Draw bar uses if you have a 3-point or quick hitch mounted receiver?

[mcmxi]

Just a quick sanity check re the the draw bar. My MX came with a heavy duty draw bar but I can't see any reason to use it if I have a heavy duty receiver on the quick hitch. Basically I want to "donate" the draw bar to a new receiver that I'm going to make for the MX. I don't want to chop it up only to find that I needed it for something.

Thanks.

 

[Bmyers]

I have used my drawbar to pull wagons that we have.

 

[mcmxi]

I have used my drawbar to pull wagons that we have.

Thanks ... but is it redundant if you have a receiver with ball on the 3-point or quick hitch? Is there some hidden function that I'm not aware of that would make me regret chopping it up and welding other pieces of steel to it to make a heavy duty receiver?

I use a receiver on the BX quite regularly and it's easy to hook up a trailer given that the 3-point moves up and down so no need to mess with the jack. I have a PJ 16' dump trailer and MidSota 22' utility trailer, both of which are too heavy to safely move with the BX so that's why I want to make a receiver for the MX.

 

[85Hokie]

A draw bar always pulls below the center of gravity of the tractor - if pulling something extremely heavy via draw bar wise you will have loss of traction as the worse case.

If using the 3 point or bucket - you will eventually RAISE the center of gravity and thus be putting the operator is danger. The 3 points can raise since there are no down pressures available.


Now despite saying all that ..... I pull a 1500 lb trailer around my yard with my B7100 with a 3 point ball hitch....... and I raise it a bit to move the trailer and then lower it ..... but I move it about .5 mph and every now and again the front end will loose traction and come off the ground a bit.

So - I am guilty of the same!!! But I have a hook on the end of my draw bar - for pulling logs or something else that does not push down on the tractor itself.

 

[Bmyers]

Thanks ... but is it redundant if you have a receiver with ball on the 3-point or quick hitch? Is there some hidden function that I'm not aware of that would make me regret chopping it up and welding other pieces of steel to it to make a heavy duty receiver?

I use a receiver on the BX quite regularly and it's easy to hook up a trailer given that the 3-point moves up and down so no need to mess with the jack. I have a PJ 16' dump trailer and MidSota 22' utility trailer, both of which are too heavy to safely move with the BX so that's why I want to make a receiver for the MX.

When I'm using my drawbar, it is a pin on wagon, not a ball pulled. I do have a 3-pt ball attachment that I use to move our trailers around with, but the farm wagons are just drop pin connectors.

 

[Motion]

I agree with 85 Hokie, regarding center of gravity. I believe your Kubota manual states not to pull from anywhere except from the drawbar. Mine is a straight pull, I don't have a need for a swinging type. I added a hammer strap and drilled the holes slightly oversize (1"), so as to be the same size as my other tractors, it's good for larger equipment (i.e. trailer mounted sprayers), that's not 3 point compatible, I use it for pulling my chain harrow, it works as a tie down when on a trailer, when dropping trees to insure they go you want them to, etc..

 

[SDT]

A draw bar always pulls below the center of gravity of the tractor - if pulling something extremely heavy via draw bar wise you will have loss of traction as the worse case.

If using the 3 point or bucket - you will eventually RAISE the center of gravity and thus be putting the operator is danger. The 3 points can raise since there are no down pressures available.


Now despite saying all that ..... I pull a 1500 lb trailer around my yard with my B7100 with a 3 point ball hitch....... and I raise it a bit to move the trailer and then lower it ..... but I move it about .5 mph and every now and again the front end will loose traction and come off the ground a bit.

So - I am guilty of the same!!! But I have a hook on the end of my draw bar - for pulling logs or something else that does not push down on the tractor itself.

Agreed.

Overhauling loads should always be pulled by the swinging drawbar rather than the three point hitch.

Towing a trailer downhill from the three point hitch without drawbar stays can allow the hitch to raise and disconnect.

Operators have been killed in this way.

SDT

 

[mcmxi]

Whoa! I kind of thought I was asking a stupid question but I guess not! Clearly this is serious stuff so thanks to all for the excellent responses. I've pulled my 400lb aluminum Cargo Pro trailer around a fair bit with the BX using a receiver installed on the quick hitch but only moved the empty PJ dump trailer once with the MX using the same receiver on the MX's quick hitch. The PJ is around 5,000 lb empty so I figured there's so much weight on the ball that there's no way the 3-point is going to lift up. I hook up the safety chains too but I'll be using the draw bar from now on. I have some spare 2-5/16" balls so will install one on the draw bar and use that if I need to move the big trailers.

Thanks very much!

 

[forky]

I just used my drawbar with the box scraper attached to the quick hitch to pull a stuck tractor out of the mud. I ran a long chain under the raised box scraper and dropped the hook in the drawbar.....one, two three, and out it came. Knocked the chain out and we are on our way.....mine is staying right where it is!

 

[Thunder chicken]

I pull a trailer on the highway, and the 3pt hitch trailer mover is not safe enough IMO for that. (Loaded dump trailer). I Have a receiver hitch on the drawbar, and like mentioned keeps the hitch weight low and won’t ever raise. I posted a pic on here a while back of the piece we had made up that slides over the draw bar with the 2” receiver tube, so it’s removable from the drawbar.

