Plow Pulls Sideways

Help, please. I've got a three bottom P & O tractor plow. I've been told this is also a McCormick-Deering No.8. I have a manual and have studied it. But the plow seems to fight hard against pulling straight. According to the manual, the hitch adjustment is only for establishing the correct width cut of the front moldboard. Is this a problem of the triangle hitch adjustment? Is it a problem of the landslide? Is it just too dull? Or is it something else? Thanks for the ideas. kelly in TX.

Is it pulling right or left? What are you pulling with and what is the wheel width setting? These plows were intended for one wheel in the furrow so if you are trying to plow on land you might be causing a problem.

If it is pulling such that the beams tend to drag toward the left (un turned earth) the land slides, or their adjustment is suspect. letting it pull crooked takes power away from productivity. The land slides should be aligned with the beams. Careful measurement can be done by using a flat wall position the plow so the beams are parallel with the wall, and measure perpendicular to the wall to the left edge of the shin, and the rear of the land slide. (assumes the plow is sitting level on flat ground or concrete) Jim

I agree with Jim, the land slides must be pulling straight. Make sure they are with the plow in the up position. If the plow is not towing straight in the up position it will not tend to plow straight.

The tail wheel needs to be set (turned)to help straiten the plow. Just a thought.

first of all is it going in the ground and what shape is the shares in? how hard is the ground?

It is a good thought. If the plow is a true trailer plow with a rubber tire trailer wheel it does little to force true running, if it has a steel trailer wheel that rubs the left wall of the furrow, it should be adjusted to match the landslides. It will assist in true running, but not alone. Jim

I pulled a JD 2-14 plow with a custom 3-point hitch on a Farmall "H", and she slewed around sideways all the time until I invented a turn-buckle. I rigged it between the right-hand draw-arm, and the middle of the plow, so it pulled the 0low over and held it exactly 14" from the inside of the right tire. Cuts perfect.

send me an email. I have some pages scanned I can send you.

Jim,

I trule recognize you as a very valid expert on all IH matters, and have learned a lot from you, but I think I place more value on the setting of the rear wheel on the #8 plow. My plow manual states (I don"t have it with me here) the rear wheel should be set so that it pushes the back end of the rear landside off the furrow wall about 1/4 inch. Then, that vertical bolt at the top of the rear mechanism needs to be turned so that the rear moldboard is lifted (ever so slightly) off the bottom of the plowed surface to decrease friction (this part is tricky).

I accomplished this with much trial and error, with a friend driving the tractor and me walking along, stopping, wrenching, etc. When I got it where it looked to be correct, I was surprised how much easier the plow pulled; my H ran like a Super H! And the plow pulled straight.

After this experience, when I see a trailer plow in the ground and the trailing wheel is just wobbling along, I cringe. Another result of all this is the furrow wall is much cleaner and very little dirt thrown on top of the unplowed area next to the furrow.

I am sure more adjusting needs to be done with the plow under discussion (moldboard condition, hitch setting, leveling of plow, etc), but I feel the trailer wheel adjustment is a good place to start.

If adjusted and the rear wheel is really struggling to stay down in the furrow then something else is going on that needs adjusting.

I find plowing to be the most fun of all "old iron" activities, but a plow not working properly can be a real pain.

LA in WI

PS We have our Reedsburg, Wi, area plow day set for Sat, April 5th. With all the snow and cold it looks like we will have to delay the date!

I spelled "truly" as "trule". Hate when that happens. Even missed it with proof reading.
LA in WI

You are absolutely correct. As often the case, we make assumptions about the situation and go from what we think of. The wheel to plow distance is dramatically important. Westill need more information to get serious with the recommendations. Jim

I went through this when setting up an old #8 that I found somewhere. Reading the manual made a ton of difference.

Thanks to ALL for all the ideas. They are appreciated! Perhaps someday I'll be able to get this plow to work well. It seems to be a good one. I bought new parts for the lift which works well now and if and when I get it to pull straight, it should be lots of fun (and actually do some good for me too!). Thanks again, kelly