560 Farmall

I purchased a 560 Farmall tractor that has a narrow front end. I am wanting to pull a running gear with IBC totes. When full the totes will weight 10,000 lbs. Assuming that it common knowledge that a 4 wheeler is safer that a 3 wheeler in regards to forward rollovers would changing out the narrow to a wide front end improve handling enough to matter. I have kids on the farm and a little safer is better than not.

I understand this to be an opinion question and probably depends on landscape. We do have hills. Timber soils and we farm the ridges. The tractor spends its time on the ridge. 100% of the ridge less grass hollow ways was row crop eligible before my time with it. Now its all pasture.

all i am wondering why u didnt buy the proper tractor like the standard model for the job. they are a lower profile also. yes u could change it over to a wide front. then the guys here be jumping that narrow fronts are just as safe.... well i dont think so. plus thats a load anyhow. and what is IBC cant be a bank your pulling around? lol.

IBC are tanks for water. Today the cart only has 1/2 that weight. I would like to go up to the weight I have posted.

Im not sure what your comments about should have bought the right tractor. I bought a good running straight tractor for 2500. For that price I figured I can make any changes I want. Maybe even paint it up and sell it and buy a different one. Unless you know something I dont know about the 560?

Pulling a wagon it doesnt matter.The common thought of a wide being safer than a narrow is a 'wives tale'. An optical illusion. About the only time it really matters is if you have a front loader. Even then,not much.The safest thing is the operator,not the front axle. A tractor is a 3 point suspension. Meaning there are three points of contact. One each at the rear wheels, One point up front. The pivot on the wide front or the narrow front.Only difference is the pivot is approx 2 feet higher than a narrow.If the terrain,hills,towed behind load is too steep for a narrow,it is too steep for the wide.Dont think that because of the more stable



















wide front you can traverse steeper slpoes.. You cant.It will rollover just as easy. And the temptation will be to drive faster just because of the wide is safer. Again,not so.I would be more concerned with the brakeing ability of a 6000 pound tractor with marginal brakes stopping a 10,000 pound load.The (large) tail wagging the dog.On hills,that is an accident(tragedy) waiting to happen.Save your money for another tractor in a couple of years. Make your next tractor purchace a bigger(806,856,966 and up) one with a wide front. But keep your old 560 for lighter jobs. A second tractor is always needed from time to time.

The tractor is fine the way it is. If you have experience driving tractors, the issue is clearly only doing things that you are comfortable with. There is a small tipping advantage to a wide front, but maybe 10% when doing somthing that is way beyond comfort. I have been around both, and stay well within my comfort zone.
The weight issue with the load you intend is dependent on the terrain you intend to navigate, soil conditions, the tire footprint, and the trailer tongue load. If the trailer is balanced so the tongue has 4 to 6 hundred pounds on the drawbar, and is a low profile (not deckover), and the tires have reasonable flotation (low weight per square inch of tire contact) there should be no real issue.
I would make sure the rear tires were filled with ballast (Rimguard is my preference, or RV water system antifreeze). I would also recommend dual rear tires set wide if barn space allows. Wide set rear tires make a dramatic difference in the comfort zone. Wheel weights and front weights can also be applied in this case. You will like the tractor. Jim

I add am referring to the 560 international. The 560 Farmall is a different tractor even though they have lots of the same parts. The ih is also a lot handier. Just to climb up on them Farmalls is a chore. I have both models.

After paying 2500 it would be hard to get your money back out after fixing up and painting.If you have to replace a tire,your already upside down. You have plenty of horsepower. But the brakes are a different story. They are mechanical self energiseing. Most likely worn out as well. They dont stop the tractor well even empty. Then immagine 10,000 behind.You will gain more stability by adding fluid to the rears. Again,use your 560 for a couple of years.Save for a bigger more modern.Keep the 560.It will make you a fine tractor for years to come. You're going to need it as your farm grows.

tractor should be heavier than the load being pulled, I do not think a 6,000 pound tractor is going to stop a 10,000 pound load. Hills or flat ground does not matter.

If the tractor has the brakes in good repair, and the situation is under control (field work, not street activity) there might not be an issue. I would add to my former comments that surge brakes should be a real asset in all cases. Jim

If I had a narrow front 560 and a 560 standard ih and tractors to wreak I would do that demonstration just to show which one will flip on its side first. The narrow front has no pivot in the centre like the standard tractor. Its going over first. I have ditches here we always drove up onto the road at a 45 degree angle. I will be very hesitant with that narrow front. Dads words were go at an angle .

