or even nausea. And you're right, it would likely take a toll on the back, possibly necessitating visits to the chiropractor for relief.

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@trackboy Any tractor I drove up to the 1980s did not have suspension springs under them. I doubt that they do yet. The newer tractors had much better seats so the seat absorbed the shocks that were transmitted up through the fluid (not air). However conversion of tractors from steel to rubber were not common. If you wanted a tractor with rubber wheels you didn't convert your old steel wheeled tractor you bought a tractor that was designed for rubber. The steering for a steel wheeled tractor is much more robust and stiff than a tractor on rubber. I think the premise of the show was "a fish out of water". Some city slicker lawyer decided to be a farmer and wound up being conned by a tractor salesman whose line of tractors ended when the city slicker bought the tractor.