backing up a wagon

[SPYDERLK]

Easier if you have separate left and right brakes to correct the tractor position. Backing a baler with a hay wagon on it is the best challenge I've ever had. Going VERY slow is the bast advice.

Also practice makes perfect. Practice before you really need to do it, then impress your friends.....

Set your tractor drawbar to its maximum length too.
larry

 

[lhfarm]

MY FIL taught me how to back a wagon by first making me practice with my son's radio flyer to wagon. He had me learn to use the tongue to put the rear of the wagon where I wanted it. When I got on the tractor I just concentrated on moving the tongue with the draw bar, because I know it would put the rear where I wanted it to go. Worked for me.

 

[JDeerekid]

I remember when I was about 10 or 11 and was helping my neighbor put hay in is loft. We had to back wagons up a ramp into the loft. The ramp had a dropoff on each side about 16ft down and the ramp was only about a foot wider on each side of the wagon. My neighbor showed me how to do the first one and made me do the rest. All I can say is I was very nervous. Have the tractor and wagon as straight as possible before you back it in and then just go very slow and definately don't oversteer. I cant remember the model tractor but it was a 2 wheel drive 70-80hp david brown with a loader on it.

If the place your backing into is really level you can move the wagons by hand as long as someone else is there to block the tire so it doesnt roll away.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Backing one 4-wheeled wagon is easy; two or more in a train gets tough for most of us. I can remember being fascinated by a couple of the mail handlers in the Dallas Post Office in the early 60s who could back a train of 3 and I could never figure out how they could do it.

As with many things, I guess the best advice is practice, practice, practice. When you start to back a wagon, go very, very slowly at first, and mentally think about which way you would move the tongue if you had it in your hand; i.e., if is were light enough to do manually. Then steer your tractor or truck to move the wagon tongue in that direction.

The way to back up a steerable wagon is to turn the direction you want the wagon to go (as if the wagon wasn't there). A short wheelbase tow vehicle is best for backing the wagon up as you can make fine adjustments quickly without having to pull forward. But as you said, practice, practice, practice is the best way to learn. I still have bad days at times with my hay wagons backing them into the barns (ususally when the sun is setting over the barn) but backing these things up into barn doors just big enough for the wagon makes you get quick in a hurry. And for some reason no one else wants to back them into the barns so I get a lot of practice

 

[Robert_in_NY]

And preferably, in dry weather!

Oh come on, what fun is that

 

[Charlie175]

Takes practice! luckily I had a knack for it, I got First place in state back in 1984 (FFA). Neighbors would call me to come over and pull their hay wagons around and put them in the barn. I loved doing it on the first try Tough ones were the barns with steep ramps and the load of hay blocked your view.

Just go practice in a marked off area (So you don't damage anything) and have fun. Don't get to wrapped around the axle when doing it, also don't try to think to hard about it, when I did I messed up.

 

[wolc123]

Like others have said, it takes some practice, but no matter how much you practice, you will never be able to back a wagon faster or more accurately than a novice can back a trailer. I was always thankfull that our barns had doors on both sides so that we could pull a haywagon right thru. I cant tell you how big of an advantage that was when rain moved in and you had to get the load in fast.

 

[TCowner]

Its tougher than it looks. I've gotton fairly good at it over the past 10 years or so but nothing compared to my father, grandfather and uncle. These guys were masters at backing up four wheel wagons. I have a JD 4720 of course with power steering and the hydrostatic transmission so i can go as slow as I want if I need to make a correction. It was amazing to watch my relatives back a four wheel wagon loaded with hay into a shed with about a foot of clearance on each side and do it with maybe one forward readjustment and right into place it went.

And they did this with a John Deere model A with a hand clutch and no power steering. My uncle with his Farmall M was amazing as well. A foot clutch, but again, no power steering.

I used an old JD model A a few years ago to back up a trailer mounted (single axle only) tree spade and just seemed like I didn't have enough arms. I needed two to steer and another to operate the hand clutch. I just can't imagine backing up a four wheel wagon with it but they did it.

I love these old tractors but my hat goes off to that generation of tractor operators. I enjoying seeing a beautifully restored JD or Farmall at the tractor shows or in the parades but I admit I am spoiled by features on today's tractors.

SO if you really want to test your skills, borrow one of the old tractors and give it a try. But make sure you have somone with a movie camera. I think it would fun to watch.

 

[wolc123]

You are right that it was tougher with the some of the old tractors. Our JD M (wide front 2 cyl) had so much slop in the steering that it took about half a turn of the wheel before the front tires respoded at all. With others though, I think it was a little easier than with modern tractors. My 1941 Allis Chalmers C with a tricycle front and good steering brakes is a sweet tractor for backing a wagon compared to anything you can buy these days. No modern tractor approaches the kind of manuverability that a trike provides.

 

[TCowner]

I agree with respect to the tricycle fronts. I had a 1965 John Deere 3020 gas with the roll-o-matic tricycle front. It was darn near a zero turn tractor. Of course it also had a great power steering system.

I might have to go looking for a nice 3010 or 3020 with a narrow front.