Modify a Hay Wagon Tongue?

[kantuckid]

I rebuilt an old David Bradley 4T hay wagon running gear. Wheel bearings, painted wheels and frame, added all new wood.

It has the original tongue which is OK but has the large hole for hitching which is too large for use of most drawbar pins and too sloppy using a clevis.

My wagon will be used mostly to move lumber and wall logs to a remote, cabin self-build site from my sawmill and I need a better coupler setup. I have both a straight pull drawbar and a 3pt hitch drawbar, but 2" balls on my straight pull bar.
As we speak, my thoughts are focused on welding a 2" trailer ball coupler onto the tongue end.

What say you for this situation?

 

[oosik]

I built my farm wagon from brand new Horst running gear. It's their ten ton model. You can just barely see the hitch on the end of the farm wagon tongue. So - I show you the hitch on the end of my pickup. It's exactly like the hitch on the farm wagon.

I considered a ball hitch but decided on what you see. Dragging my farm wagon around my property means a whole lot of - up/down and twisting. The hitch I have works a whole lot better in my situation. I pull the wagon with the straight pull drawbar on my tractor.

 

[sea2summit]

I wouldn’t go to a ball hitch, they really don’t like the types I’ve movement you get with non-suspension vehicles. Pintal would be the best bet if you want to go to a hitch system IMHO.

 

[WranglerX]

I JUST converted all the towables on my property to ball hitches....

 

[kantuckid]

I'll be towing with some angles involved, but not such that a ball doesn't work as my Gatormade utility trailers been everywhere this wagon will be going. The issue is the wagon has an undamaged OE tongue end which has a very large hole such that as I stated, no pins large enough to not jiggle around so much as to make back even harder than it should be. I'm experienced and don't need instruction on backing one either.
I know pintles as I'm 10 plus army years & a motor sgt last time around.
Thanks for the responses but I'll stick with a ball coupler.

 

[Fuddy1952]

I have my granddad's wagon he made in early 40s...junk yard parts it has a 30s Chevy straight axle. It's wood frame but made a steel box for it, great for shoveling gravel or anything. I put a 2" ball coupler on it. My place is very hilly and it works well.

 

[civilian]

Is the tongue made of wood or steel? Could you find a bushing of the correct sizes to fit in the tongue to take up the slop? Jon.

 

[hslogger]

I prefer OOsak method. I had three sets of running gears over the years. Some where dedicated to off road, other were highway towable. For farm and off road that is my choice. I had one wagon that had a two inch ball set up. That wagon I towed down the highways behind a pickup or 2T farm truck. That tongue was very convertable, . one set up was for a team of horses. one was for the highway. I had them so there was a slip and bolt assembly two feet from the axle with a keeper threaded bolt there. Un screw the bolt, slip the horse tongue out, slip the highway tongue on.

 

[bcp]

If different couplers were better in some situations, I would weld a receiver tube to the tongue and make interchangeable couplers.

Bruce

 

[5030]

I wouldn’t go to a ball hitch, they really don’t like the types I’ve movement you get with non-suspension vehicles. Pintal would be the best bet if you want to go to a hitch system IMHO.

it's Pintle hitch but I know what you meant. I have them and ball hitches as well With a Pintle, you still need a Lunette eye to complete it.

 

[kantuckid]

I'm buying a $15 2" ball coupler x 3" wide which has bolt holes in two directions so a cheap, easy adaption that can be reversed back to original. I've already got too many various hitch gizmos all ready.

 

[LouNY]

I built my farm wagon from brand new Horst running gear. It's their ten ton model. You can just barely see the hitch on the end of the farm wagon tongue. So - I show you the hitch on the end of my pickup. It's exactly like the hitch on the farm wagon.

I considered a ball hitch but decided on what you see. Dragging my farm wagon around my property means a whole lot of - up/down and twisting. The hitch I have works a whole lot better in my situation. I pull the wagon with the straight pull drawbar on my tractor.

View attachment 743433View attachment 743434

I prefer a single bar type hookup, we just use a drawbar and don't put a ball on it.
Less chance of binding of off camber situations, also none of our drawpins are the full size of the drawbars,
they need some slop to work without breaking things.

Here I have two drawpins in two drawbars, one on the tractor, just a flat drawbar going to a clevis on the chisel plows,
another on the rear frame of the plows for the disk to hook to also a single flat drawbar to a clevis on the disk.

 

[oosik]

That setup is putting a nice finish on your land Lou. I can get the same effect, more or less, with my LPGS and scarifers down.

The other thing that becomes immediately noticeable - Where are your rocks???

100% agree on drawbar pin slop being very necessary.

 

[LouNY]

That setup is putting a nice finish on your land Lou. I can get the same effect, more or less, with my LPGS and scarifers down.

The other thing that becomes immediately noticeable - Where are your rocks???

100% agree on drawbar pin slop being very necessary.

There are lots of rocks there they just are not very noticeable in that picture and the disk is helping to push some back down. Also the chisel plows don't bring up as many as mouldboard plows do, which is a major reason we went with them.