How to keep from dumping the trailer???

[Adam23]

Thanks for all the posts and advise! I should have known better but it caught me off guard when it dumped. I think I am going to go the route of making the "mouth" of the trailer hitch bigger by using bigger bolts and spacers so that I can attach it at the fixed draw bar behind the ball. My only worry about going this route is that it will bring the trailer much closer to the rear tires making sharp turns impossible. Knowing me i will eat the side of the trailer up before I learn!

OK - second dumb question: If you are not supposed to use that "drawbar" for connecting trailers for the obvious reasons that I just found out, then what is the main purpose for those?

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

In the "old days" tractors came with two rigid flat bars that went from the top link pin to each of the drawbar pins to hold the drawbar at a predetermined height. With many farm wagons, self powered balers etc the tongue will have a portion that goes both above and below the drawbar, with a pin through, such that the drawbar cannot rotate when a load or brakes are applied. If using a trailer ball, there needs to be some method of keeping the drawbar from rotating when load / brakes are applied.

 

[Harry c]

I use a tie down strap from the lower trailer hitch hole to the drawbar. Hook it in the hole, go over the drawbar, back down and hook in the hole. Pull the strap tight and you're off. Just don't forget and raise the 3 pt hitch.

 

[john_bud]

My only worry about going this route is that it will bring the trailer much closer to the rear tires making sharp turns impossible. Knowing me i will eat the side of the trailer up before I learn!

?

Some draw bars have multiple holes and can be slid out farther. Yours may be that way. Worth checking. If not either add tongue length or be careful on the turns.

jb

 

[jinman]

Thanks for all the posts and advise! I should have known better but it caught me off guard when it dumped. I think I am going to go the route of making the "mouth" of the trailer hitch bigger by using bigger bolts and spacers so that I can attach it at the fixed draw bar behind the ball. My only worry about going this route is that it will bring the trailer much closer to the rear tires making sharp turns impossible. Knowing me i will eat the side of the trailer up before I learn!

OK - second dumb question: If you are not supposed to use that "drawbar" for connecting trailers for the obvious reasons that I just found out, then what is the main purpose for those?

It used to be a common thing to pull split-tongue trailers with tractors using the 3PH drawbar, but they had the setup in the photo below. This has the drawbar stays to hold the arms down and also has the blue lock to keep the drawbar from turning. If you notice, the tractor doesn't even have a swinging drawbar.

Be careful if you chain your 3PH down or use this setup. If you move the lever to up, something is gonna bend, break, or the hydraulic pressure relief will lift.

 

[Adam23]

OK - I took a good look at the back end of my tractor last night and I think that I have come up with a plan. I am planning on using a small (1 inch wide) nylon strap to hold down the 3ph. I will tie it from the top 3ph arm to the fixed drawbar. I think this should be sufficient to hold down the 3ph with the loads that I typically place in my small trailer but would easily be the breaking point if the 3ph was accidentally raised. Any thoughts on this or anything that I minght be missing?

Thanks again for all the help and the pictures. It really brings to light stuff that is obvious to lots of folks with alot of tractor experience that is probably sometimes taken for granted. Folks like me who have only been around tractors for a year or so have never seen setups on the older stuff like the one pictured above. For all this info from everybody - I am very thankful!

 

[TGD]

I just want to point this out as nobody has yet.

I bought and use a EZMover Hitch System . It bolts to the 3ph drawbar with the top link connecting to the upper part of the hitch. There is a way to connect a piece of chain from near the top to your fixed drawbar. The advantages of this system is it is easy to adjust the height of the hitch to match the proper tounge height of a trailer, won't allow the 3ph drawbar to rotate (which could pop the ball off the trailer coupling if using a ball), won't dump a trailer if the chain is used, multiple attachments can be used as it is a standard 2" receiver hitch. It also gets the trailer further away from the tires making turns easier.

I use a hitch in the receiver without a ball for trailers (like yours only a little larger) without ball couplers, and a hitch with a ball (off my truck when needed) for the big trailer I have if I need to move it around the place.

Phil

 

[Adam23]

That is a great idea and looks like i could built that in no time at all. Thanks for the link!

 

[easytractor]

Adam23,
I would have never realized that this hookup would dump the trailer. I am such a rookie but I am learning by reading and spending time on this great site. I cannot offer any solutions but I would like to ask you how do you like that craftsman trailer? Is it a good size to haul wood, topsoil, etc. up & down sloped property? I like the EZ Mover Hitch System to solve you problem what do you think?

 

[john_bud]

The only problem with being a rookie on a tractor is the much much higher possiblity of getting injured or worse. Be careful !
jb