Towing a trailer

MossRoad · Dec 30, 2001

DFB. Good caution point. I had the same warning on my pickup plow and it is true at highway speeds on a truck. It blocks the airflow through the radiator and the truck overheats. However, the only thing that I have found that overheated my tractor was grass in the radiator. I've carried large loads in my loader great distances with it raised right in front of my radiator without so much as a bump in the temp. Like Bird said, two machines with different uses.

Bob,
One other point. Does the tractor have turning brakes? If it does, be sure to lock the pedals together for any road travel. If you step on one turning brake at high speed, a roll over could easily occur.

Bob_Trevithick · Dec 31, 2001

...One other point. Does the tractor have turning brakes? If it does, be sure to lock the pedals together for any road travel. If you step on one turning brake at high speed, a roll over could easily occur.

Yes it does, and yes I will! In fact, I leave them locked together normally. I haven't yet had a chance to use the tiller or mower or any other implement where sharp turning might be needed, so figured I'd make sure I didn't forget someday by just leaving them locked. I did experiment a bit, and it's quite surprising how sharply you can turn with this approach. I can imagine hitting one rear brake could be "exciting" while on the road!

Thanks for the reminder!

Bob

cowboydoc · Dec 31, 2001

Bird,
I'd have to agree with you on the heating up issue. I've blocked the front end with implements on every kind of tractor for sometimes the whole summer and have never experienced an overheating problem with any tractor. On the 4600 I rountinely pull a round bale trailer with six round bales and one on the front loader. These bales are the 5 and 6' ones and completely block the radiator. The needle doesn't even move after I get up to operating temps. I've hauled this load five miles or so and no problems. If it doesn't heat up with a round bale blocking it I really doubt it would heat up with a blade blocking the front end.

Bird · Dec 31, 2001

Yep, DFB, I'd be very cautious about anything blocking the air flow on a car or truck, so it's a "logical" assumption that it would apply to a tractor, too, and of course, I tend to keep a pretty close watch on the temperature gauge on any vehicle.

And Bob, I didn't even think about mentioning having the brake pedals locked together 'cause, like you, I leave them that way unless I specifically need them separated for something.

MossRoad · Dec 31, 2001

Good job! My IH2500B has turning brakes, and I leave them locked as well. I've never had the need to use them. I did like you, played with them and watched them dig a big hole as I pivoted on one wheel. Thought, Hey, that's neat, and never used them again. I could see where they would be handy if I was row cropping, but for day to day use, I don't need them.

Thomas · Dec 31, 2001

Also turning brakes come in handy when plowing snow in a tight area,also scooting between trees...but you gotta remember if there attachment on the back. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Bob_Trevithick · Dec 31, 2001

...Also turning brakes come in handy when plowing snow in a tight area,also scooting between trees...but you gotta remember if there attachment on the back. 

Maybe I'll try them when (if?) we get some snow..

I'll bet there are some stories out there about people who forgot about rear implements while performing some of these tight turns!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bob

RoyJackson · Dec 31, 2001

Hahahaha!
With me..I gotta remember to watch the FEL when I'm watching the rear implement

TerryinMD · Dec 31, 2001

Bob,

Another feature of the fixed "swinging" drawbar is that it is reversable. If you remove the pin and examine the drawbar, you will notice that the there are is one hole larger than the rest. On my 4100, most of the holes are 3/4" and there is one 1" hole. This will allow you to use a larger ball (buy a set of sleeves to adjust) or other hook/clevis.

The 3pt hitch drawbar is great for pulling out posts, saplings, and a whole range of other uses.

Terrry

beenthere · Dec 31, 2001

I don't leave my 'turning brake' pedals locked. I use them for more than just turning, as when I lose traction with one wheel (on a slick spot, load more on one side as when on a slope, etc.) I touch the brake on the spinning wheel to get traction from the other.
Also, when I am on the road, I do lock the pedals, but would only lightly touch them to slow down. Anything sudden when at road speed can 'upset the apple cart'. Letting off the HST pedal usually slows the tractor quickly enough without having to do anything with the brakes.
On some models of tractors the left/right brake pedals are worthless altogether because they are on the same side as the HST pedals.

forestcreature · Dec 31, 2001

my main reason for using the 3pt drawbar is so i can offset a roller or a rake so that it will cover up my tire tracks. [this, of course, makes me dizzy since i always have to turn in the same direction]

MossRoad · Dec 31, 2001

Isn't HST nice? You let off the pedal and it stops itself. Heck, my PT425 doesn't even have brakes. Just a forward and reverse pedal. That's it.

