3-point capacity

[ajamison]

I have a Truax II88 no-till grass drill, which weighs about 2800 lbs. I'm looking to buy a tractor big enough to mount the drill via the 3 point hitch (makes moving it a lot easier).

There a lot of 60-70hp 4Wd tractors I've seen that could pull it very easily (like a New Holland TT75A), but they have 3 point hitch capacities of 3300 lbs or so. Is that cutting it too close w/ something big and bulky like the drill, esp w/ over rough ground w/ a lot of banging, etc when the drill would be lifted up?

Is it necessary to step up to a heavier tractor with 5000 lbs 3 point lift capacity or would tractors rated for around 3500 lbs be ok? Not sure how much wiggle room there is with those figures.

 

[Tailrotor]

Ajamison

Why not just move it with the front end loader. you may be able to stay with a smaller HP tractor and save some money.

If this is the only reason you want the tractor and not to actually use it on the three point.

Just asking

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a Truax II88 no-till grass drill, which weighs about 2800 lbs. I'm looking to buy a tractor big enough to mount the drill via the 3 point hitch (makes moving it a lot easier).

There a lot of 60-70hp 4Wd tractors I've seen that could pull it very easily (like a New Holland TT75A), but they have 3 point hitch capacities of 3300 lbs or so. Is that cutting it too close w/ something big and bulky like the drill, esp w/ over rough ground w/ a lot of banging, etc when the drill would be lifted up?

Is it necessary to step up to a heavier tractor with 5000 lbs 3 point lift capacity or would tractors rated for around 3500 lbs be ok? Not sure how much wiggle room there is with those figures.

You need to know what the total weight of the the drill full of seed is and the approximate loacation of the drill center of gravity(cg). Then you can compare that to the lift capability of the three point. Three point hitches are rated at two locations: at the end of the lift links, and with the load cg located 24 inches aft of the lift links. So you need to pay attention to what number you are qouted. The lift at 24 inches behind the links will always be less then the lift at the links. You can correct one to the other very easily if you can have the correct location for the rating.


If you all ready have the drill, find out what it really weighs when it's full of seed and ready to go. See if the manufacturer can tell you where the cg is located.. The measure the length of the lift link (L) and the distance from the lift links to the drill cg (a). If the spec lift is X pounds at the lift links, and Y is the max weight of the loaded drill, then

X *L = Z*(L+a) or,
Z=(X*L)/(L+a). If Z > Y, the lift will pick up the max weight of loaded drill.

Remember that once you start runing the drill, the load goes down and the drill gets easier to pick up as it's weight decreases.

You lift system has a position control and a relief valve so driving on rough ground with the drill raised may cause some high intertia loads on the lift system and the relif valve will respond by relieving pressure to prevent damage and then the position control will reset the height of the implement. If the ground is really rough, you want to not be highballing in high gear with a heavy weight on the three poinnt, however. Thats' just common sense.
This is the long way around to answering your question.

 

[LD1]

Ajamison

Why not just move it with the front end loader. you may be able to stay with a smaller HP tractor and save some money.

If this is the only reason you want the tractor and not to actually use it on the three point.

Just asking

I dont know about you, but I have NEVER seen a tractor that has a FEL capacity greater than the 3PH.

So if he is wanting the "smallest" tractor to lift it VIA the 3PH, a tractor smaller than that certainly wouldnt move it with the FEL.

Ajamisin: I cant answer your question directly because I dont own tractors that big, but here is my take:

Personally I would want a larger tractor. Even though a 3PH rated @ 3300 will lift it, I dont like pushing capacitys to the limits on a regular basis. Just asking for problems sooner rather than later. And you also have to think about keeping the front end down, and how far back it hangs off the tractor.

I dont know all of the other brands, but the smallest kubota I'd consider is the M8540 w/a 4600lb capacity @ 24" and an optioal 7200lb capacity. With a total tractor weight of 5000-5400 lbs.

For deere...the 5065M and 5075M's have a optional 3PH capacity of 4600lbs @ 24"

And for NH...it looks like the T5000 series.

And you could also consider something like the kioti DK75

But again, I dont have a ton of experience with these larger machines. So I am sure others will chime in with better advise

 

[rambler]

As mentioned, what is the weight of the drill when it is full of seed? And then you need to consider the center of gravity issue, compared to the typical 2 foot behind most tractor manufaturers figure for their weight ratings?

I'd not want to cut it too close - add some mud weight - sure we want to only farm in the best conditions, but someday you'll have a couple lbs of mud on each disk blade - it adds up.

