Pulling with the draw bar?

[dos_perros]

What is the best fastening system for pulling with the draw bar using chain or cable? Draw bar has 3/4 inch holes. Thanks.

 

[art]

They build a hook that has a drawbar hitch pin hole on the other end. Another alternative is a clevis with hitch pin to fasten. Those would be my favorites.

 

[PineRidge]

I agree with Art that is the way to go.

Just be careful when using any chain for pulling purposes. Years ago while in Hershey PA I saw an antique collector tow a very, very valuable antique Cadillac using a chain. in the process the chain came loose from the pulling vehicle and took out more than several hundred dollars woth of headlights and driving lights on the front of the old Cadillac.

It could just as easy hit you in the back while on a tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

"It could just as easy hit you in the back while on a tractor"

Find something to sheath the chain in when you're using it. A section of worn out fire hose (shouldn't be too difficult to find, especially if you've a volunteer fire dept.) ought to do it.

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> Find something to sheath the chain in when you're using it. A section of worn out fire hose (shouldn't be too difficult to find, especially if you've a volunteer fire dept.) ought to do it. </font>

I would think that hose remedy would be a very good idea.

 

[bigpete]

Here's a good but brief page on safety:

Safe Use of Tow Ropes, Cables and Chains

The fire hose idea is excellent. I have seen farmers drape another length of loose chain back and forth across the pull chain when removing something like a stump or getting another machine un-stuck. I have also heard of laying heavy blankets across a chain for a removal. None of these suggestions would make sense for distance towing, however. The key in any of these methods is to divert the linear energy from an assembly broken under stress in a direction different than the original energy of the pull.

There are also hundreds of posts in the safety forum right here at TBN. I personally believe you cannot read enough about safety. That's just me, though.

 

[dos_perros]

bigpete. Excellent article! Still unclear on best fastener to attach chain, cable, etc. to drawbar. What is safest, most reliable, practical fastener? Any photos? Thanks.

 

[MajMac392]

It's interesting that the drawbar is the preferred method of pulling. It makes sense because it is the low point but here is something that happened to me to make me think the drawbar wasn't as strong as I thought it was. Several times I have wrapped a piece of chain around the butt end of a felled tree and lifted the butt up, then dragged it to where it was more convenient to cut up. I was moving a maple tree that the top had come off in an ice storm, the butt end was somewhere around 16 – 18” and the tree was probably 30’ long. I lifted the butt up with the 3 Pt hitch no problem and dragged it for a ways. While I was dragging the tree, it was bobbing a little. When I got off the tractor to take the chain off the tree I found the drawbar had a big bend in, probably deflected 2-3 inches anyway. I think on one of its ‘bobs’, it dug into the ground a little and bent the drawbar. The drawbar is one of the standard looking ones I got from my dealer, about ¾ to 7/8” or so and probably 24” long. I had the drawbar straightened at a friends machine shop but I have been leery of ‘dragging’ to many trees since.

 

[bigpete]

Dos Perros, the drawbar hook is my preference. A clevis is my second choice. There's a thread half way down this Attachments board on that very topic.

Drawbar hook

 

[Soundguy]

One thing to keep in mind... if you are pulling from the 3pt drawbar.. use a drawbar stay to keep it down.. you never want to pull from a level above your axle...

Soundguy

 

[kensfarm]

After reading your post.. I was wondering if people were getting confused between the drawbar that extends out from underneath the tractor's rear differential.. vs a drawbar that attaches to the 3pt hydrolic arms.

Raising the log up w/ the 3pt hitch drawbar to avoid the log from digging in the ground can save your lawn.. but also increases the danger of flipping the tractor over backwards.

For dragging logs.. I use the drawbar extending out from below the differential w/ a "D" clevis using logging chains. Doesn't mean you can't flip the tractor w/ this configuration.. but you are pulling from the lowest point.

****
In a recent article in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, NIOSH warned that improperly attaching a tow chain to a point above the tractor's drawbar can cause tractors to suddenly flip backward.

In 16 (59%) of the 27 reported incidents, improper hitching of equipment or material for towing was believed to be the primary cause of the rollover; 10 (63%) of these 16 rollovers resulted in fatalities. The remaining 11 rollovers were associated with various factors, including ensnaring the towed item on a stump, imbalance resulting from pulling an excessively heavy load, or ascending a steep incline in forward gear rather than backing up the hill; five of these incidents resulted in fatalities.

 

[SPIKER]

hey: I agree with others, draw bar is #1 choice for pulling HEAVY objects, 2nd is 3pt "T" type draw bar, which you can raise the end as described above with the maple tree, i have my own that I made for a few bucks worth of scrap steel tubing.

NEVER USE A CABLE

the cable will STORE enegry and if/when it breaks it will SNAP LIKE A RUBBER BAND and come back at you, I've seen them snap more than once. CABLES are OK for TOW TRUCKS where LOTS OF LENGHT is needed, but at the same time they are installed on whinches which can't produce enough energy to break them unless the cable is in bad shape.

LOG CHAINS are best bet, and if you think you are pulling at or near it's limits, then wrapping an old blanket around it near the end that is being pulled is a good idea. D rings on the LOWER FRAME mounted draw bar for pulling stumps ect. and use shortest lenght possable.

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[dos_perros]

Thank you for all the information, links, and photos. I am planning on using the drawbar that comes out from the rear of my tractor, not the 3-pt. Will be ordering both the hook and the D-ring. As always, useful, timely information. Thank you.

 

[BillyP]

Here's a way to stop a broken chain from doing you bodily harm.

Get a good strong rope, say 5 or 6 feet longer than the chain. Weave the rope through the chain links (every foot or two). Securely attached the ends of the rope wherever you attached the ends chain (be sure to attach rope and chain separate from each other).

If the chain breaks, the rope will keep the chain under control. The 5 or 6 foot of slack should give you time to stop the tractor.