Farmer turns Massey Ferguson combine into guest accommodation

The renovation cost Will Roughton about US$25,000

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A farmer has transformed a combine into somewhere people can harvest a good night’s sleep.

Will Roughton, a British farmer, spent about US$25,000 to gut a Massey Ferguson 860 and install a fridge, king-sized bed, and a kitchen counter.

“I’m absolutely not experienced in this kind of thing,” he said, the Daily Mail reported. “I looked at it from the outside and thought you could fit a bed in there. So, I stripped it from the inside out. Once it was hollowed out, I could look at is as a house and fit it with insulation and wiring.”

He purchased the machine, which was used to harvest 20 tonnes of wheat per hour on a family farm, for about US$6,500.

The renovation took about four months.

Other features of the ag accommodation, nicknamed Kaleb, include a dog bed made from potato chitting trays, a staircase, TV, and windows crafted from grain hatch lids.

Guests can stay in the combine for about US$155 per night.

The combine is stationed on the campsite Roughton owns, RAF Wainfleet.

The site is a former Royal Air Force base.

Guests can stay in other unique accommodations like a helicopter, a tank, and a tower.

Roughton isn’t the only farmer to use pieces of farm equipment as rental accommodations.

In 2019, a retired farming couple from Moose Jaw, Sask., turned six steel grain bins into two-bedroom cabins available for rent at Bin There Campground.