Pull from the front or the rear?

[strantor]

I have two months of experience operating my new tractor. I didn't grow up around tractors so I don't know all the tips and tricks. I posted a picture on Facebook of me pulling a stuck truck out of a ditch with my tractor, and I was pulling from the drawbar. I had a couple of people comment and say that I should be pulling from the front, because pulling from the rear introduces risk of flipping the tractor over.

From a practical standpoint, the name and apparent purpose of the drawbar indicates (to me anyway) that's where you're supposed to pull a load from. From a physics standpoint, on a level pull with no weigh on the drawbar, and with the drawbar being positioned below the axle, it seems (to me anyway) that the only possible force that pulling from the drawbar could induce on the nose of the tractor is downforce, not up Force. And with it being a four-wheel drive tractor, it seems (to me anyway) that pulling from the front poses just as much risk of flipping the tractor over forward, as pulling from the rear poses of flipping it over backwards.

So what's a You Sage tractor operators? Am I better off pulling from the front or the back?

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Back from the drawbar. If you hook above the axle center line you have a chance of going over backwards. The tractor in latin actually comes from "to draw or pull" if I remember correctly. The three point hitch actually transfers weight forward by its design and increases the tractors ability to pull.

 

[TheMan419]

The draw bar is the place to pull from. That is its point. The draw bar should be below the rear axle. That configuration will prevent you from flipping over. If your attachment point were above the rear axle you could pull the front end off the ground and flip over.

 

[mddorange]

While the draw bar is as stated above, either direction can lead to a wrecked tractor and maybe a dead driver.

When it flips over backwards it is due to using too much acceleration with good traction from the rear tires on a non movable object. Even using the draw bar will not prevent it from happening. Many a tractor pulls have ended that way.

The same could happen when pulling from the front, but it would be harder.

 

[MossRoad]

I have two months of experience operating my new tractor. I didn't grow up around tractors so I don't know all the tips and tricks. I posted a picture on Facebook of me pulling a stuck truck out of a ditch with my tractor, and I was pulling from the drawbar. I had a couple of people comment and say that I should be pulling from the front, because pulling from the rear introduces risk of flipping the tractor over.

From a practical standpoint, the name and apparent purpose of the drawbar indicates (to me anyway) that's where you're supposed to pull a load from. From a physics standpoint, on a level pull with no weigh on the drawbar, and with the drawbar being positioned below the axle, it seems (to me anyway) that the only possible force that pulling from the drawbar could induce on the nose of the tractor is downforce, not up Force. And with it being a four-wheel drive tractor, it seems (to me anyway) that pulling from the front poses just as much risk of flipping the tractor over forward, as pulling from the rear poses of flipping it over backwards.

So what's a You Sage tractor operators? Am I better off pulling from the front or the back?

Pull from the drawbar. That's what it's designed for. It's attached to the tractor under the rear axle.

As for pulling from the front VS pulling from the rear and rollovers, it would be MUCH harder to roll over forward than it is to roll over rear-wards, even with 4wd. There's a lot more weight at the rear than the front to counteract those forces.

Pull from the drawbar.

 

[California]

Pull from the drawbar, and as low as possible. But this still exerts the force that can flip the tractor over backward if it has perfect traction. Be ready to push in the clutch if the nose rises.

A friend told me this is how his father became disabled. Small crawler tractor with perfect traction, a heavy trailer with brakes locked, and the tractor walked inside its tracks up and over to the back.

 

[jeff9366]

Pull from the drawbar.

 

[ning]

Pull from the drawbar.

In the pic in this post, the chain may be attached to the draw bar, but by going up and over the implement, the effective point of attachment is actually above the rear axle (assuming the implement remains where it is, though it can't go a lot lower and avoid ground contact).

 

[BubbaJr]

The very best answer, call a tow truck, that's what they are designed for. No risk to you or your tractor.

There is nothing to prevent the 3pt and drawbar from rising up and putting the forces above the rear axle under the right circumstances. If you try to pull from the front you will lose a lot of tractive effort from the rear wheels.

Joe

 

[jeff9366]

In the pic in this post, the chain may be attached to the draw bar, but by going up and over the implement, the effective point of attachment is actually above the rear axle (assuming the implement remains where it is, though it can't go a lot lower and avoid ground contact).

100% true.

I was in HST PLUS/LOW/LOW with quite a bit of throttle, moving very, very slowly, over known sand where load would not hang up on something fixed. I had to lift front of the stump a tad to keep from plowing too much sand, stopping progress.

