Drawbar Adapter

[Liquidsilver]

I feel like I'm looking for something that should be easy to find, but I'm not finding it.

I'm using my M5400DT to pull my 10-foot pull-type rotary cutter and it pulls easily and cuts even the heavy stuff very well. My only problem is, using my fixed drawbar, there's very little clearance between the driveshaft and the tongue of the cutter. It becomes a problem when I'm mowing a slope and the slope levels out quickly, the cutter runs out of clearance to the driveshaft and the guard actually rubs the driveshaft guard. I figured this could be dangerous if I encounter too sharp an angle. When I hydraulically raise the deck, the clearance is even less. I asked the rotary cutter manufacturer if there was a tongue with a different angle and they said, no.

So the simple fix seems to be, using an adapter, like I have on various truck hitches to lower the hookup for the tongue, which would increase the spread from the PTO shaft and the drawbar. This lowers the overall height of the deck, like when you need to get over a stump or something, but increases the space between the driveshaft and the tongue. A 3" or 4" drop on a drawbar piece is what I'm looking for, and I'm about to just ask a metal/fabrication shop to make me one, but I can't believe there's not one out there on a shelf somewhere.

I know I could use a 3-point bar between the arms, but I'm a little paranoid that it could accidentally get it caught when I'm mowing and raise the tongue into the shaft and I have no idea what would happen there. (yikes)

Thanks if you have any ideas for me.

 

[nybirdman]

You could use the draw bar on the three point and chain it down so it doesn't raise.

 

[ruffdog]

Does your drawbar have the ability to be swung to one side? That would maybe help. I tried searching for a offset drawbar for your tractor but having difficulty.

kubota m54 offset drawbar - Google Search

 

[kennyd]

Can you post a picture of your setup when it's attached?

Google image search "hammerstrap" and look at some ideas, you'll most likely have to fabricate or get fabricated exactly what you need.

 

[Big Barn]

I’m not at all familiar with Kubotas. When you say “fixed” drawbar are you referring to the swinging drawbar attached under your rear axle? If so it will be either straight or offset (up or down)

If it straight, you can bolt on an offset clevis end to lower (or raise) your hitch point.

Theses are a few of my Ford swinging drawbars and offsets I have on my shelf atm.

 

[Egon]

Weld a receiver on the fixed drawbar and you have lots of options.

 

[ruffdog]

Most times, a drawbar can be adjusted to the short position or the long position on a tractor. If you have it sticking out farther, you will experience more of an interference issue than if it was short. (when driving over hills/dips)

 

[CobyRupert]

I assume your drawbar doesn't have an offset, else you would of just turned it upside down right?
Like Ruffdog says, see if drawbar has another hole where pinned to tractor so it sticks out shorter.

If not corrected, eventually you will go over a hump where the weight of mower will try to be suspended by the pto shaft on top of the drawbar. It will bend the PTO shaft, and then the PTO shaft will not be able to slide/telescope so that when you get on flat ground it will want to lift the back of the tractor up and/or push the tractor's pto shaft through its bearing. More likely, and hopefully, it snaps a universal on the implement's PTO shaft beforehand.

 

[Liquidsilver]

Thanks for everyone's help. Yes, the drawbar is straight, and Big Barn's offset drawbars would probably help if there was a fit for this tractor.

Chaining down a 3-point bar would probably work, but I'd hate to have to rig that up every time I switched implements.

The bar does swing side to side, but that doesn't affect the clearance issue. Moving the bar in and out wouldn't really affect it either.

Like Coby says, I don't want to tweak the driveshaft and have to cut it off, or worse, have a spinning broken shaft flying around.

Those offset drawbars, if I could get one about 4 inches lower would be the ticket.

Yes, a welded on (or better, bolted on) receiver would be great, then I could use off-the-shelf adapters for whatever offset I needed.

I think a metal work guy could probably take a steel piece, heat it bend it and drill it and make me one, but I don't know who to talk to or what it would cost...

I'll try to get a picture this weekend, but it's just a straight bar with a big hole at the end and a smaller hole (maybe 7/16ths) about 10 inches in from the end.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[CobyRupert]

Are you sure having another hole where it connects to the tractor so that the drawbar was "shorter" wouldn't help (that is, drawbar wouldn't stick out as far behind tractor)?

This puts the drawbar connection to the mower closer to the universal on the pto shaft where it connects to the tractor.

How else can drawbar hit the PTO shaft if it doesn't stick out "too far"?

That being said, if you do shorten the effective length of drawbar, and the mower is closer, the normal position of the pto shaft is now "telescoped shorter". You may have to then shorten the pto shaft so that it has play to still telescope "in" when you go through a dip without hitting it's limit.

A machine shop may be able to help.