Trailer Plow Advice

I am wanting to find a trailer plow for my Super C. Am real dumb about them. Have never used one. Can anyone advise me on what I should look out for. Expect to restore but know there must be things to stay away from. Any advice greatly appreciated.

It is hard to be complete and concise over the internet, but are you looking for a plow to go plowing, or one to pull behind the tractor in parades?

If you are wanting to plow with it these are my thoughts:

Two 12" plow bottoms is about right for a Super C under most conditions. It may pull more in sandy soil, it may pull less in heavy conditions, you will need to talk to a local for more on this.

Try to find a plow that has IH "Super Chief" bottoms on it. They are the only IH plows that are easy to get wear parts (ie. shares, shins, landsides etc.) for. Do some searching online for pictures so that you know the difference. you may find "Plow Chief" bottoms but they are harder to find parts for than a Super Chief. Whatever you do, don't get one with cast iron bottoms because they will break and parts are scarce as hens teeth.

Look the plow over carefully for broken & bent pieces, worn out bushings, deep rust. Almost anything you find will have surface rust, that won't matter.

Work the depth and angle adjustments to make sure they work.

I am partial to the IH "Little Genius" plows, sometimes called a #8 Trailer Plow. They are plentiful and fairly easy to plow with. Search for pictures so you know what they look like. They can be found in either rubber tires or steel wheels. Either will work, rubber is nicer if you need to pull it on a road to get where you are going.

Don't turn down a good 3 bottom Little Genius, they can have a bottom removed to make a 2 bottom plow.

Find a local who has farmed long enough to have moldboard plow experience. Ask them to help you set it up and teach you how to use it. A properly set up plow pulls easy and straight. An improperly set up plow pulls like a beast.

If all you want is something to look nice in parades and at shows, ignore all of the above and just find something that will look nice painted up.

Good luck, I enjoy plowing far more than I do tractor pulling.

I agree a Little Genius #8 is as good as it gets. they come 1, 2, 3, and 4 bottom from what I have seen. I have a 2-14 #8 and I am looking forward to restoring and using it. I bought it with the 1928 regular I got, and they were both purchased at the same time according to the family I bought it off of.

Thanks so much for the input. I plan to use it for both. Not a lot of plowing mainly my garden or a neighbors. The advise is real helpful. Thanks again.

Tom,

You"re gonna love plowing with that regular and 2-14 genius plow. I have a 29 regular, once I get her hot enough I switch over to diesel fuel and lister to her grunt...it also smells like Mcdonalds fires...lol

The problem is you're not likely to find a trailer plow with Super Chief bottoms. It will have to be a VERY new plow, to have come with those type of bottoms on it from the factory.

By the time Super Chief bottoms came out, 2-3 bottom trailer plows were pretty much obsolete, and very few were made.

However, there were about a gajillion #8 little genius plows made. You just have to find one that isn't totally worn out so you don't have to spend lots of time hunting down replacement parts.

The other thing you could do is find a newer 3pt hitch or semi-mounted plow with Super Chief bottoms, and swap them over to a little genius frame. They will bolt right on.

Of course you could luck out and find a plow that's already been converted, or one of the rare later model plows.