 

[California]

Kind of related: We read here several years ago of an inexperienced operator pulling fenceposts by lashing the post snug against a rear tire and driving forward. One post didn't budge, he couldn't reach the clutch pedal after the nose came up, and the tractor came over and killed him.

Someone commented that lashing the fencepost to the front edge of the tire and driving backward forces the nose of the tractor into the ground - safer, but likely to break something.



A different post commented that rear tires frozen in puddle ice can cause the tractor to walk over backward if it can't break free from the ice.

 

[boomer1025]

The very best answer, call a tow truck, that's what they are designed for. No risk to you or your tractor.

There is nothing to prevent the 3pt and drawbar from rising up and putting the forces above the rear axle under the right circumstances. If you try to pull from the front you will lose a lot of tractive effort from the rear wheels.

Joe

Don't pull with the 3pt raised higher then the tractor mounted draw bar. That's why alot of tractors do a back flip.
If the tractor is weighted properly and pulling from the tractor draw bar the rear wheels should spin or the tractor should stall.

 

[TerryR]

There is nothing to prevent the 3pt and drawbar from rising up and putting the forces above the rear axle under the right circumstances. If you try to pull from the front you will lose a lot of tractive effort from the rear wheels.

If you are using an actual drawbar it has nothing to do with the 3pt, and cannot rise up. It's anchored under the belly of the tractor, and it's height is fixed at the rear where it comes out the back of the tractor. It's designed to pull things, and being below the axle, it exerts a downward force on the front end. If your tractor tries to lift the front end the end of the drawbar moves down and exerts and even larger force to lower the front.

Don't confuse a crossbar mounted in a 3pt hitch with a drawbar. it's not the same thing at all, and can as you say lift up above the axle and contribute to overturning.

 

[TerryR]

Don't pull with the 3pt...

You should stop right there. Don't pull with the 3pt. Use a drawbar for pulling. If your tractor doesn't have one, get one or don't pull.

 

[RickB]

Pull from the fixed drawbar on the rear. Not a crossbar on the 3point hitch. If you were supposed to pull from the front there would be a drawbar there and the seat would probably face the other way. To prevent rollovers just be smarter than the equipment you are using.

 

[Jstpssng]

Drawbar, as everybody else has said. Not only is that where the tractor was designed to pull from; it was also meant to pull forward.
Also, don't get yourself into anything which makes you uncomfortable. Experience comes from ping on the electric fence, but not everybody walks away unscathed.

 

[strantor]

Thanks for all the replies. In light if the last few posts I would just like to point out that if I felt the operation (or any operation) was unsafe I wouldn't have done it. I would have called a tow truck or other professional. I felt it was pretty straight forward with an obvious proper way to do it, so that's the way I did it, and at no point did I feel there was any higher than normal risk. It wasn't until after I was done that people told me that I had done it wrong but what they said didn't seem correct per my understanding so I came here to confirm.

If this was a situation that called for a wrecker then I should probably stop mowing my grass and pay someone to do that too.

 

[AndyMA]

The very best answer, call a tow truck, that's what they are designed for. No risk to you or your tractor.

There is nothing to prevent the 3pt and drawbar from rising up and putting the forces above the rear axle under the right circumstances. If you try to pull from the front you will lose a lot of tractive effort from the rear wheels.

Joe

How does a drawbar rise up above the rear axle when it’s mounted below the differential

Also has anybody drawn out the vector force diagrams on what it would take to flip a tractor pulling from the drawbar?

I’d like to see them for a drawbar under the rear differential


Andy

 

[California]

Also has anybody drawn out the vector force diagrams on what it would take to flip a tractor pulling from the drawbar?

The forces would be extreme. But you don't need vector analysis to imagine the scenario where the rear axle can't move forward (due to the drawbar chained to an immovable object) and a mechanical driveline continues to send torque to the rear axle that has perfect traction. If nothing breaks then rotating the tractor up and over backward is inevitable. I suppose if the drawbar extended out beyond the tires and didn't bend then the rotation would end when the weight of the tractor rested on the tip of the drawbar so the tires lost traction.

 

[travlitt]

If you are using an actual drawbar it has nothing to do with the 3pt, and cannot rise up. It's anchored under the belly of the tractor, and it's height is fixed at the rear where it comes out the back of the tractor. It's designed to pull things, and being below the axle, it exerts a downward force on the front end. If your tractor tries to lift the front end the end of the drawbar moves down and exerts and even larger force to lower the front.

Don't confuse a crossbar mounted in a 3pt hitch with a drawbar. it's not the same thing at all, and can as you say lift up above the axle and contribute to overturning.

I agree with this 100% Always pull from the draw bar and not the 3 point.