Draw Bar Lift# & Stability

[tomzog]

The goal here is to get a three piont tiller into the back of my pick-up. I will have the use of a B2710 (not mine) w/o a FEL, my idea is to get a draw bar from Tractor supply, pick up the tiller (400-450#'s) and then back my truck under it. Sound plan to me, question is will the draw bar hold that weight and leverage working against me will i need to pick up some suitcases for the front? I know there are a few things im not thinking of, one of them may be an easier way.
Thanks Tom H.

 

[DVerbarg]

tomzog,

If you don't have a FEL there is a 3pt attachment that I've called a "boom". It is a longpole with a couple hooks on it that attaches to the tractor's 3pt hitch. Before I had my NH TC40D with a FEL I used this implement extensively with my old Ford 9N. Used it for loading implements on hay wagons, pulling fence posts, lifting engines, etc. The only thing to watch for is counter balance which you seem to be considering. The "boom" only cost me $60.

David V

 

[W5FL]

You might consider using the tractor 3 point to move the tiller under a tree. Use a chain or rope hoist or a come a long to pick it up and back under it. Tillers are pretty heavy to get very far from the tractor to pick up. A front end loader is certainly the preferred way. A wide utility tandem trailer with ramps makes it easy to back up on the trailer, then unhook the tiller.

 

[tomzog]

Thanks for the info, a boom is what i was thinking of but for some reason thought it was called a draw bar, my mistake. wen i asked if there was a big tree or barn overhang we could use but i got a negative on both, but thats a good idea i'll get a winch just in case.
Thanks Tom H.

 

[roysallis]

Tomzog,
Will your 3pt lift high enough to put the tiller on the bed of the truck? If not, will you be able to get the truck lower than the tractor so that the 3pt will lift high enough?

 

[TomG]

Good chance the tiller is too wide for the truck bed. If so, then it would have to go lengthwise. In such a situation, the tiller couldn't be put on the 3ph and put in the back of the truck. The tiller also couldn't be put in over the side of the bed with a 3ph.

If you lift it with a chain, remember that loads tend to swing and twist. Loads can easily bash into a tractor if lifting from a loader bucket. If a load is wide, a loader may not be able to lift it very high before the load runs into the tractor's grill. It's also a good thing to keep in mind that loaders and 3ph's lift in arcs--not true verticals. There have been more than a few loads pulled off docks and walls broken by forgetting that loaders & 3ph's don't go straight up and down.

What all that means is that I had quite a time getting a box scraper out of my utility trailer (It was sitting on top of 3ph pallet forks and couldn't be pushed out the back). I lifted it from the side of the trailer with loader. The scraper first tried to bash the far trailer wall, and then tried to bash the tractor grill when it was lifted high enough to clear the trailer. The scraper couldn't be lifted lengthwise since it would come back at the grill like a battering ram as soon as it lifted. Fortunately, my fairly strong brother-in-law was there to steady the scrapper (may not have been too safe)

Of course, I don't have these type lifting problems now that I have the 3ph pallet forks, but that probably doesn't do you much good if there's not even a loader. A counter-weighted boom, mentioned before, is a standard farm device, and they pre-date tractors. You don't even need a 3ph. Trailer hitch hoists are available from places like Northern Tool, but I don't know if such a thing would actually work for swinging a tiller into a truck bed. Many people around here have loading docks, which are simply truck-bed height verticals dug into the side of a hill. Some get fancy with log retaining walls. If you had a dock and the tiller was on dollies, it could just be rolled into the bed.