John_Mc · Jan 1, 2002

Bob -

I got my 3 pt hitch draw bar thrown in for free when I bought the tractor. I think I remember seeing a $60 price tag on it. You Probably could do better if you shop around a bit. On thing to consider along with it: There is nothing to prevent this bar from flipping around in the ball ends of your 3 pt hitch arms (other than the socket on the trailer). Most places that sell the draw bar also sell a lock to hold it in place. It's usually a sleeve that fits over one of the lower hitch arms, with a rectangular slot the the draw bar goes through before going in to ball socket on the lower 3 pt hitch arm.

It's very convenient for moving a variety of trailers for quick short hauls. You can even mount a couple of diferent sized balls in it, since there are multiple holes. As others have noted, the swinging draw bar is better for long hauls or heavy loads.

John

billboe · Jan 1, 2002

Actually, I probably won't load this very heavy at first. I'd rather make a number of safe trips than one risky one (what my dad used to call a Lazy Man's Load!

I worked for a german gentleman when I was growing up... One of his favorite says was: "A lazy donkey carries himself to death; a busy donkey runs himself to death"... I guess you just can't win! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

jdrotert · Jan 2, 2002

Check out this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=implement&Number=78267&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1/>thread</A> for what I (and some others) use for towing dities. As you can see, I have a swinging drawbar too, but rarely use it for towing because the hole in the end is too small for a ball (if I remember right, it's only 3/4"). I use it for a tie down on a trailer mostly.

Bob_Trevithick · Jan 2, 2002

...Check out this thread for what I (and some others) use for towing dities.

Thanks.. I was trying to picture these things. This did the trick!

Oh, a quick somewhat-related question. I understand one shouldn't use the swinging drawbar in the "parked" position for towing, because of tractor clearance problems. But is there any reason not to leave it in the parked (innermost) position if all I want to do is put a clevis on it and use it to connect a chain to pull out stuck cars? It would let me keep my rear dirt scoop full of sand bags on.. just lift it up to clear the chain and away we go.

Thanks,
Bob

Bird · Jan 2, 2002

No problem at all, Bob.

jdrotert · Jan 2, 2002

Bob,
I just leave mine in place all the time. I'd loose it other wise. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Bob_Trevithick · Jan 6, 2002

...Bob, I understand wanting to use the blade for front counterweight in this situation but blades also block air flow to the radiator too. Couple this with towing a heavy load at slow speeds for several miles and depending on the ambient air temps overheating could result.

I just read in another thread that some of the Kubotas have fans which "push" the air through the radiator, rather than "pull" it through. My first thought on reading that was that the tractor's forward motion must be considered completely irrelevant to cooling. Or am I misunderstanding something here? Certainly a tractor in "creeper" gear doing heavy work can't count on a lot of air from forward motion.. unless there is a heavy wind blowing in the right direction. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Is it true that some tractors do in fact push the air with their fan rather than pull it? If so, this would seem a compelling argument that a front blade isn't going to cause any cooling problems?

beenthere · Jan 6, 2002

Bob
I agree with you, as you suggest, a tractor can't count on its velocity to get air through the radiator. And some use push and some pull to move the air with the fan blades.
Also, as far as the compelling argument you bring up about the front blade, Bird addressed support of that in his 12/30/01 8:58 pm message in this thread. And I would weigh in on the side that a front blade makes no difference. Debris in the radiator, and load on the engine would tend to contribute to a problem with overheating way before anything else. Probably the same thing with trucks with front blades overheating. Its likely not the blade restricting air, but maybe snow in the radiator blocking flow, or keeping the fan blade from turning after punching through a big drift. Have had both of those things happen. (And when the front end is fully packed with snow, don't whip out the electric heater to melt it quickly. It will make a twisted mess of the plastic covering on the bumper and the valance /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif).