Is there a way to apply down pressure on a three point hitch

[Texasmark]

This is why I don't understand weight distribution hitches. Admittedly, I've never used them and I'm ignorant about them, but not physics.

You don't need the physics lesson. Just hook up without one and with one and you'll see why they work and why they are necessary on heavy loads with bumper pull trailers.

I bought one years ago to pull a camper. Worked so well that any time I haul a tractor, or even a cord of wood on my 16' tandem trailer I get out the leveler hitch and away I go, nice smooth ride.

 

[Molalla1]

You can not make a machine into something that it is not . If you try a loader mounted , hydraulic driven post hole digger . You will wonder why you ever fooled around with anything else .

:thumbsup: . . . so true.

 

[dnw64]

If you try a loader mounted , hydraulic driven post hole digger . You will wonder why you ever fooled around with anything else .

There are many reasons, first one probably being the cost of entry.

Kinda like saying "If you ever drove a Ferrari you will wonder why you ever considered getting a minivan". No, most people would not be the least bit confused why they're driving a Grand Voyager instead of a LaFerrari.

 

[LD48750]

It seems that's the only way they can work. So if one is misadjusted (a lot) you could get a scenario where vehicles back tires are lifted in air when passing through a dip?
....so, even if properly configured, a vehicle with weight distributing hitch might be more likely to jack-knife in braking /turning situations (where rear traction may have prevented it) or get stuck when in 2 wheel drive, etc...

Apologies to OP for the sidetrack, hopefully he has his answers by now.

The hitches work.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...n/315908-anybody-ever-break-wd-torsion-2.html

 

[LouNY]

The WD hitches do work, they work quite well.
Also they do unload the rear of the towing vehicle especially in really rough twisty trails,
which is why some people do disconnect the load carrying bars when parking and driving slowly in
non highway situations.

 

[arie515]

Only tractors made in recent years that had down pressure on the 3pt hitches were some Belarus models.

I confirm that Down pressure upgrade kit is available for older Belarus 900 series. And it's a built in feature on the new ones.

 

[Farmer495]

I confirm that Down pressure upgrade kit is available for older Belarus 900 series. And it's a built in feature on the new ones.

The 800 /5100 / 5200 series tractors I was around had it. I never got to use the down pressure for anything :-(

 

[Gus3120]

My one experience with weight distribution bars was not very pleasant. I was towing a buddy's box trailer full of atvs and gear with my dodge 2500 in a little snow and I had white knuckles the whole way. Truck was losing traction way too much. I put air bags on my truck and with a properly loaded trailer I can pull anything straight down the road and have plenty of tongue weight to keep the rear tires firmly on the ground. As for the cutting blade I would guess weight would be the answer.

 

[LD48750]

My one experience with weight distribution bars was not very pleasant. I was towing a buddy's box trailer full of atvs and gear with my dodge 2500 in a little snow and I had white knuckles the whole way. Truck was losing traction way too much. I put air bags on my truck and with a properly loaded trailer I can pull anything straight down the road and have plenty of tongue weight to keep the rear tires firmly on the ground. As for the cutting blade I would guess weight would be the answer.

Sounds to me like they were adjusted wrong.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Sounds to me like they were adjusted wrong.

Not sounds like.... They absolutely were.

Lets go to school guys.

The WDH, if set properly, will still allow MORE down pressure on the rear tires than when unloaded, but also will transfer some of that added down pressure (tongue weight) to the front axle for more steering control and more vehicle stability.

A good general/laymans rule of thumb is to measure your hitch bar and adjust your WDH so that your getting around 1" of hitch drop with a proper 10%-15% tongue weight applied. Obviously if you have a 2,000 lb trailer and 200-250 lb of tongue weight... a WDH is going to actually lift the rear end because you simply do not have enough tongue weight to make use of a WDH, and this can/will cause an unsafe condition with higher chance of the rear axle trying to pass you in a turn. This is where (not so)Common Sense comes in to play.

On a half ton truck especially, the rear axle gross weight is VERY limited. This can be seen in the vehicles advertised payload. Take my Max-Tow equipped 2017 Ram 1500, my payload is 1640 lbs.So with a WDH properly adjusted you are moving a portion of that load to the front axle and this puts the rear axle into legal territory while being much further into a heavy load and it makes the overall vehicle safer because..... Putting that 11,500 bumper pull trailer on your new Ford Eco-Boom truck with a 13,000 WDH assisted towing capacity makes that 5,600 truck gain weight in the right places so as to pretend that it is a SuperDuty. Without it, the trailer hitch is smashing the rear axle far past design limits and it is actually LIFTING (see-sawing on the rear axle, the fat kid is the trailer and he is lifting the other end of the see-saw, the front axle) on the front axle and can cause a deadly under-steer. Adjusted to lift to much on the rear and you get deadly over-steer as the rear end can come around on you.

The WDH also will not lift the rear end off of the ground in dips unless it is severely adjusted wrong. It is a spring bar, so it flexes as the truck and trailer move.

A WDH used with some amount of intellect and understanding of what is happening to the truck/trailer as it is adjusted is a great and magical thing. In the hands of a person who does not fully understand the interactions, it can likely be just as dangerous (deadly?) as a improperly loaded or overloaded trailer.