Drawbar Adapter

[ovrszd]

Thanks, Richard. It was so long ago I wasn’t sure if I just imagined it.

Wish I had a picture. Dad had a V shaped hootis that bolted to the cross drawbar and went forward/outward to the lift arms. Had a clamping setup on each end that clamped it to the lift arms. In the center it extended rearward past the cross drawbar. As it crossed it bolted to it. In it's extended center it had a pin hole. Put on the vertical stabilizers, and this device, now you have locked the hitch point from moving laterally as well as up/down. You've also extended the hitch point so you didn't experience the binding you mentioned. Created a rigid hitch point that was height adjustable. When using a tractor too small for the tasks at hand it helped to set the height above the center point of the rear axle. This used leverage to increase the traction of the small 2wd tractor when pulling loads. Caution was needed on behalf of the operator though. Dad lectured me sternly when using this setup. Did a lot of steering with the brakes.

 

[aczlan]

So, the OP has what is now called a Titan 1810P mower (not an 1800P).
Per page 32 in the manual, there needs to be 8" from the top of the drawbar to the vertical centerline of the tractor PTO shaft and the pin hole in the PTO shaft needs to be 14" behind the end of the the PTO:

OP, does your tractor meet those dimensions? If not, what are your dimensions?
I would also check front to back leveling and set the front lower than the back:

Aaron Z

 

[ovrszd]

Good stuff Aaron.

 

[Big Barn]

Here’s a version of the extended hitch point to eliminate binding that ovrszd mentioned.

 

[Liquidsilver]

So, the OP has what is now called a Titan 1810P mower (not an 1800P).
Per page 32 in the manual, there needs to be 8" from the top of the drawbar to the vertical centerline of the tractor PTO shaft and the pin hole in the PTO shaft needs to be 14" behind the end of the the PTO:

OP, does your tractor meet those dimensions? If not, what are your dimensions?
I would also check front to back leveling and set the front lower than the back:

Aaron Z

Yessir, you are correct. It is the Titan 1810P. I did check those dimensions. I have over 10-inches vertically and the drawbar hole is right at 14-inches back from the end of the PTO shaft like the diagram shows. If I only had 8 inches, shown in the diagram, between the drawbar and the PTO shaft, I could ONLY mow on flat ground I think. I like to run the cutter pretty close to level, and if I lower the front, it reduces the amount of clearance I have to lift the cutter over stumps or big rocks. My challenge here is my Ozark ground that has lots of crooks and uneven ground. When I'm mowing the face of a dam, too steep to mow laterally, I have to back the cutter down the slope. The transition at the top uses ALL the clearance between the shaft and the bar. I was actually feeling vibration as the shaft's guard was rubbing the bar. That spooked me pretty good.

I didn't have 2-minutes last weekend to do any more than take a quick look at the cutter, and it doesn't take more than a quick look to see that the tongue piece cannot be mounted any other way. If you mounted it to the lower holes, the leveling bars wouldn't have anything to connect to. You'd have to fabricate some kind of see-saw system to actuate the front piece.

The more I look at it, I think the simple answer is to have a good welder cut the cutter's tow bar and put an angle in it. That should get me plenty of clearance between the tow bar and the shaft.

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[aczlan]

Yessir, you are correct. It is the Titan 1810P. I did check those dimensions. I have over 10-inches vertically and the drawbar hole is right at 14-inches back from the end of the PTO shaft like the diagram shows. If I only had 8 inches, shown in the diagram, between the drawbar and the PTO shaft, I could ONLY mow on flat ground I think. I like to run the cutter pretty close to level, and if I lower the front, it reduces the amount of clearance I have to lift the cutter over stumps or big rocks. My challenge here is my Ozark ground that has lots of crooks and uneven ground. When I'm mowing the face of a dam, too steep to mow laterally, I have to back the cutter down the slope. The transition at the top uses ALL the clearance between the shaft and the bar. I was actually feeling vibration as the shaft's guard was rubbing the bar. That spooked me pretty good.

I didn't have 2-minutes last weekend to do any more than take a quick look at the cutter, and it doesn't take more than a quick look to see that the tongue piece cannot be mounted any other way. If you mounted it to the lower holes, the leveling bars wouldn't have anything to connect to. You'd have to fabricate some kind of see-saw system to actuate the front piece.

The more I look at it, I think the simple answer is to have a good welder cut the cutter's tow bar and put an angle in it. That should get me plenty of clearance between the tow bar and the shaft.

Thanks again for all the advice.

How close was your front to back level?

Aaron Z

 

[Texasmark]

Find yourself a used tractor dealer that has been in business for a long time, like 40 years + in the case of mine. They go to auctions and pickup most of what they sell and at auctions, anything is for sale, drawbars included. Take your old one with you and get a drop down (usually 2") with the same hole relationship and cross section....if that's possible. BTDT

 

[Liquidsilver]

How close was your front to back level?

Aaron Z

Right now it's set so the front is about 1/2" lower than the back when the deck is about 2 inches from the ground...

 

[Liquidsilver]

Update: I win the dumbhead award, because when I remeasured the vertical distance between the PTO shaft and the drawbar... I don't know what I was drinking when I measured before... but the drawbar is only 7 inches lower than the point on the PTO shaft. So THAT'S why I have clearance problems. Duh.

