lastcowboy32
Well-known Member
So, haying season is over.
We changed our equipment lineup in that we sold our Ford 4000 and replaced it with a newer, bigger, 4WD tractor.
Before, when we had the 4000, we would have trouble filling up haywagons behind the baler with more than 110 bales (small square) or so, before we would have trouble with pulling the baler and wagon. Our fields can be muddy. Sometimes, we could only put 30 or 50 bales on... or we would sometimes even bale the worst spots on the ground with no wagon.
Now, that's not a problem with the new tractor. We've baled everywhere on the farm during one of the muddiest seasons in memory, and we can load wagons with 140-180 bales and have no problems pulling them around.
BUT... now the wagons are too heavy for our Ford 3000 to pull up the ramp into our bank barn.
We also have a 2N that we move wagons with. Both the 3000 and the 2N have no trouble hauling the wagons home, but we have to unhook the big tractor from the baler to get the wagons in the barn to unload.
The big tractor is also, well... bigger and longer, so the wagons don't get pulled in as far, which makes unloading harder.
Sooooo, what I'm considering is this...
What if, for next year, I make something that's maybe 1000 to 1500 pounds, with a three point hitch on it. I also modify our 3000 to have a front mounted hitch.
We use the 2N to pull the wagons back to the farm, where the 3000 awaits with all of this weight on the three point hitch, ready to pull the wagon up the ramp backwards and then push the empty out of the barn.
According to TractorData, my 3000 weighs around 4000 pounds, which is probably pretty evenly distributed between front and back.
TractorData also says that it should be able to lift 1700 pounds with its three point hitch. So, 1200, maybe even 1500 pounds of weight would be possible. I could make it so the tractor can rest the weight on the ground when it doesn't need it, as it waits between loads or during unloading.
It would seem that I should get quite a traction boost from this weight. Yes? Also, it would seem that backing the wagons into the barn and pushing them out is an easier method to steer the wagons. Seem like a good plan?
I would get double duty out of the weight device, as I could also use it on the big tractor to balance it during loader operations.
We changed our equipment lineup in that we sold our Ford 4000 and replaced it with a newer, bigger, 4WD tractor.
Before, when we had the 4000, we would have trouble filling up haywagons behind the baler with more than 110 bales (small square) or so, before we would have trouble with pulling the baler and wagon. Our fields can be muddy. Sometimes, we could only put 30 or 50 bales on... or we would sometimes even bale the worst spots on the ground with no wagon.
Now, that's not a problem with the new tractor. We've baled everywhere on the farm during one of the muddiest seasons in memory, and we can load wagons with 140-180 bales and have no problems pulling them around.
BUT... now the wagons are too heavy for our Ford 3000 to pull up the ramp into our bank barn.
We also have a 2N that we move wagons with. Both the 3000 and the 2N have no trouble hauling the wagons home, but we have to unhook the big tractor from the baler to get the wagons in the barn to unload.
The big tractor is also, well... bigger and longer, so the wagons don't get pulled in as far, which makes unloading harder.
Sooooo, what I'm considering is this...
What if, for next year, I make something that's maybe 1000 to 1500 pounds, with a three point hitch on it. I also modify our 3000 to have a front mounted hitch.
We use the 2N to pull the wagons back to the farm, where the 3000 awaits with all of this weight on the three point hitch, ready to pull the wagon up the ramp backwards and then push the empty out of the barn.
According to TractorData, my 3000 weighs around 4000 pounds, which is probably pretty evenly distributed between front and back.
TractorData also says that it should be able to lift 1700 pounds with its three point hitch. So, 1200, maybe even 1500 pounds of weight would be possible. I could make it so the tractor can rest the weight on the ground when it doesn't need it, as it waits between loads or during unloading.
It would seem that I should get quite a traction boost from this weight. Yes? Also, it would seem that backing the wagons into the barn and pushing them out is an easier method to steer the wagons. Seem like a good plan?
I would get double duty out of the weight device, as I could also use it on the big tractor to balance it during loader operations.