 

[NCL4701]

I usually leave a clevis on the drawbar. Makes for good chain mount even with an implement on the three point so long as the angle of pull doesn’t interfere with the implement. Seem to routinely be pulling some random log, vehicle, etc. no matter what else I’m doing.

And as several have stated, trailers going downhill either need to be on the drawbar or you have to have a mechanism to lock the three point down to make sure the trailer doesn’t run over you. Trailer hitch through the back has never been one of my preferred ways to make it off the planet. Kind of hoping for going to bed one night and not waking up when I’m a good bit older.

 

[mcmxi]

I pull a trailer on the highway, and the 3pt hitch trailer mover is not safe enough IMO for that. (Loaded dump trailer). I Have a receiver hitch on the drawbar, and like mentioned keeps the hitch weight low and won’t ever raise. I posted a pic on here a while back of the piece we had made up that slides over the draw bar with the 2” receiver tube, so it’s removable from the drawbar.

The draw bar that came on the MX measures approximately 2-1/4" x 1-1/4" and has one 30mm hole, three 17mm holes and one 20mm hole for the pin that secures it to the tractor. I'll need to make up some sort of adapter like you did to use standard 2" and 2-5/16" balls. I looked for your draw bar adapter but didn't find it.

 

[Thunder chicken]

The draw bar that came on the MX measures approximately 2-1/4" x 1-1/4" and has one 30mm hole, three 17mm holes and one 20mm hole for the pin that secures it to the tractor. I'll need to make up some sort of adapter like you did to use standard 2" and 2-5/16" balls. I looked for your draw bar adapter but didn't find it.

Receiver recommendation

One of my tractors jobs will be moving trailers around my equipment yard. the yard is under an acre and flat. Trailers are tandem axle and empty. 20' flat beds with pintle and 500 gal water trailers with 2" coupler. Not much weight for my MX5400. A receiver for my 3 point looks like a good...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[mcmxi]

Receiver recommendation

One of my tractors jobs will be moving trailers around my equipment yard. the yard is under an acre and flat. Trailers are tandem axle and empty. 20' flat beds with pintle and 500 gal water trailers with 2" coupler. Not much weight for my MX5400. A receiver for my 3 point looks like a good...

www.orangetractortalks.com

Thanks for the link. I like that the receiver can be adjusted to move the ball in an out, and the pin too. I'll look at making something similar.

Looking at numerous threads on 3-point or quick hitch mounted receivers, and also the number of companies offering these types of receivers, clearly there are a lot of tractor owners potentially putting themselves in danger without any warning from the manufacturers, and without any idea that the lack of down force on the 3-point could result in the trailer coming off the ball if the 3-point lifts up enough.

 

[Ikc1990]

The hitch is solid your 3 point hitch can move side to sie, up and down. So heavy loads down or up hill best is on the hitch not the 3pt hitch. I pull sap trailer and water tanks but never on the 3pt hitch.

 

[nbryan]

Why are all the warnings about pulling a trailer downhill with a 3-point hitch receiver, and the trailer lifting off the ball and running over the operator?
Just lock the friggin hitch ball down like you do on your truck. Then it won't come off and run you over.
The 3-point may raise but only goes so far with the ball locked on to it. Why are so many here saying it will come off and run you over?

 

[Ikc1990]

Nbryan I never said lift off ball or run you over but personally I like to control the tractor and 2 or 8 inches of extra play going down steep mountain with load of sap not my cup of tea. I have had it pick rear tires of tractor up off ground going down hill when so slashed not. Fun. Could have ended badly. But I also like it to be smother so I'm not breaking crap in my busy seasons. And I think using correct ball with correct hitch is as important as locking down.

 

[mcmxi]

Well, I went the easy route this morning and bought a 2-5/16" ball with a 1-1/4" diameter shank so that I can use the MX today to move the flatbed trailer around once I've unloaded the EA box blade. I also bought a 5/8" drop pin that I'll use to attach chains. The nut isn't tight on the ball in the photo below in case anyone notices.

 

[GeoHorn]

Why are all the warnings about pulling a trailer downhill with a 3-point hitch receiver, and the trailer lifting off the ball and running over the operator?
Just lock the friggin hitch ball down like you do on your truck. Then it won't come off and run you over.
The 3-point may raise but only goes so far with the ball locked on to it. Why are so many here saying it will come off and run you over?

Because the “tooth” which pulls up and ”locks” the trailer’s socket onto the ball isa weak point not intended to survive all the pressure applied when a trailer-tongue lifts ”up”. The socket mostly carries the load from the towing vehicle, but the tooth can be pried to the breaking-point if lifted up.
If the 3-pt is tied Down and/or has down-pressure then no problem should present itself.

 

[mcmxi]

I managed to hook up the trailer to the MX and move it to where I wanted but had to remove then reinstall the quick hitch which is a pain. The hitch wouldn't clear the jack when making a tight turn to the left. In fact, the left side lift arm would barely clear the jack making a turn.

The ball on the draw bar was easy to see when backing up to the trailer, but removing the quick hitch every time I need to move the PJ or MidSota is a deal breaker. I'm back to where I started of making up a receiver for the quick hitch. I'll figure out a way to lock the 3-point so that it can't lift up.