4020 pulling advice

PreCuts

Member
I am new to pulling and am pulling in local and benefit pulls that are not sanctioned. 3000 rpm 20 hitch height. Weigh 11000 with filled tires . Late model 404 with a pump and stock turbo.200 horse with screw in 1 3/4 . Hitch is in as far as can go . New r1 18.4 x 38 tires 23 lbs filled with fluid . Wondering what I can do to improve my pulls without spending lots of money. Attached a vid of me in 12500 . Had 300 on back 600 on fenders and 600 on bellybar .pulled in 4th. Seems I die fast by losing traction. Last pull reached for sky when pan dropped.Pull before on diff track got about foot off ground and spun out.this track was not clay just dirt. This is the darker vid . .Any help be appreciated as am rookie that's getting the bug . Have till next weekend to work on this thing .
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In the top video it looks like you should've had some weight on front. The sled pulls down on the hitch more and more as you go down the track. When the front goes up you loose traction from the change in hitch height. Generally speaking you can let some air out of the tires on soft tracks and match the weights on the front of your tractor to another puller in your class and run the hitch as high and far in as your club allows.
 
You need some front weight. A little air is ok but when it gets that high you have lost your hitch height. You can lower you hitch also if you can't weight the front end.
 
OK , I can easily move weights up front . Is it better to move from fender to belly or you talking all the way up front .
Also When I start spinning is it better to back off throttle if I got the power?
And obviously as high a gear as possible but is it better to run out of power at end in a higher gear or have plenty power left and spinout with a lower gear ? Which tends to get you further . I cant test it both ways on same track as I can only pull once .
As far as the tires . It is still used for some farm use and needed the new tires so I have to do with what I got on that issue. With all the fluid my bars lay flat when on concrete . You think I should still go down on pressure ? What do I look for to determine where tire pressure should be ?
I know experience and trial and error is still the best answer but If I can glean some of your knowledge I may be able to get competitive faster :) I am like a kid learning to drive :) and loving every minute of it !
 
We're talking way up front, forward of the front axle. Just my opinion but I'd move 400 lbs from the belly rack to out front and establish a baseline for what is needed to keep the front down at least most of the way down the track. It's safer for you and you can steer and have more control and try to avoid holes and soft spots on the track.

You're basically sunk if you have to back off the throttle to keep the front down or reduce slippage .

Power out vs spin out, this could be a subject of debate but I've done well either way. Probably better to spin out in the highest gear you can for a no speed limit class.

Air pressure, put that on the back burner for now, focus on balancing the tractor so you can be at full throttle towards the end of the pull with the front tires hoping a couple inches of the ground. This will vary with track conditions.

But above all roll the coal and have some fun.
 


As others are saying move some weight to the front, but find out from the rules what "front" is. You may be able to put it 16 inches ahead of the front if the rules allow a weight bracket as most do. The further out front you can get it, the more leverage the weight has, the less it takes on the front, allowing you to put more on the back. I would be moving weight from the belly bar to the front bracket.
 
The two brothers that farmed the 320 acres across the road pulled a pair of 4020's all summer, think the turbo was off a big 855 cid Cummins, huge dry type air cleaner like a piece of earth moving equipment would have was bolted to the frame rail. The turbo stuck out a hole cut in the hood, all the piping from the air cleaner to the turbo and from the turbo to the intake manifold was huge, 5-6 inch diameter, ran outside the hood. Ran straight water with water wetter in cooling system, and not sure what all he had done to the inj pump, My Cousin was good friends with them, supposedly they farmed around 250 hp and pulled around 450 hp. The oldest brother would get the front wheels about 2-3 feet in the air and keep them there, when he started spinning out he'd lock one rear wheel and then alternate to the other rear wheel, and walk the tractor an additional 30-40 feet down the track. He got so he was driving tractors ( all green) for 4-5 other pullers. More seat time is good for ANYBODY.
 
Thanks Everyone. This is all very helpful . Pulling on Saturday and moving 400 to front bracket which gives me 300 on back 600 on fenders, 200 belly and 400 hundred front ..... . Then going add a 1000 to pull in 13500 also and will see how the above 12500 setup goes but I am stuck with 1300 on back for this setup I have 1300lbs custom bracket weights for back only . This gives me 1200lbs IH style to distribute on fenders, belly, and front . This is exciting .! Loving it . Love the tips and observations from all of you .
 
