Towing Farmall H

Anonymous-0 · Aug 16, 2012

I have a hitch on the front of my H. Is it ok to tow it this way? If so is 25mph to fast? I"ve been towing it this way for a little while now but its short distances (5 miles tops). I need to tow it about 30 miles, this is why I ask. And the reason I ask about 25mph cause that's the slowest I can set my cruise control. If I don't set it I catch myself going to fast.

rustyfarmall · Aug 16, 2012

(quoted from post at 10:33:27 08/16/12) I have a hitch on the front of my H. Is it ok to tow it this way? If so is 25mph to fast? I"ve been towing it this way for a little while now but its short distances (5 miles tops). I need to tow it about 30 miles, this is why I ask. And the reason I ask about 25mph cause that's the slowest I can set my cruise control. If I don't set it I catch myself going to fast.

Do yourself and the folks who share the road with you a BIG favor and get a trailer to haul that H on. Nothing wrong with towing it on occasion, but it sounds like you plan on moving that H on a regular basis, so it's time to invest a proper trailer.

YES, 25 mph is too fast. I'm betting that at THAT speed, that poor little H is actually AIRBORN a good part of the time.

freefour · Aug 16, 2012

I personally wouldn't tow it that far. I would borrow/rent a trailer. Much safer and quicker.

Bob M · Aug 16, 2012

25 mph is the absolute fastest I would tow IF you are towing on back roads, the tranny is filled to the proper level AND IF there's no drag on the brakes. But do not even think of exceeding that speed since you are towing a fairly heavy load with no brakes! Also, even at 25 MPH the rear end is gonna want to bounce and the tires are gonna heat up beyond what the manufacturer intended.

The safer way however - both for your H and for rest of the motoring public - is to load your H onto a suitable trailer and tow it that way.

David G · Aug 16, 2012

take a couple of hours and drive it.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 16, 2012

Thanks for the advice. I do agree and understand that it is probably better to haul it. But sometimes it just seems to be more of a pain. By the time I get a trailer, load it, strap it down, haul it, unstrap it, unload it, and unhook the trailer, I could have just pulled it there. My brother and I live 2 miles apart and share a skid loader. People always give us crap cause we drive it back and forth when the other person needs it (not that often). But it is much easier and quicker then hauling it. One time I didn't strap it, just drove slow. Wouldn't have been a problem. But out of all the people to meet on a back gravel road, it had to be a D.O.T.. $250 fine. So thats why I was asking, Thanks everyone for the advice.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 16, 2012

One more reason I'm not looking forward to hauling this, is because I'll have to haul it on a gooseneck trailer cause a car trailer is to narrow. And it gets a little scary loading it onto a gooseneck.

rustred · Aug 16, 2012

no matter how you dice it, trailer hauling is twice as fast as driving or towing that distance, and safer.

sflem849 · Aug 16, 2012

(quoted from post at 11:54:33 08/16/12) One more reason I'm not looking forward to hauling this, is because I'll have to haul it on a gooseneck trailer cause a car trailer is to narrow. And it gets a little scary loading it onto a gooseneck.

You can turn the tires around to make it less than 84 inches.

If you don't like loading it on a gooseneck it doesn't run good enough or the brakes need work. Back it on. It is way easier to back it on than back it off.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 16, 2012

You are working way too hard and taking way too much risk for the money involved in this deal. Buy yourself a second H so you can have one at each place. It would be much safer and a lot less hassle.

sflem849 · Aug 16, 2012

(quoted from post at 12:54:03 08/16/12) You are working way too hard and taking way too much risk for the money involved in this deal. Buy yourself a second H so you can have one at each place. It would be much safer and a lot less hassle.

You know, that is a good idea. For the price of a decent used deckover you could buy 3.9 Hs. :lol:

Anonymous-0 · Aug 16, 2012

You can't even buy a good big utility trailer for the price of a Farmall H. It took me a little while to figure out what the problem was with all the other suggestions, but every one of them cost more than buying a second H and most of them were dangerous.

LenND · Aug 16, 2012

You can drive it there in two hours. The cost--couple gallons of gas. Pretty cheap way.

