Payloader questions???

[slb04786]

Hey guys, I was on my way over to my mothers home to do some electrical work when I saw a miniature Payloader along side the road with a for sale sign on it. Needless to say I was a few minutes later getting to my mom's. I have never seen one this small. It has a 4 cylinder gas engine. It looks to be quite old. Couldn't find any model number or plate attached anywhere. Have any of you seen one of these? It is only about 54" tall. Anything I should look into if I go try it out? I'm really interested if the price is right. I'm not even sure what they go for. Any web pages devoted to these little gems? Stan

[Dutch]

Was it a Hough Payloader, or was it a small loader that your're calling a Payloader?

[slb04786]

Dutch, It had Payloader stamped into the metal on the back end of the machine. I couldn't find any other identification on it. Further research looks like it is a Hough's but I didn't see that name anywhere. It steers by the rear wheels which are smaller than the front wheels. Front tires are probably 14-15". Couldn't tell who made the gas engine but it is a 4 cylinder flat top. Stan

[goatfarmer]

When I worked at a Komatsu heavy equipment dealer,we had some inquiries on Hough parts. Most were made of unobtanium,but some stuff was still available.I think Dressta,which is the old Dresser Industries,had something to do with Hough.And Komatsu owns Dressta.

[BLT]

Maybe it is a model HA, built by Frank G Hough, 2000 lb bucket capacity, truck size drive tires, garden tractor or larger rear steer tires, operator looked as big as machine, 144 CID Waukesha flat head engine. At some time in life these were popular in steel mills for cleanup duty due to their size. From what I see they are becomming collectable.

[slb04786]

Thanks BLT, I think you are correct. I found an owners manual for bid on ebay while searching it. It does look like the HA that is pictured there. I called the number listed on the for sale sign. It was used by a local fertilizer company. They want $1200 for a HA standard transmission, $1500 for standard tranny w/ power steering, and $2500 for a hydrostatic tranny. Gentleman says they had 30 of them at one time. They have most any part you would need for it. I've posted the spec sheet from the ebay ad. What do you all think of the prices? Any interest? It's a bit more than I have available to spend. Stan