Hitch pin size

[JerryG]

Do like Snaker says. If you bush the hole down, you will bend or break the trailer hitch and/or pin. The hitch pin has to have some space for movement unless you install a swivel eye or change it over to a trailer ball and hitch.

 

[greg_g]

I have an attachmnet with holes in the tongue of 3/4-inch. The drawbar has a hole of 1 1/4 -inch

That full 1/2" of slop - at a minimum - is going to eventually cause the comparatively lighter duty 3/4" holes to enlarge (egg out).

If the attachment has a hinge (or device) that permits vertical movement of the tongue, it should dispel any concerns about pin damage due to towing over uneven ground. In that case use a bushings or sleeves to take the 1-1/4" tractor hole down small enough to accept the 3/4" pin.

If the attachment has a rigid tongue, use your best judgment as to how much bushing/sleeve - if any - you want in the 1-1/4" hole. I support the earlier suggestion about using a short piece of 1" ID steel pipe. That will take the hole down to about 1", and still leave the "wiggle room" that some of these other guys are concerned about.

FWIW, I'm on 30 acres of rough pasture and steep wooded hillsides, over which I've towed a reasonable cross-section of attachments behind six different Cat 1 and Cat 2 tractors. After doing this for 16 years, I've probably accumulated five pounds of assorted bushings and sleeves. In all that time I've never once incurred any kind of damage to a pin, a hole, a bushing, or a coupler.

//greg//

 

[Snaker]

That full 1/2" of slop - at a minimum - is going to eventually cause the comparatively lighter duty 3/4" holes to enlarge (egg out).

If the attachment has a hinge (or device) that permits vertical movement of the tongue, it should dispel any concerns about pin damage due to towing over uneven ground. In that case use a bushings or sleeves to take the 1-1/4" tractor hole down small enough to accept the 3/4" pin.

If the attachment has a rigid tongue, use your best judgment as to how much bushing/sleeve - if any - you want in the 1-1/4" hole. I support the earlier suggestion about using a short piece of 1" ID steel pipe. That will take the hole down to about 1", and still leave the "wiggle room" that some of these other guys are concerned about.

FWIW, I'm on 30 acres of rough pasture and steep wooded hillsides, over which I've towed a reasonable cross-section of attachments behind six different Cat 1 and Cat 2 tractors. After doing this for 16 years, I've probably accumulated five pounds of assorted bushings and sleeves. In all that time I've never once incurred any kind of damage to a pin, a hole, a bushing, or a coupler.

//greg//

I suppose a smaller pin could wear out the drawbar hole faster but your losing me about the hitch wear (3/4" pin in 3/4" holes). I guess I should have been a little more through with my comment. #1 priority is to have a pin capable of handling the load. When you have a pivoting hitch tongue end (end towards the tractor) you can stuff the holes as tight as you want with no problems. If the tongue does not pivot, then you need room at the hitch pin to allow for flexing. The amount of room needed is amplified as the drawbar thickness is increased. Smaller tractors with 1/2" thick drawbars are less of an issue.
Say for example that you bushed the drawbar hole to 3/4". Now you have 3/4" holes and pin. If you were to take a 4' hitch pole off a wagon and attach to the drawbar you would get maybe 6" of vertical movement at the rear end (assuming unworn holes). That pole can easily see 3' of vertical movement in relation to the drawbar. Remember that the drawbar attitude changes also as the tractor goes nose up/down. There is going to be a problem is the hitch has to move 3' but is only allowed 6".
I have seen a empty gravity box wagon with the front wheels off the ground due solely to no pin clearance. In that case a drawbar maybe 1.5" - 1.75" thick with a worn hole was "fixed" and given a 3/4" hole because "all the pins are 3/4"
As far as the connection for road hauling, thats a tough one. I've never pulled jumbo wagons. What pin size do they run, maybe 1"? Hard to argue for a sloppy connection, but if a wagon is wandering all over the road, I would bet it has more to do with bad wheel toe and worn steering on the running gear than a 1/4" of slop at the pin.

 

[Raspy]

I suppose a smaller pin could wear out the drawbar hole faster but your losing me about the hitch wear (3/4" pin in 3/4" holes). I guess I should have been a little more through with my comment. #1 priority is to have a pin capable of handling the load. When you have a pivoting hitch tongue end (end towards the tractor) you can stuff the holes as tight as you want with no problems. If the tongue does not pivot, then you need room at the hitch pin to allow for flexing. The amount of room needed is amplified as the drawbar thickness is increased. Smaller tractors with 1/2" thick drawbars are less of an issue.
Say for example that you bushed the drawbar hole to 3/4". Now you have 3/4" holes and pin. If you were to take a 4' hitch pole off a wagon and attach to the drawbar you would get maybe 6" of vertical movement at the rear end (assuming unworn holes). That pole can easily see 3' of vertical movement in relation to the drawbar. Remember that the drawbar attitude changes also as the tractor goes nose up/down. There is going to be a problem is the hitch has to move 3' but is only allowed 6".
I have seen a empty gravity box wagon with the front wheels off the ground due solely to no pin clearance. In that case a drawbar maybe 1.5" - 1.75" thick with a worn hole was "fixed" and given a 3/4" hole because "all the pins are 3/4" As far as the connection for road hauling, thats a tough one. I've never pulled jumbo wagons. What pin size do they run, maybe 1"? Hard to argue for a sloppy connection, but if a wagon is wandering all over the road, I would bet it has more to do with bad wheel toe and worn steering on the running gear than a 1/4" of slop at the pin.

Exactly. I just dealt with this last weekend as I built a drawbar and hitch system for a farm utility trailer. Instead of making it tight and having to build an extra pivot for the vertical tongue movement, I left it loose enough to accommodate the uneven ground, hills, etc. Simple. Effective. And fine for low speed utility work around the place. When I want a bigger pin in the larger tractor's draw bar I sometimes use a piece of 3/4" pipe. Works fine by itself.

 

[tessiers]

I gotta say, I have hauled a lot of hay with a 3/4" pin through a 1 1/4" hole 4 to 5 tons to the wagon, I have never sheared a pin. If you don't want any play, covert to ball and coupler hitch's. The pin doesn't cause a wagon to wander, the tie rod ends do. I have a feed wagon with a ball hitch and it wanders all over the road. These things aren't made like your truck and utility trailer, they need the slop to function properly.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would pin the implement with the 3/4" pin and not look back, not worth worrying about.

 

[SixHoeBob]

Some of you guys are over-thinking this. A draw bar and and hitch/tongue setup is meant to be a loose fitting system. After the OP cuts off a few finger tips trying to put the bushing in the draw bar he will wonder if it was worth it.
Yes the holes will elongate very minutely over time, but not enough to create a problem.
I have never seen teeth on a wagon tongue, but I know they can bite if given the chance.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I personally would not worry about it. I see farmers around here with screw drives, tire irons, bolts, rebarb, ect being used as hitch pins. If you want to fix it for good just drill out your implements to match the draw bars pin hole size then use that larger size pin.

Chris

 

[MMagis]

Some of you guys are over-thinking this.

Bingo. Does anyone think that farmers are carrying around bushings for every thing they hook up to the draw bar? No. These things are sized the way they are for a reason.

 

[scrappy isb67]

if the pin is close to the size of the hole (tight) in both sides of the hitch junction something has to give when working on uneven terrain, it will either be the pin bending/breaking, or the drawbar/tongue bending.
if you absolutely have to use a sleeve find a barrel shaped one. that way all the slop is taken out in the horizontal plane and still allow movement between the drawbar and tongue for uneven terrain.