Question

Why a Farmall Hs such bad pullers?

We will probably not rise to that bait! JimN

Im sorry i didnt mean any offense I just have seen a few straight Hs struggle and I would like to know the reason

A unmodified H with a distillate head will work on the farm quite well. They are heavy enough to have enough traction to pull implements well without duals. They are not HP happy.
A Super H has more cubes, more carb, and more cam in the same package. A SH is much less likely to be a Low compression Distillate Model.
A SH can be sleeved to be = to a 350 in displacement, and with all the attendant components, it will make competitive power. The Weight mentioned causes it to be in a class that includes several tractors that weigh less, and have more or equal power. They can be very successful pullers, it just takes some professionalism to make it happen. JimN

Thank you I was thinking about getting me an H.

It has very little to do with the tractor. Tractor pulling is about 95% operator skill.

Farmall H's are/were great farm tractors. However, a straight, stock H doesn't give a good account of itself on the pulling track and it's not the operator. I've seen Super C's pulling in the same weight classes as H's and the Super C's usually outpull the H's. Super H's? That's a different story.

Dave: I should have added another clause to that statment, "Preperation and Operation". No way a Super C is going to match an H unless the H operator set out to make a fool of it.

50 years ago we used to pull dead weight load based on percentage of tractor weight, 10' flat bottom stone boat, using a 4' chain. Without exception A or SA will come first, H or SH will come second, M or SM third and C or SC fourth. The A, SA, H and SH will pull right around 3 times the tractor weight. M or SM come close, but I've never seen one pull 3 times it's own weight. C and SC are a distant 3rd.

If you translate that to modern day pulling and I tune up and balance the weight on both tractors, SC won't hold a candle to the H.

Hugh, I think you are correct. With a percentage pull, the smaller tractors will just about always come in first.

I have a Super H that I pull with. Just finished up the new engine. I cant complain bout it one bit! Last pull we went to, I weighed in at 3420, in a class where you can weigh up to 4500. (percentage pulling) I pulled the sled 207 feet,in the same class, a 4500 LB 88 oliver pulled it 210 feet. So, I think a H can hold its own if done up right. Im far from stock though,, Chad

Basically, the H is too heavy for its own horsepower in the weight class it ends up in. The H will end up pulling with the Ms, Oliver Super 88s, etc. if it isn't lightened up in some way or another.

Rusty: What we encountered 50 years ago with the percentage pull, A and Super A were quite handily pulling 3 times the tractor. Limiting factor was traction, never ran out of power. H and Super H were very close, with H running out of power and Super H running out of traction. The C and Super C plain ran out of power at around 2.5 times their own weight. I can't remember anyone stumping the M or SM for power, they always ran out of traction, even when they pulled with added weight.

In this type of pull, all tractors do better with no added weights or chloride. I remember one year some guys showed up with Oliver 77, Cockshutt 40 and SM loaded for bear with weight. Tractors straight off the farm were smoking them. This is what I like about the percentage pull. Not much farming done where load comes on tractor 50' into the pull.

Several years ago I went to a slow tractor race at county fair with my SA, There was a variety of Farmalls, Cockshutts, couple of MF, Oliver and Deere. Cockshutts smoked us on that one. Surprised me, I was thinking those MF with dual range would have it. Cockshutt 20 won the slow race.

We didn't use up our allotted time and fair officials ask us to do anythig to hold the crowd in stands. They had a stone boat with 100# and 200# weights. Some of us knew our weights and some didn't. We drew straws to see what order we'd pull in. You guessed it, lone little Super A had to go first. They hitched me up, asked how much weight I wanted to start with. I told them 6,000#. Well this 100hp modern Deere came in with a jumbo pallet of weights. Ton on each one, by the time he got the third one the ring anouncer was on his case about the fact the SA was going to pull 3 times what the Deere could haul. There was a lot of laughter in the crowd at my thinking I was going to pull 6,000#. Crowd changed as I walked away with 6,000#, and the ring anouncer really got on the Deere guy parked there waiting to take weight away so I could pull it. Then he had to go for more weight. The puller could add weight in increments of 100# or 200# until it stumped him after the initial pull. I next pulled 6,400#, then I uped it to 6,800#. I was starting to get some slippage. I next went to 7,000#, by this time in a bit better ring ground I pulled that easier than I had the 6,800#. They added 200# more and I pulled that however they rulled me out. I hadn't heard this but apparently every one agreed you were out if front wheels came off the ground. The Cockshutt 20 with wheel weights and chloride spun out at 7,400#. He and I were the only two lifetime farmers. The rest most of them had farm backgrounds but hadn't been on the farm in 20 years. Most of them had tractors, as they were when they bought them, 40 plus years old. My Cockshutt friend and I then stood back and watched the rest. Some had mis matched tires, chloride in one tire, tractor not tuned right, etc., etc. The two largest tractors that night, an H and a Cockshutt 30. None of them pulled a 1,000# more than SA or Cockshutt 20. I was in there at 2.97 times my own weight. 3.06 if you allow the 7,200# pull. 50 years ago I would have been given a chance at 7,400#. Cockshutt 20 guy would have been close, he probably weighed 2,800 which would have given him 2.57 at 7,200. I doubt if anyone else pulled twice the tractor weight. I stand by my opinion, operator ability has more to do with winning tractor pulls, be they percentage pulls or modern day pulls, than the tractor. I base this on pulls I've watched.

I've never taken part in modern day pulls. My 1066 was one year old when modern day pulls came to our town. IH dealer wanted me to enter. My tractor was 60 miles away with duals on and pulling down $600. per day on custom work. I said I'd take the 560, and they advised stock couldn't be more than 20% over rated hp, and they would be using a dyno. I told them they could shove their rules were the sun don't shine. Anytime I've looked at pulling since, too many childish rules. For example pull officials say I can't use my 130 one point fast hitch for pulling.