--->Paul

 

[Tailrotor]

I dont know about you, but I have NEVER seen a tractor that has a FEL capacity greater than the 3PH.

So if he is wanting the "smallest" tractor to lift it VIA the 3PH, a tractor smaller than that certainly wouldnt move it with the FEL.

Ajamisin: I cant answer your question directly because I dont own tractors that big, but here is my take:

Personally I would want a larger tractor. Even though a 3PH rated @ 3300 will lift it, I dont like pushing capacitys to the limits on a regular basis. Just asking for problems sooner rather than later. And you also have to think about keeping the front end down, and how far back it hangs off the tractor.

I dont know all of the other brands, but the smallest kubota I'd consider is the M8540 w/a 4600lb capacity @ 24" and an optioal 7200lb capacity. With a total tractor weight of 5000-5400 lbs.

For deere...the 5065M and 5075M's have a optional 3PH capacity of 4600lbs @ 24"

And for NH...it looks like the T5000 series.

And you could also consider something like the kioti DK75

But again, I dont have a ton of experience with these larger machines. So I am sure others will chime in with better advise

A kubota M59 FEL would handle the drill easy. And the rear lift and front are about the same on that tractor. You could remove back hoe and use 3 point to pull around with power to spare. No problem.

 

[Tailrotor]

Ok after looking at what this drill is you are not going to put in the bucket and move it around. ( sorry ) . But the one I googled has wheels on it and would not know why you need to lift it of the ground to move it. And it did not look like it was 3 point ready but draw bar instead.

Unless they make a different Modle then I seen your going to need a 60 to 80 horse tractor to handle it safely in my opinion . Good luck.

 

[rambler]

I didn't look through the whole 160+ page manual on line, but:

They sure look like they could be 3pt from the layout of them, but they only talk about setting up with a drawbar hitch which they say all models come with..... Then later in the specs at the end, they mention a 3pt model. So obviously somewhere you can get it or use it as a 3pt model.

The II-88 is listed as 3000# with the notill option. You can hold up to 2.3 bu of seed per foot of width depending on box options. It is 5.6 feet long, not sure where that puts the center of the weight, but likely more than 2 feet beyond the tractor 3pt arms. They suggest at least a 60 hp tractor with front weights - of course that will depend on the 3pt lift which is what you are asking about.....

--->Paul

 

[ajamison]

I dont know about you, but I have NEVER seen a tractor that has a FEL capacity greater than the 3PH.

So if he is wanting the "smallest" tractor to lift it VIA the 3PH, a tractor smaller than that certainly wouldnt move it with the FEL.

Ajamisin: I cant answer your question directly because I dont own tractors that big, but here is my take:

Personally I would want a larger tractor. Even though a 3PH rated @ 3300 will lift it, I dont like pushing capacitys to the limits on a regular basis. Just asking for problems sooner rather than later. And you also have to think about keeping the front end down, and how far back it hangs off the tractor.

I dont know all of the other brands, but the smallest kubota I'd consider is the M8540 w/a 4600lb capacity @ 24" and an optioal 7200lb capacity. With a total tractor weight of 5000-5400 lbs.

For deere...the 5065M and 5075M's have a optional 3PH capacity of 4600lbs @ 24"

And for NH...it looks like the T5000 series.

And you could also consider something like the kioti DK75

But again, I dont have a ton of experience with these larger machines. So I am sure others will chime in with better advise

That what's I've been thinking. There is a used CASE IH JX75 I might look at, which is more along the lines of some of the models you mentioned.

 

[ajamison]

I didn't look through the whole 160+ page manual on line, but:

They sure look like they could be 3pt from the layout of them, but they only talk about setting up with a drawbar hitch which they say all models come with..... Then later in the specs at the end, they mention a 3pt model. So obviously somewhere you can get it or use it as a 3pt model.

The II-88 is listed as 3000# with the notill option. You can hold up to 2.3 bu of seed per foot of width depending on box options. It is 5.6 feet long, not sure where that puts the center of the weight, but likely more than 2 feet beyond the tractor 3pt arms. They suggest at least a 60 hp tractor with front weights - of course that will depend on the 3pt lift which is what you are asking about.....

--->Paul

Right. I currently use it with the drawbar, and a smaller 40 hp tractor that I rent. But I plant at a lot of different sites, so for the sake of moving equipment more easliy, I want to take the tongue off of the drill, hook the drill it to a tractor via a 3 point hitch, and then move both together on one trailer from job to job. I have used them hooked up this way, and they still plant fine.