The 560 today has fluid and single wheel weights. The wagon is a running gear so there isnt any rouge weight. Do not need to put 4 Ibc totes on the trailer. Today I have 2 300 gallon one and one additional one would be very nice. I would build it for 4 and just not plumb the last one so no chance of thinking about using it. That would put the load close to 900galx 8 7200 lbs + ruining gear and tote weight.

The wagon never leaves the field roads. Id also like to figure out an electric break on the wagon. Today we pull it with a Polaris ranger without issue. But I would not want another 100 gallons of water.

(quoted from post at 10:26:54 07/23/23) tractor should be heavier than the load being pulled, I do not think a 6,000 pound tractor is going to stop a 10,000 pound load. Hills or flat ground does not matter.

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That's your opinion not a fact or a requirement. In real life the load often outweighs the tractor by double or more.

On the road you see 16,000lbs trucks pulling 54,000lb trailers every day.

Here we're talking about a 7000lb tractor pulling a 10,000lb load. It can handle it easily, especially on flat ground.

Now what is the OP calling hills? I'm well experienced in hauling 10,000lb+ on some pretty decent hills with a 560 specifically. It's a job that requires some skill and experience, as you are not going to be able to simply ride the brakes down the hill. You need to know when and how much to brake. Too much and your wheels start sliding, and without some quick action on your part to get ahead of the load again, you WILL lose control.

Your tractor already has about 70% of the weight on the rear wheels. 30% on the front. A wide front end will make very little, if any, difference in stability.

If you are really concerned, add 2 sets of rear wheel weights.

well as for me the narrow ft does not bother me as i have had a lot of narrow ft.'s , If it was me doing this and again i said ME doing this as a WORK tractor the back tires would be loaded with Cal. and i might even add three sets of donuts and i would go thru the brakes . And not worry about it . We drag 11 1000 lb round bales behind either my S/M T A , my buddy;s kids J D 730 or his brothers S/MTA another friend pulls two 18 foot kicker wagons at a time with a 400 Farmall on the road and in HILLS , we use a little common sense and pick and choose the routes with the steep hills alone with just how HOT it is as we all learned that real hot days and tar and gravel roads that big loads and small tractors don't mix either up- nor down . 16000lbs of tater and a farmall M in hill country is a bad idea trust me on this one but man what a flippen ride .

On the road you see 16,000lbs trucks pulling 54,000lb trailers every day.

Those semi trailers have brakes on all axles, tractor and trailer. The farm wagon probably does not have any brakes, and the tractor only has brakes on one axle.

I agree it can be done, and that caution and experience to get it done safely every time.

Some safety items to remember are:
Don't go down a hill in any gear higher than the tractor can pull the same load up the hill.
On a 560 the Torque Amplifier freewheels in low, like pushing in the clutch pedal. Do not try using it as a brake.

Stay safe and enjoy your tractor.

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I understood when I asked the question it was open ended and opinion based. I also understand that we need to be responsible for our actions and people on here are doing their best to give friendly life experiences.

There was some good points brought up. We have had the tractor for three days a good brake check should be performed(we did test them before we bought it and pushing both about killed the tractor) fluid and wheel weights are very important , stay off steep hills, keep the wheel wheels set wide, watch the field conditions (dont pull a full load on rain days).

I may have missed some but I got the message. Id really like a 666 diesel but I could find one and this came up and for 2500.00 if I pull the water cart all summer for two years its paid for itself. Gives me time to look for what I really want.

God bless!

IF your brakes are in good shape and working well then forget most or all of this chicken or egg debate. Since this comes around every few months, with nothing but the same people saying the same thing about narrow or wide fronts. The standard models are no better for any work than the row crop versions and I've driven both and think the cumbersomeness of the standards is more hazard than the row crop models. They are laid out so you are in a poor position for shifting and pedal pushing from the ones I've drove of the W4,WD9 And both were cumbersome to work with. All but one steered so hard it would be a wonder if you had a problem you could steer your way out of it.

I soloed on a narrow front tractor when I was 6 years old and could handle everything the tractor could when I was 8. I am now 88 years old and have never been hurt on a tractor. I have probably spent 4 or 5 years of my life on a tractor with narrow front wheels. No way to tell because we didn't have hour meters in those days. And, yes, we have hills. Some pretty steep. Do you know the vertical center of gravity of your 560?

If you pulled 2 totes with a ranger your 560 will handle 4 as it is well over twice the weight of a ranger. I have pulled 3000 gallons of water with a 460 weighing about 7500 pounds thar would be scary on hills our flat ground and thar weight showed me how easy it is to push a tractor. 3000 gallon water at 8.3 pounds per gallon on a 6000 pound trailer is close to 30000 pounds, don't do this at all