(quoted from post at 09:35:50 06/16/21) Thanks Everyone. This is all very helpful . Pulling on Saturday and moving 400 to front bracket which gives me 300 on back 600 on fenders, 200 belly and 400 hundred front ..... . Then going add a 1000 to pull in 13500 also and will see how the above 12500 setup goes but I am stuck with 1300 on back for this setup I have 1300lbs custom bracket weights for back only . This gives me 1200lbs IH style to distribute on fenders, belly, and front . This is exciting .! Loving it . Love the tips and observations from all of you .


Precuts, I pulled a Ford for around 12 years at 8,000 to 13,000. I used my belly brackets only above 10,500. The most that I ever weighed in at was 11,500, but I was still competitive on a soft track at 13,000 if the speed limit was high or none.
 
Lose the fluid. In the tires first. Back when I pulled a 4010. I turned the drawbar end for end and drilled another hole in it as short as possible. Then had a D ring and washers to get right height. Front weight bracket. Also don't spend money on your motor. Look for a 466 from a combine. Needs to be new enough to be a 50 series. Head is better and a inline pump. Then 13 or 14 mm plungers in pump and real horsepower! Have fun. Vic
 
One other thing that bothered me was my weights on fenders. I thought it was best thing to do as it means I can get up to 800 directly on top of my rear axle but I hadn't seen anyone else do it at the pulls. Am I just smarter than them or what do they know that I don't. Lol As far as the 466 goes I was looking for one and found the 404 on a 7700 combine and bought that. It has the a pump and is same block but less cubic. I did this cause was half the cost and a bolt on with no mods . I wasn't looking for a huge puller but something I can take off farm ,turn screw and make smoke . And of course blow local farmers and enthusiasts away on the track. I did put 4320 springs on clutch so if I start pushing 3 to 400 horse it wouldn't last .

This post was edited by PreCuts on 06/16/2021 at 07:32 pm.
 
(quoted from post at 19:21:13 06/16/21) One other thing that bothered me was my weights on fenders. I thought it was best thing to do as it means I can get up to 800 directly on top of my rear axle but I hadn't seen anyone else do it at the pulls. Am I just smarter than them or what do they know that I don't. Lol As far as the 466 goes I was looking for one and found the 404 on a 7700 combine and bought that. It has the a pump and is same block but less cubic. I did this cause was half the cost and a bolt on with no mods . I wasn't looking for a huge puller but something I can take off farm ,turn screw and make smoke . And of course blow local farmers and enthusiasts away on the track. I did put 4320 springs on clutch so if I start pushing 3 to 400 horse it wouldn't last .

This post was edited by PreCuts on 06/16/2021 at 07:32 pm.


I was wondering what you meant by weights on Fenders. I assumed that they were some place near the fenders. Weights are generally on a rack that is behind and a little above the axle. You sometimes see two levels in the back, but always low enough that you can readily put them on while standing on the ground, but ideally you back up to your trailer so that you can swing them off and on without much lifting or carrying.
 
I literally have a 3''channel bolted to fenders that can hold 4 - 100 lb weights each .They would be on each side of my seat . They make great armrests . lol
 
Ideally you want your weights below the
rear axle centerline. With them high as
the front comes up your high weight moves
back making it worse. Your front weights
need to just be high enough to clear the
scales. The reason most pullers front ends
are low. So small tires in front.
 
that makes sense. See ,they did know something I didnt . :) I am so excited for Sat but now showing thunderstorms but we will wait and see . May be a muddy track :p We will be pulling a sled with a tractor on like this vid . Here I pulled a 13000 lb 830 out the other end .
[video play=false:5a97950f5b]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/videos/mvvideo77030.mp4[/video:5a97950f5b]

This post was edited by PreCuts on 06/17/2021 at 07:21 pm.
 
makes for an easier start and kinda imitates a transfer sled . If tractors not heavy enough to stop the big ones they have a big chain that gets attached to front of sled and goes underneath . That usually stops them .
 

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