I've talked to an experienced welder and he is going to put an angle in the tow bar near where my arrow is. The cutter weights close to a ton, but he doesn't think strength will be any issue. I'd rather have this bend in the bar, than just adapting with a lower hitch point, because I don't want to have a possible dragging issue.

View attachment 601944

I looked carefully at how the tow bar articulates for raising and lowering, and clearance should be fine for the changed shape of the bar. I'm having the welder go for a 6-inch change in the hitch point location.

I guess I live and learn... and sometimes it's expensive.

 

[ovrszd]

Tryin to wrap my head around this.... Are you sure you can do that?? Won't you change the level front/back by doing that? To move it enough to do you any good are you going to have enough adjustment in the cutter hitch assembly to regain level??

I'd give this a lot of thought. Maybe unhitch the cutter. Leave the tractor sitting with your drawbar just outside the cutter hitch. Then jack the front of the cutter up 6" and see how it looks?? And with it jacked up that high can you adjust the self leveling hitch assembly to get the deck back level?? :confused3:

 

[Big Barn]

Tryin to wrap my head around this.... Are you sure you can do that?? Won't you change the level front/back by doing that? To move it enough to do you any good are you going to have enough adjustment in the cutter hitch assembly to regain level??

I'd give this a lot of thought. Maybe unhitch the cutter. Leave the tractor sitting with your drawbar just outside the cutter hitch. Then jack the front of the cutter up 6" and see how it looks?? And with it jacked up that high can you adjust the self leveling hitch assembly to get the deck back level?? :confused3:

Definitely unhitch it as ovrszd described.


In all fairness you could be correct but I can’t tell from the pics and would need to physically see it to make an informed opinion.

 

[ovrszd]

Definitely unhitch it as ovrszd described.


In all fairness you could be correct but I can’t tell from the pics and would need to physically see it to make an informed opinion.

Terry, my theory is the cutter doesn't know the difference of whether he has jacked the tongue up 6" or it's been cut and rewelded at an angle. Won't that raise the front of the cutter deck? And if he has enough hitch adjustment to lower the front of the deck until it's flat again isn't the gearbox right back where it was? And if so, doesn't he have the same clearance problem he had before? :confused3:

 

[ruffdog]

I think I would re-engineer the tongue starting in the back, a foot behind the op's arrow, to get clearance back there.

 

[ovrszd]

I can't see any hitch alterations doing any good. The issue is the elevation of the gearbox, which is going to be determined by cut height, in relationship to the drawbar, which would change the equation, and the elevation of the PTO shaft, which cannot be changed.

So changing the cutter hitch won't solve anything. Imagine a straight line from the gearbox to the tractor PTO shaft.

 

[kthompson]

It will be amazing if there is not a machine and welding shop in your area who can help with your needs. Ask tractor mechanics where they are. Some tractor shops and especially heavy equipment garages have such a shop also.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I can't see any hitch alterations doing any good. The issue is the elevation of the gearbox, which is going to be determined by cut height, in relationship to the drawbar, which would change the equation, and the elevation of the PTO shaft, which cannot be changed.

So changing the cutter hitch won't solve anything. Imagine a straight line from the gearbox to the tractor PTO shaft.

Yes, the leveling bars have lots of adjustment left, so leveling should be no problem. To come up with my six inch elevation change, I did as you suggested and unhitched the bar and jacked it to six inches lower than the drawbar and connected the driveshaft and hydraulics. It gets a great deal more clearance to the driveshaft. It accomplishes the same thing as having a lower drawbar.

If I used an adapter to lower the hitch point by six inches, there would still be pretty good ground clearance unless I had a 'high center' situation. The bend in the bar should accomplish the same thing as have a lower attachment point, but without a ground clearance issue. As I look at how it articulates, creating more vertical height between the drawbar and the PTO shaft should completely solve the problem.

Ruffdog, that might give me even more clearance between the towbar and the driveshaft, but I believe it would be a more complicated task with the proximity of other welds. I'll see what the welder says.

I like the way the cutter works, but the configuration of that towbar, with the high crossmember seems to me like it could have been engineered a lot better.

Thanks guys.

 

[ovrszd]

Give us a follow up after the alteration and operation of the cutter. Got my mathematical curiosity perked.

 

[Liquidsilver]

Give us a follow up after the alteration and operation of the cutter. Got my mathematical curiosity perked.

Will do, sir.

That straight line between the gearbox and the PTO output shaft would have no problem if the tow bar piece didn't have such a high center crossmember.

Anyhoo, I just dropped it off with the welder and he was doing some head-scratching with me about it. Pretty sure we're on the right track. I'll update when I get it back.

 

[dieselscout80]

Would it not have been easier to put the drawbar in a shorter position and the mount a 2” receiver hitch to the under side of the drawbar and then add a shank that lowered your hitch position?

 

[farm boy00]

Would it not have been easier to put the drawbar in a shorter position and the mount a 2” receiver hitch to the under side of the drawbar and then add a shank that lowered your hitch position?

It would have, but then he would have ground clearance problems with the cutter