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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow?

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Markus

10-06-2004 09:08:24




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Looking to buy a 3 bottom plow...cant decide wheter I should get a 3 pt unit or a trailer pluu plow...I have a 3 point hitch and like the smaller 3 point unit, but a trailer plow could be used on my other tractors that lack a 3 point...is there a price difference and what handles/plows differnet?

This is for a JD 720 Diesel.




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I Bleed Green

10-06-2004 17:44:31




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  

Your 720 with 3 point hitch and load and depth control is the best of its time! A fully mounted plow will work the best, and a trailer plow will be next best. Unlike some here think. A semi mounted plow will NOT work good on your 720 and many other tractors. Why is this? Your 720 and many other tractors have upper link draft sensing. The upper (center) link is not used on a semi mounted plow, so the load and depth (draft) control does not work. The John Deere 3010 and 4010 are the first tractors to have a 3 point hitch with lower link sensing. Semi mounted plows work best on them.

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james2

10-07-2004 09:15:20




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to I Bleed Green, 10-06-2004 17:44:31  
Yes you are correct that the 20 and 30 series had only top link sensing. Essentially the operator becomes the draft sensor, which I really didn't find to be a major problem since I was taught to constantly monitor the plow position anyway and in reality never let the draft system run the whole show. Dad taught us this method I believe because he was trying to reproduce trailing plow results. In particular, he attempted to minimize depth change when the going got real tough. However, that said, the attention you need to give is a notch higher with a semi on a top link only sensing tractor than it would be with a fully integral or 3-point plow. If the field is fairly level the need to feather the control is significantly reduced. Finally, don't get the impression that we couldn't maintain that level of attention for any length of time. I spent many 12 hour days plowing on 200+ acres with a 3-point 3-14 bottom plow and 40 hp tractor.

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RayP(MI)

10-06-2004 17:23:04




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
Have used all three, and given my druthers, I'd take the trailer, assuming it has a hydraulic lift. Will do a far better job of depth control, and make a much smoother job. The three wheels will pretty well control the depth. If you have hydraulics,and are alert at all, a nudge on the hydraulic lever will bring the plow up a bit, and get you out of trouble when plow bogs down. Want to see a lousy job, you ought to see what I have done with a 3pt on the back of a Farmall 200 without any draft control! every time nose of tractor goes up or down due to terrain, the plow is diggin' in or coming up! Finally added a gage wheel to plow, to help with this, and let 2pt/3pt hitch run in the free position.

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TP from Central PA

10-06-2004 15:47:28




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
If I was you I"d find these model and make of plows in this order..... ...

1. 4 bottom IH #60 or 70 Trailer plow(I prefer the 60"s with a 70 tail wheel)..... .We have a 3-14 #60 and it is by far the best trailer plow, and plow in general that I ever used..... .Does an exceptional job, stronger than all get out, and wearable parts are cheap.

2. 4 Bottom IH 540 Semi-mount....Same basic plow as the 60 and 70 in a semi version. A 3 bottom semi, 535, was also available.

3. Any 4 bottom Oliver Semi mount..... ..Darn good plows that do a great job.

4. Later Oliver trailer plows also work good, IMO just as good as an IH but parts aren"t as cheap.

I"d stay away from JD and Case..... .None of the Case or Deeres we had did a good of job as the ones I listed above. The Cases seemed to break alot too.

I wouldn"t even bother looking at a fully mounted 3pt plow..... ..Alot of plowing still goes on around me and they give away mounted plows at sales because they aren"t practical. They don"t do as nice of a job as a trailer, and you can get nearly the same manuverability with a steerable semi mount that does a better job as well.

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Allan in NE

10-06-2004 12:11:54




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
Neither if you have any amount of acres to plow at all,

It it isn't a spinner, it isn't a plow.

Just my view,

Allan



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RickL

10-06-2004 11:24:19




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
I have some wanting to get rid of if that would help. Red paint or green paint. Red is litte genius 3btm and green one is 4 bottom always been shedded. Both good usable units. have mounted one also. RickL



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James2

10-06-2004 10:31:27




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
I have spent hours plowing with all three types: 3-point; in-furrow semi-mounted; and trailing and limited on-land semi-mounted. The trailing plow gives the best (uniform) depth control. You cannot beat the 3-point for maneuverability. I have a 4 bottom semi-mounted JD145A for my JD730 which does ok. Also have a 5 bottom JD66H which I use on it, or the JD 830. The larger tractors we own have the on-land or in-furrow semi"s. We have just purchased a 4 bottom 3-point for the MF 285 so we can use it to finish fields when using the 8 bottom on-land semi. I have one comment concerning the on-land; the fields better be pretty large and relatively square. Trailing plows do pull harder. If you are plowing smaller irregular fields, I would not hesitate, buy the 3-point. If plowing excellence is more important, buy the trailing plow, but only if you have fields which have relative large square areas to plow. If not I would still go with the 3-point. After saying all of the above, I believe the best overall plow we have is a White 588 semi, considering all factors such as durability, speed and as well as plowing performance including trash clearance, maneuvorability is not bad for a bigger plow.

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Jim Calhoun

10-06-2004 10:00:19




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
Either will work well for you if you take the time to properly set it up properly.
Personally, I like trailer plows for the reason that any of my tractors can be used as I have several without 3 point.



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JMS/MN

10-06-2004 09:55:54




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
With a 720 in front and only three bottoms behind, it wouldn't matter if the plow is pull-type or mounted in most soils. I agree with two of three of CEB's comments. I think a pull-type plow will maintain a more uniform depth than a three-point. The three wheels establish plowing depth, according to how the adjustment levers are set. No interference with hydraulics, load control, etc. Load control is basically applying upward pressure when the going gets tough, and transfers weight of the plow and soil to the rear axle of the tractor. That is done with a slight upward movement of the plow.

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Markus

10-06-2004 14:28:32




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to JMS/MN, 10-06-2004 09:55:54  
Well should I go for a 4 bottom? I'd like to plow in 4th gear...if possible...clay ground that is only plowed every 3 years...small acreage....



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Kerwin

10-06-2004 16:43:46




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 14:28:32  
Some of the older IH plows allowed for dropping a bottom. For example, I just got an IH model 60 4-bottom that is convertible to a 3-bottom without too much trouble. Hope this helps.



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CEB

10-06-2004 09:18:39




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 Re: WHich plow is better, 3 pt or trailer plow? in reply to Markus, 10-06-2004 09:08:24  
All of the auctions I have been to trailer plows go for less money than a similiar size & condition 3 point plow. The only advantage I can see to trailer plow (other than being able to fit a tractor without 3 pt) is if you get stuck plowing with a trailer plow, you can unhitch the tractor and pull the plow out with a chain and rehook on better ground. The 3 pt. plow is advantageous because 1) you can turn alot sharper on the ends 2) It stays in the ground better in tough clay soil 3)You have draft control which allows the plow to follow the ground at about the same depth regardless of soil conditions if set up properly.

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