Towing with a Ball and Drawbar
- Thread starter 8N_John
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Where can I find the EZ mover advertisement or the drawbar lock? I think I will get one of them. )</font>
John, if you look at the second thread in this fourm (attachments) you'll wee the EZ mover ad. Just click on that link as you do for any other thread. Happy New Year, John
John, if you look at the second thread in this fourm (attachments) you'll wee the EZ mover ad. Just click on that link as you do for any other thread. Happy New Year, John
sherpa
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Question? Looking at the attachment that jinman posted of the 8N with the sway bars attached to the top link, will that lift work that way? It appears to me that if you would engage the lift it would bend the 2 sway bars? Just curious.
sherpa
sherpa
jinman
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Question? Looking at the attachment that jinman posted of the 8N with the sway bars attached to the top link, will that lift work that way? It appears to me that if you would engage the lift it would bend the 2 sway bars? Just curious.
sherpa )</font>
You are exactly right, Sherpa. The reason for the stays is to lock the arms into position so they will not move. Many of us have towed an old trailer with a split tongue which fits over & under the drawbar. That's how trailers were made before trailer balls became popular. With those trailers, you didn't have to worry about the drawbar rotating, but if you started too quickly or got a load too far back on the trailer, the tongue would just raise the lift arms since the lift cylinder is single-acting. To prevent this unstable situation, the lift-arm stays were invented.
If you look at my photo again, you will see that the stays are slightly bent. That happens when someone forgets they are attached and raises the 3PH. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif You have to use your "noodles" when the stays are attached. On the other hand, they hold the lift arms so they won't flop around. They are also two-piece assemblies, making them adjustable in length. This allows the drawbar to be set at different heights for different trailer applications. I suspect the old Ford tractors have pulled lots of drawbar towed implements with varied height requirements.
If you forget and raise the lift, most likely the pressure relief valve will open and save the lift arms from looking like doglegs. That was the case in the old Fords where the 3PH maximum lift was 2000#. I wouldn't recommend the stays on a newer tractor unless they were "beefed up" quite a bit. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
sherpa )</font>
You are exactly right, Sherpa. The reason for the stays is to lock the arms into position so they will not move. Many of us have towed an old trailer with a split tongue which fits over & under the drawbar. That's how trailers were made before trailer balls became popular. With those trailers, you didn't have to worry about the drawbar rotating, but if you started too quickly or got a load too far back on the trailer, the tongue would just raise the lift arms since the lift cylinder is single-acting. To prevent this unstable situation, the lift-arm stays were invented.
If you look at my photo again, you will see that the stays are slightly bent. That happens when someone forgets they are attached and raises the 3PH. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif You have to use your "noodles" when the stays are attached. On the other hand, they hold the lift arms so they won't flop around. They are also two-piece assemblies, making them adjustable in length. This allows the drawbar to be set at different heights for different trailer applications. I suspect the old Ford tractors have pulled lots of drawbar towed implements with varied height requirements.
If you forget and raise the lift, most likely the pressure relief valve will open and save the lift arms from looking like doglegs. That was the case in the old Fords where the 3PH maximum lift was 2000#. I wouldn't recommend the stays on a newer tractor unless they were "beefed up" quite a bit. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
sherpa
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Thanks jinman. I just wanted to make sure. I have an 8N and have experienced some of the things you talked about.
I like that setup except for the part where you would bend the bars with the lift.
Sherpa
I like that setup except for the part where you would bend the bars with the lift.
Sherpa
I think its a lot easier, cheaper, and safer to just use the non-lifting, fixed draw-bar. I don't know enough about the 8n, but I would assume it can be equipped with a fixed drawbar.
Yes, you give up the ability to lift the trailer tongue with the 3-point, but its not like most people are moving a hundred trailers around every day.
Yes, you give up the ability to lift the trailer tongue with the 3-point, but its not like most people are moving a hundred trailers around every day.
BobG_in_VA
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Jinman, being master of the obvious and having been raised on an 8N, one does never have the PTO engaged (also operates the lift) when one has the drawbar with stays in place. The stays will keep it from dropping. BobG in VA
jhbusa
Bronze Member
Keeny, I'm thinking the same thing. I'm still very new at all this, but why wouldn't one just mount the ball on the fixed draw bar. What am I missing? (Haven't tried it yet). Will a sharp turn jack the trailer against the rear tractor wheels or something? Go ahead, call me dumb, I can take it. Just don't let my me destroy my nice new tractor or the nice new trailer.
I see how it could be convenient to lift the trailer with the 3pt though.
I see how it could be convenient to lift the trailer with the 3pt though.
MMM
Platinum Member
There might be a problem of tire clearance and turns on some tractor and trailer combos (not mine). Depends on tongue length etc. I guess. There are also drawbar extensions and adjustable drawbarsfor extra length. On the rare occasion my truck can't do the job, I just put the ball on the swinging drawbar and pin it.
