hooking onto front

if a person wanted to hook chain onto the front of a TO20
to pull brush roots out while backing up,
where on the front is a good place to hook a chain ??

i see on each side, there is a bolt that connects the
front axle to the front axle "stay". (i don't know if that's
what it is actually called, but I'm sure you will know
what i mean).

i thought about replacing those bolts with longer grade 8
bolts, so i could include a short piece of flat bar at that
connection point.

is there a better solution ?? something already available ??
or a bad idea to begin with.

I've read couple articles that say pulling on stumps with
chain on back can cause short tractor like that to tip
up and possible go on over.

My opinion pull from the back. You want to keep the chain hook low on the tractor so it will have a harder time lifting the front end up. I believe one of the manuals says NEVER hook to anything higher than the rear axles and certainly not the rocker area below the seat. Also unless you turn the rims around the wheels have more pulling power going forward because the tread is heading forward. Whatever you decide BE CAREFUL.

There's not much on the front of most tractors that
I'm comfortable hooking up to for things like that.
What I have done before was hook to the rear
drawbar and run the chain under the length of the
tractor. Good luck and be careful, Sam

I'm a novice with my TO30, well used it then skipped 50 years, now using it again, so this is an opinion only, certainly not from years of experience like the other guys you'll hear from. Heck I just got mine started yesterday.

You said "brush roots". Be good to know what kind of brush, all have different root balls, dry ground, wet ground, uphill, downhill, dead stuff, living stuff, are you trying to pull up the roots or just the stuff above surface?

I have pulled brush, mostly dead azaleas, some other flowering bushes, with my riding mower that was very weak, no root ball, mainly just broke off, but I don't think even with my 30 I can pull up established live azalea's, or many other things.

I would ere on the side of caution. From the point of personal safety and from the point of not tearing up a xx year old tractor that will cost you time and money to repair. if I do drag something from the front it would be from the front bumper, which has distributed the load, not from the front axles.

In my mind, if they would have wanted the tractor to be used for pulling from the front, they would have turned the tractor seat around at the factory.

Just be careful.

Just this spring, I used my TO30 to pull out some bushes, specifically Mugho bushes and Juniper. It wasn't easy. I pulled from
the rear using the draw bar. You have to be very careful ... and pay attention because once the rear wheels get hooked up the
front end is going to come up. Two issues to that, don't react immediately to the issue or yes, you do run the risk of going over
backwards ... and if you don't respond quickly, the front end will drop from a pretty high position and possibly damage the front
end once it "lands". I frequently had my front wheels up about a foot or so and it still hit pretty hard.

And as others have noted, be very careful.

I don't know about stumps, I think I would think twice about those.

I've pulled quite a few small stumps and lots of privet bushes with my TO20. I mount my scraper blade on the tractor and wrap a chain around the blade and the stump or bush to pull it out. I keep the blade just a few inches off of the ground and it acts like a wheelie bar to keep the front end down. I've also wrapped chain around clumps of bushes and the blade or drawbar and used the hydraulics to pull the stuff up.
BillL

(quoted from post at 16:43:10 09/07/17) I've pulled quite a few small stumps and lots of privet bushes with my TO20. I mount my scraper blade on the tractor and wrap a chain around the blade and the stump or bush to pull it out. I keep the blade just a few inches off of the ground and it acts like a wheelie bar to keep the front end down. I've also wrapped chain around clumps of bushes and the blade or drawbar and used the hydraulics to pull the stuff up.
BillL

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I second Ark68SS. I do the same. A three point mounted implement that extends well beyond the rear wheels will help prevent overturning.

And a chain around an item (often fence posts for me) and using the hydraulics seems fairly safe, although the hydraulic lift is limited.

But always put safety first.

And I will go thirds on the scraper / grader blade method .
There is also the advantage that you can gouge out some earth from around the stump you want to grub with the blade at the same time .

you can use the 3 point hitch BUT{{{{{{{{you MUST HAVE THE TOP BARS ON THAT HOLD THE 3POINT IN A LOCKED POSITION SO IT CAN NOT FLOAT {{{{{{IT MUST BE LOCKED }}}}}}}}IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE TOP BARS DO NOT USE THE 3 POINT

if you don't know what the top stabilizer bars are then you don't have them and should NEVER pull anything with the 3 point hitch that can float

(reply to post at 18:16:34 09/07/17)

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thank everybody for constructive advice and cautions.

like some other things, I think this question has answered itself (by making another question).

I don't know what those "bushes" are. they have about 7 to 10 "stalks" growing up together. some are big as small trees --
6 to 8 inches in diameter.

well, did I say this is not my tractor. belongs to homeowner. am doing "landscaping" work for her. just put in new battery, got starter and alternator rebuilt to get it running. ran it for about 20 minutes and old alternator belt broke. "No Problem" I thought.

Well I put new belt over fan, but when I went to put it over crankshaft pulley, couldn't get it through the space. Evidently, the bushing that the front axle rocks on has worked itself back towards the engine. Not quite touching the crank nut, but close.
what's more ... it appears somebody before has tried to pry the bushing ahead and damaged the crank pulley. and then tried to straighten the crank pulley. (but not a good job).

Looks like I might have to take the front axle off and replace that bushing and pivot pin. All, just to put a new fan belt on.

Any comments on doing this, other than follow the instructions in the shop service manual ??

From a pulling and safety standpoint, it is resolved. With Fergie down for a week or so, I guess I just rent a stump grinder and get them down deep enough so mower guys don't hit anything.

thanks again. a lot.

(quoted from post at 04:37:26 09/07/17)
What I have done before was hook to the rear
drawbar and run the chain under the length of the
tractor. Good luck and be careful, Sam

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That sounds to me like an easy way to roll backward. May wanna run the chain over the front axle if you're going do that, or hire a backhoe.