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

[Farmer495]

. 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

Think there are a few different factors at play, model years and options etc. My Max Tow 11,200lb bumper tow rated ecoboost isn't any worse than my 10,000lb bumper tow rated Super Duty was towing the same trailers. The Max Tow actually sits perfectly level towing, it doesn't sink noticeably lower than my diesel F-250 Super Duty did with the (added) firestone air bags on it being empty. Using WD hitch on one trailer, it's set the same as I had it on the F250, right down to measuring the front wheel clearance before and after.

I am not disputing the F250 has higher payload and is overall a heavier tougher truck with heavier 10.25 Sterling axle etc, but regardless Ford rated one to tow more and said both need WD hitch after 5000 lb of trailer.

I have seen many newer 1/2 tons (RAM, GM, FORD) towing similar size trailers with the rear bumper almost dragging, yet the Max Tow sits level, so not all option packages are equal and they do change how the truck actually works. Not necessarily pretending to be a Super Duty, because it isn't, but made somewhat closer when equipped for those 5 figure tow ratings.

 

[npalen]

I was just thinking that the comments about the weight distribution hitch between a trailer and tow vehicle seems a bit off topic. But, after further thought, it would seem that the mechanical principles of a WD hitch could be applied to a tractor TPH is desired for controlled down pressure. Just a thought and maybe no correlation.
I'm not gigging anyone for going off topic either. I'm as guilty as anyone and lot of of good discussions have gone off topic and become great discussions.

 

[Rustyiron]

Short of just adding more weight, is there any way to apply additional down pressure on an implement?

Back when we were kids, and our parents were not "tractor people" we'd get Larry to stand on the implement. If that was not enough, we'd get Jimmy on there too.:laughing: Weight is good for these things, and like Lou said, play with the top link and or a little angle (ieft or right) as long as one side "leads" the other.

 

[Reb954]

Years ago I had a project for my ATV and implements that required more down pressure on the implement. I couldn't just add weight due to the ATV not handling the extra weight so I built the following. It allowed me to make the implement more effective without adding the weight. It is adjustable so I can vary the amount of down pressure on the implement and it is forgiving so if the ATV back axle dropped into a ditch it would allow the implement to raise up so I could get thru the ditch.

I haven't looked at it to see if the same principles could be applied to a tractor but where a tractor will handle a lot more weight I think I would just add the weight to the implement.

 

[Reb954]

A little follow up, a ditch ran through our front lawn that was a pain to mow around so last summer I decided to fill it in.

I didn't want the tractor on the lawn due to the sprinkler system so I used the tractor to load my ATV dump trailer as shown.

Then I would dump the dirt in the ditch. I use the winch on the back of the ATV to dump the trailer.

Next I used the box blade to spread the dirt and the ATV tires to pack it down.

The finished result.

Very little hand work and it didn't take much time to finish it.

Not sure why the two pictures ended up sideways, I don't know how to fix them.

 

[rfc143]

I solved the problem!!
I built these bars that keep the blade rigid; not boing-ing against the rake tines. Tried it on frozen ground with 2" of snow and it worked great!

 

[art]

I always recommend buying attachments that are ground engaging as heavy as you can. We are an old IH dealer and sold many conversion links for the three point hitch. We also did an lot of work reinforcing the three point hitch attachments because they were not built to handle down pressure!!!

 

[Rock Crawler]

What about adding 400 lbs or so? It makes a massive difference in a box blade...

 

[LouNY]

I always recommend buying attachments that are ground engaging as heavy as you can. We are an old IH dealer and sold many conversion links for the three point hitch. We also did an lot of work reinforcing the three point hitch attachments because they were not built to handle down pressure!!!

It was a shame that IH kept the fast hitch system proprietary if they had let that go market wide.
It was so much superior to the 3 point hitch.
And talk about down pressure put the pins in and jack up a tractor with the drawbar :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]