Drawbar question

Mike CA · Oct 20, 2009

I was toying with the idea of not using the actual drawbar on my H. I could turn the frame into a platform or seat, and then attach a ball hitch on the center rear. However, a friend gave me a bit of a cross look when I told him that.

Is that unsafe? All I plan on doing is pulling wagons of people. Could I put me or them at risk if I don't use the draw bar?

Harold H · Oct 20, 2009

Definitely HITCH ONLY TO DRAWBAR. Hitching to a seat frame or anything in line with the axle is extermely dangerous.

Harold H

rustred · Oct 20, 2009

mike, from what i understand is your removing the brawbar or not using it.if your hooking the ball to the drawbar resting piece thats clamped to the rear axles then thats perfectly safe.there is a guy here that dont use a drawbar in tractor pulls and just hooks to that cross iron piece. myself i dont think that is fair, but i dont think anyone has caught on to what he is doing.build it and go for it. is that for public or private use? just thinking of the insurance end of it, as things are coming to that.

rustyfarmall · Oct 21, 2009

Mike, if you are talking about the "swinging" drawbar, it CAN be safely removed. The swinging drawbar is NOT standard equipment. It was an option, and was intended to be used only when pulling tillage equipment such as a disc harrow. It is perfectly O.K. to hitch a wagon directly to the "horseshoe", or "U" shaped portion as that IS the drawbar.

Anyone who thinks I am wrong, just take a look in your owners manual.

mkirsch · Oct 21, 2009

As long as you're not trying to run PTO equipment, hitching to the horseshoe is perfectly acceptable.

jwal10 · Oct 21, 2009

Mike, just make sure ALL THE BOLTS are good. A DRAWBAR is mounted to the underside of the tractor and is a straight pull, where the u-shaped hitch is mounted high on the axles and changes the geometry. You will be fine pulling a wagon though. There is a video on U-tube where a woman was pulling with a Farmall M and part of the hitch broke (she was not using a drawbar) it flipped the tractor over on top of her, she was very lucky....James

Harold H · Oct 21, 2009

I interperted that he was talking about turning the U drawbar up or something and using it for a seat frame and not talking about a swinging drawbar. He can hook to U drawbar or swinging drawbar in normal position, but do not hook to a seat frame/modified drawbar that is high. All pulling forces should be transmitted from below the axle center point to put down force on the front of the tractor. Even if just pulling a wagon or such, if the pull point is at or above the centerline of the rear axle, something could happen to the wagon, ie. axle break or hit a large hole, etc, and this could cause the front of the tractor to lift and loose steering control or worse. Only hook to the U or swinging drawbar in original position.

Harold H

Mike CA · Oct 21, 2009

Yes, just hooking to the "horseshoe" drawbar frame is all I was asking.

Thanks for the answers gents!

Janicholson · Oct 21, 2009

The opinions below are correct. I think an H without the long drawbar looks a bit naked, but that is an opinion. Making a seat mount that bolted to the U frame (with the braces in place!, and proper tight axle clamps) is interesting if it is designed to prevent people from sticking their legs onto the ground in front of the seat. I would also recomment against pulling a wagon with people on an extra seat behind the tractor. Falling off, or strapped in, it is a bad place to have visitors.
Put passengers on the wagon, not in harms way. Jim

rustyfarmall · Oct 21, 2009

(quoted from post at 07:51:01 10/21/09) Yes, just hooking to the "horseshoe" drawbar frame is all I was asking.

Thanks for the answers gents!

Mike, the swinging drawbar, mounting bracket, and drawbar roller are all items that you do not need. A brand new swinging drawbar retails for well over $100.

Mike CA · Oct 21, 2009

I've got the swinging drawbar and roller. They just aren't installed, and I was wondering if I needed to install them. Guess I won't be doing that right now.

Anonymous-0 · Oct 21, 2009

I know you are kind of a CA "city boy" so just some friendly farmer advice. Be sure you have liability insurance if you are going to host hayrides. It is a lot of fun, I did it several times with my SC Case when our kids were growing up. However, I made sure that I had insurance. I have seen pictures of your tractor and I know it is a safe as it can possibly be, but anything can happen anytime with any kind of equipment (farm, auto, boat, etc) Call your agent before you have the first hayride. And also, I always had a car follow the wagon with the flashers on for an extra margin of safety.

Mike CA · Oct 21, 2009

This first event will be a parade. But I'll look into insurance for it. I know USAA won't cover it, so I'll have to look into something else.

Drawbar question

Mike CA

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Harold H

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rustred

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rustyfarmall

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mkirsch

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jwal10

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Harold H

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Mike CA

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Janicholson

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rustyfarmall

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Mike CA

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Anonymous-0

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Mike CA

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