David G · Aug 16, 2012

Haul it or drive it, would not tow it.

BigTone · Aug 16, 2012

I just towed my M 2 miles down the road at 10-15 mph and that was a bit to much for me....really bouncey and jerky, I couldn't imagine going 25 mph and 30 miles...I would trailer it, much safer.

Harold H · Aug 16, 2012

You can tow the H, but, forget the speed control. Twenty five is definitely too fast. I would go a maximum of fifteen.

Harold H

El Toro · Aug 16, 2012

I wouldn't tow it. Either haul or drive it. If it runs good should take around 3 hours to drive it. I drove a Super C about 15 miles it may have been longer. My wife drove the truck and after about 5 miles I told her to go on home. I dumped 5 gallons of gas into the tank. I also replaced an inner tube on a front tire. It was full of small gravel and had ruined the tube. I washed the gravel out using a hose. It had new tires. Hal

Heat Houser · Aug 16, 2012

When ever you tow a tractor with the rear wheels on the ground, it is a good idea to have the engine idling while you tow. On your H, the top shaft is the only one spinning and it does not dip into the oil so no splash lubrication to the tranny. By running the engine, you have the bottom shaft spinning and oil splashing around.

Pulled my 560 20 some miles that way.....but not at 25 mph. Maybe 15-20 mph at best.

mkirsch · Aug 16, 2012

I would think you'd have a vested interest in paying attention to your speed. With a little effort I would think you could keep your speed down under 20MPH.

Frankly, if you absolutely cannot control your speed you've got bigger problems than moving this tractor.

DeltaRed · Aug 16, 2012

Couple years ago,a fellow was hauling a nonchained bobcat.Hit a bump on a bridge,the bobcat bounced off the trailer and killed a young mother leaving 2 small children orphaned.If you haul it-CHAIN IT DOWN!!!

NoNewParts · Aug 17, 2012

25mph for 30 miles is too fast, too far
H is rated for about 16mph
10 over that, something will/could fail and a H is heavy enough to
take your truck with it.
if you were driving it, you would hear a bearing, gear, whatever, failing,
in your truck, you won't know until it is too late.
trailer it
like you, I hate trailering, and it was hard to use
my 'tractor money' to buy a good trailer for a half dozen uses a year.
But, when I need it, I need it.
If you don't like loading, (me neither)
build a dirt loading dock to back the trailer up to

I vote too for another tractor for both locations.
10 miles or so, I just drive them.
do whatever to make it legal and if the neighbors don't like it, too bad
(rural area here, so no problem driving em. worst problem is not getting run over by the BIG farm equipment that uses my road!)

soybeanjoe · Aug 17, 2012

We have an M & a SM that we put hitches on the front & pull them behind a pickup to run augers with. Have been doing it for close to 10 yrs & never have had a problem . However, we never pull them that fast, usually under 20 mph nor that far. Usually 2-3 miles. Did pull one once 12 miles but trailered it after that. One thing you will find out is that the front end will not only wobble at higher speeds if the thrust bearings are bad, but it will bounce as well so you better have a good set of front tires on the old girl.

Overall, my recommendation would be to haul it on a trailer.

Kelly MT · Aug 17, 2012

I did it the other way around. I put a tow bar on the truck and towed with the tractor, an Oliver 1850. My Farmall 350D will run 18 mph in road gear at PTO speed, not bad for short runs of a couple miles. Longer runs I trailer it. PK

SadFarmall · Aug 18, 2012

Have to agree with plenty of the replies. 25 miles per hour is well beyond the safe limit to tow a Farmall H. I drive my Farmall M on the road sometimes and in 5th, the throttle sits not too far above idle. High speeds cause excessive tyre wear and you only need one good pothole to put the tractor on its side at high speed. The faster the tractor travels, the less force required on a curve or corner to tip it over. Given the high centre of balance and centre of gravity 25 mph is catastrophe waiting to happen. Cary it on a truck or trailer or drive it. Farmalls are good to drive and 5th gear is fitted so you can take it on the road.
SadFarmall

Towing Farmall H

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