Pulling a trailer with your tractor

[Whitnel]

Man this thread has gotten a lot more responses that I thought it would. Looks like the group is about split in 1/2. Some will pull with the 3 point and some will not.

Thanks a bunch for the info. Some have described pulling loads that match what I have in mind.

 

[KennyV]

Look at where the axle is at on these scrappers, at the VERY back. I do not see how you could get negative tongue weight with this scrapper. Philip.

You are right... Never any negative tongue ... always a LOT of tongue weight... and when shaving a full width & loading it Pulls Very Heavy... the lower arms Are built for pulling & supporting heavy weight...

If your tractor can "Control" that weight after it is moving.... That's a different question... KennyV

 

[TripleR]

In my area I have seen semi mount plows, mower conditioners and a land plane using the 3 point hitch (or at least the lower links). I also know a farm who has a screen that mounts to the 3 point hitch to protect the back window of the cab when they mow corn stubble with their 15' rotary mower.
Otherwise, I haven't really seen much use being made of the rear 3 point on larger ag tractors.

As for towing with it, I will use it to move stuff around and to tow the rollbar rake (that way I can lift it up at the end of the row), but for any "real" towing (such as the OP is describing with a dump trailer) I would not use it.


Aaron Z

Growing up on a farm, we used much smaller tractors such as the 600-800 Fords with a John Deere or Case and Farmall; some didn't even have 3PH then. We pulled cotton trailers etc. with the horizontal draw bar on the 3PH, but backing up was a real bear as the hitch would tend to pop up. Even a trailer with pretty heavy tongue weight could pop up if you hit a rut, hole or got caught in a furrow.

When we bought a new 10' rotary cutter, we went with a pull type as opposed to semi mount as we back up some of our hills that are too steep to drive up and just couldn't see how that would work; maybe I am missing something or there is the very real possibility I don't know much about how to operate tractors or equipment.

In the end it seems most believe the way they do it is the best; maybe they're right. I gotta admit though that sometimes I ignore my advice and go for expediency, but we won't tell anybody about that.:laughing:

 

[LD1]

Man this thread has gotten a lot more responses that I thought it would. Looks like the group is about split in 1/2. Some will pull with the 3 point and some will not.

Thanks a bunch for the info. Some have described pulling loads that match what I have in mind.

And the 1/2 of us that arent afraid to use the 3PH are wanting you to be very aware of the limitations.

As I and others have stated, you NEED pleanty of tongue weight. So dont do it if you are using a dump trailer (which you never said either way). And DONT do it if you have to go down a steep hill and have to stop, or are trying to back up a steep hill. There is NOTHING holding the tongue down other than weight.

On flat ground, weight keeps it down. When you change angles and momentum (start/stop) it can raise up and screw the hitch up or come uncoupled.

 

[George2615]

I have pulled a 6000 lb camper trailer with 1200 lb. tongue weight on my 3 pt. when moving it around my yard. (My 3 pt. is rated for 2200 lb. lift) It weighs about twice my tractor but I only pull it on level ground never up or down a grade. I'd never be able to stop with that much weight behind me.

If I had to tow a heavy trailer up or down a grade I wouldn't want to tow anything that weighs more than my tractor unless I could hook up a trailer brake controller to my tractor.

 

[Localmotion]

I'm glad to hear that so many people are having no problems towing using their 3pt hitch....

But that does not change the facts (ask any serious ag machinery dealer):

1 - The 3pt hitch is designed for mounting implements. True some of these (such as scraper boxes, mowers or semi ploughs) maybe "trailed", but they are engineered to ensure sideways stress on the link arms and stabalisers are kept to a minimum. An attachment with a ball in the middle cannot allow for these stresses, as it depends upon what load you put on the trailer!

2 - As has already been mentioned - draw bars are where they are for a very good reason... low centre of gravity. This not only helps prevet tipping of tractor, but also increases traction as the transfer of weight is along the bottom of the tractor. Once you mount onto the 3pt linkage the centre of gravity is worse, even with the arms lowered. Also the distance of the trailer draw bar is usually further behind the tractor using 3pt linkage, potentially causing unstability when turning.

3 - Tongue weight - enough has already been said about it here, but please believe me that when something does go wrong and the trailer drawbar lifts it can be deadly...

I know this post will seem petty to those who use their 3pt to tow on a regualr basis, and please don't get me wrong - I also use it for shunting trailers around the yard. But if you are carting loads you should always use the drawbar (regardless of whether it is a conventional trailer, 4 wheel trailer or trailer & dolly).

If you want speed for hitching and unhitching fit a pick-up hitch (as are normally fitted on larger tractors)...

 

[Verticaltrx]

I regularly pull (via the 3PH and a hay spear with a 2-7/16" ball welded on the top), my tandem axle gooseneck, hay wagons in tandem on the drawbar (double tandem axle Geihl's with flat racks refitted) and everything in between and most times (unless empty) they weigh appreciably more than either of my tractors.

Just FYI, using one of those gooseneck hitches on the 3pt hitch is VERY hard on the top link/mount. We have one that we sometimes use on our tractors to pull a similar sized gooseneck trailer as well as a gooseneck cattle trailer, but only with light loads on relatively easy terrain. When you pull with one of those virtually 100% of the pulling force is transmitted through the top link, which it is definitely not designed for. Furthermore, the toplink mounts on the larger Kubotas are used for the draft sensing mechanism and therefore even less adapt to this kind of use.

I'm not one to tell others how to use their tractor, but just be aware of this as it is something that most people don't consider.

 

[LD1]

draw bars are where they are for a very good reason... low centre of gravity. This not only helps prevet tipping of tractor, but also increases traction as the transfer of weight is along the bottom of the tractor.

Actually, it is quite the opposite.

The low hitching point LESSENS traction as less weight is transferred to the rear tires.

A higher hitching point, like a 3PH raised up a little, INCREASE traction as ore weight is transferred.

Why do yo think they hitch so high at the truck/tractor pulls. And why do you think they impose height restrictions on drawbars for said pulls???

 

[Redneck in training]

You have to look closer at the geometry of the hitch for tractor pull. They hitch high so the front wheels will lift before the tractor loses traction. To prevent the tractor from flipping backwards they hitch behind the pivot (the point where the rear wheels meet the ground) the tractor tend to rotate. When the front wheels go up the hitch goes lower and thus shortening the arm that tries to rotate the tractor backwards. That way they create self-balancing system.
Pulling from the draw bar works similar way. If the tractor has tendency to lift the wheels the end of the draw bar goes closer to the ground. The lower it goes the smaller is the torque trying to rotate the tractor.
Pulling from the 3PH works the other way. If the 3PH lifts it increases tendency of the tractor to flip. Therefore pulling from the 3PH has certain dangers.
I do pull from the 3PH but my ball is mounted on my box blade which will pull the tongue of the trailer down and I don't try to pull anything too heavy. If I load the trailer then I hook it to the draw bar.

 

[hydro2]

I pull a dump trailer weighing over 10,000 lbs and pull a large wood trailer regularly with no problems off the three point. I also launch my boats and dock on a steep grade and have never experienced negative tougue weight. My hitch is also mounted on my box blade.