(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

300U - pulling from a fast hitch

Our Phone System is Down!

Please use the Contact us Form

We are working to resolve the issue ASAP! Thanks for your patience!

D

Dave H (MI)

Well-known Member
It's been a sad thing indeed but the Emerald Ash Borer has left my woodlot bereft of Ash trees...I suspect permanently. I have several pretty large trees healed over into surviving oaks and hickories. Thinking the 300U has the guts to get these pulled down but it has a FH and I would be pulling from a drawbar inserted into the lift arms. Now I know enough not to pull from a 3 pt hitch but the FH is attached up under the transmission and not to the rear axle...more like a traditional drawbar. If I keep the hitch lowered will I be reasonably save from going over backwards if a log hangs up or should I pull from a clevis on the front of the tractor? Not dragging the logs, just pulling them down off the trees they are leaning against.
 
I pull from the FH drawbar on my 300 RC all of the time, it seems to do okay. I would be VERY careful pulling down trees that are hung up. I don't know how familiar you are with this kind of job but it is (in my opinion) one of the most dangerous woodlot tasks you can undertake. Just use enough chain or cable so you are far beyond where the tree could fall or kick.
Zach
 
I have always used my insert draw bar on my 340. You can lower the drawbar down lower than a standard one. On my 340 I have had a problem with the trans mounted attachment working loose so now I check it regularly. As Zach said make sure you have enough rope or cable to be well away from the falling tree. Our ash trees here in the UP are getting hit bad now too. Be careful!!
 
I have a lot of chain. I will be further from the tree than it can reach. Appreciate the help.

I had a neighbor a couple years back, talk about Darwin awards, who I caught pulling down a tree with a tractor. He had the tractor UNDER the leaning tree and was pulling with a rope which was at close to a 45 angle from tractor to tree. I loaned him two lengths of rope and we pulled it down. It landed where he had the tractor originally. True story.
 
I have done a lot of pulling off a fast hitch , BUT one thing i will not do is pull trees with a wheel tractor , ain't no flippen way will i do that . Yep guys do it and some get away with it and some don't . The only way i will fight with a snag tree is either with a dozer bigger then the tree or a track hoe . And with a dozer only if it has sweeps and a ROPS. That tree probably out weighs your 300 and if something went wrong it could make your 300 look like a fishing fly on a pole . So myself i would pay someone to come in with equipment BIG enough to get them trees on the ground SAFELY . That way you can LIVE to play another day.
 
like said, pulling from the fast hitch is ok, designed for it.
But, even a small tree will toss around/up a tractor like
a toy if it goes wrong.
Long chain, cable,
chain a pulley or old rim to the base of a standing tree.
tractor, chain thru rim, then to leaner.
Then you are pulling level and a 'pull back' will just pull you toward the tree base.

And like all rear lift tractors, putting on a implement like a rear blade and pulling from that with it barely dragging the ground is always safer.

and with all that said, I don't do it at all anymore after some
close calls.
I use long chains, winches, come-alongs now.
And at the first movement of the tree, I RUN, away from the tree, chains, cables, everything :D
 
hey there, I am doing the same job with my 300U in NY. I would suggest you get MORE chain so any stray limbs that break off don't hit you, get as far from the tree as you can. Especially if there are a lot of dead, dry limbs up there.
be safe
 
After considerable reflection, I think I will run chain end to end until I get to the truck winch. I'll nudge the thing until it starts to move and then switch it to free spool and run in the other direction. This is why I always like to ask! Thanks to all for the help!
 
Actually not pulling it down. These are all broke off at the base. Ash wood does not hold up long after it dies. These trees are leaning on other trees and will come down with only a nudge. Most are not even close to half the weight of the 300 with all the added weight. Still going to look for safer alternatives, though. Not lining up to be a farm statistic. Thanks, Gene.
 
Make sure you have the F-H pinned so it does not slide up when pulling if you decide to do it that way. If it's not pinned solid, it will pull up and the higher you are connected to the tractor, the more likely you could go over backwards. Pin it down low and the worst that can happen is to lose traction, providing you are far enough from the tree.
Dad pulled a 3x16" pull type plow and an 11 1/2' disk with the Fast Hitch drawbar on his Farmall 460 and I pulled a plow with a 450 from the F-H drawbar. Unlike most 3 points, they were made to be pulled from.
 
I think the fast hitch drawbar will handle all the pulling force a 300U can muster.
My 300U and I just finished clearing woods for our house, drain field and driveway. I ran into a couple good-sized oaks that got tangled up in standing trees while felling and I had to get them down. I cinched a strap on real low and pulled the base away from the lean. Be smart, be careful and mind your "what if's".
I was most pleased at the way my 300U performed in the woods and it was well suited to (almost like made for) all the tasks related to the clearing. I was wearing a big grin for 2 weeks straight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Farmall 350 Fast Hitch and Remote Questions
Replies
9
Views
818
Bill VA
B
R
Fast hitch to 3 point adapter
Replies
8
Views
3K
povertyknob
P
1
48 vac w/master frame hitch
Replies
3
Views
656
Tgrasher
Tgrasher
I
more JD 2020 questions
Replies
14
Views
952
BillCinNY
B
R
Farmall 450 fast hitch hydraulic - again
Replies
15
Views
1K
RandyM
R
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top