Traction Can a John Deere 3320 effectively pull a Ford Model 101 2-bottom plow?

[dlgator]

Hi all and thanks for the help on my first post...

I have the opportunity to buy a Ford Model 101 2-bottom plow but I'm not sure if that plow is a little much for my John Deere 3320, 4X4, Hydro, with front-end loader.
No weights or filled tires.

It would be pulled in North Carolina clay but it would be slightly downhill on a field that has been previously disked and used to grow crops such as buckwheat and clover.

As an alternative, can I remove one of the plows and use it as a one-bottom plow?

Thanks for all the great knowledge and advice.

 

[nybirdman]

I plowed for several years with a L3130 Kubota,similar in size and horse power
no problem at all,use 4wd,the 101 two bottom are 2x12 or 2x14 with trips,should be a nice plow.:thumbsup:

 

[aczlan]

Give it a shot. If your wheels are slipping, you might try filling the bucket with rocks or something else heavy.

Aaron Z

 

[kebo]

And if you have to, you could always take one of the plows off of it.:ashamed: :laughing:

 

[dlgator]

Thanks all for the info.
Hopefully I'll pick up the plow tomorrow and give it a try this weekend.
If all goes well I'll take a few photos and up-load them.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Its hard to make a blanket statement, but I'd say you'd have no prob...my FIL pulls a JD 2 bottom in his garden no problem with his 955. Well, that also answers your 2nd question, yes you can remove a bottom and have a 1 if you need to. His was/is a 3 bottom with one of the bottoms removed.

The only other question I'd have is how big are the bottoms...if they're 12" bottoms, no problem at all with the 2. If they're 18's, I dunno...so much depends on your soil type, etc... My soil is so sandy I could probably pull 4-16's with my 3520....and I know of some land I'd struggle to pull 2-12's in.

 

[cowboy_79_1999]

Depending on where the 3pt mount is on the plow you may have trouble with it. I tried a dearborn 2 bottom plow on my 3520 and it would not mount to the 3pt. The front part of the plow frame where the front coulter mounts would hit the right 3pt arm no matter how I positioned the arms.
Good luck.

 

[dlgator]

Everyone, thanks for the info.
I got the plow Friday and tried it out yesterday (see photo).
I'm sure they painted over all the rust but it looks nice.
I think it's a 12 inch; haven't measured.
I had no problems pulling the plow through the clay.
There was no tire slippage with the R4's but the plow wasn't going as deep as it should.
It would lay the grass over but I couldn't get it to go any deeper.
I do have an adjustment issue as Cowboy had with his Dearborn; the bolts for the front coulter hit the right arm; so I tinkered with the adjustments and have it just clearing the arm (see photo). I had to remove the PTO shroud for clearance also.
I think I'm going to need new shares (see photo). Would that help with cutting into the ground deeper?
And what is that round disc in the back of the plow supposed to do (see photo)?

 

[dlgator]

Spudland, if I do decide to take a plow off and make it a one-bottom....which one do I remove; front or back?
Thanks

 

[CCWKen]

The round disk in the back is the leveler. It's used to help set the depth of the furrow. It should be adjustable up/down. These are common on the older plows since many of the older tractors didn't have draft control. If you have draft control, you really don't need the leveler. The round disks in front of the moldboards are coulters. These cut the soil to help the moldboard turn a clean furrow.