Towbar Adapter

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I spent almost the entire afternoon spinning my wheelsWe need a set of adapters that will attach to the front axle on the seized tractor.  They have to mate with my existing towbar I use for the trucks.  I would have preferred to build a purpose built towbar for the tractors, and have been meaning to do so for quite a while.........but never got around to it.....so I gotta adapt the truck towbar.What killed the day was running back and forth to take measurements.  You'd think the Allis in the yard could be used for a pattern BUT the other seized Allis has a bunch of welds the previous owner put on the axle.  When I bought the tractor, I cut them off..................BUT DIDN'T GRIND THE REMAINING BIT OF UNCUT WELDSo...........I gotta make the adapter to fit on the axle so that it will fit over the welds.  I can't go up there and grind them smooth.  Not because the engine drive is down............it's just too dry to do any grinding without the possibility of starting a grass fire.  This was the extent of the work that actually got done this afternoon
Reply:Tractor won't fit on a rollback?  Lots of them around and not too expensive.
Reply:What  happened  to the  Ranger   Sam'?   Looked  like a very fresh  machine.Last edited by Josey; 2 Weeks Ago at 09:15 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by JoseyWhat  happened  to the  Ranger   Sam'?   Looked  like a very fresh  machine.
Reply:Got a bit of work done today, but forgot to take pics.  Enough left to do to take pics of the rest of the job.
Reply:Originally Posted by ZimmTractor won't fit on a rollback?  Lots of them around and not too expensive.
Reply:The one thing I'm wondering is whether the damn thing will track when it's towed.  I've pulled running tractors with someone in the seat steering, and non running in a straight line for a few feet, but never had to tow one while making turns without a running engine to power the steering.If the front wheels won't track when turning, I'm thinking I might have to disconnect the steering cylinder from the bellcrank, if possible..............or disconnect the hydraulic lines so that the fluid doesn't prevent the front wheels from self steering.  The Oliver has a valve you can turn so that the tractor can be steered when the engine isn't running (They really made those tractors well back then)This is rapidly turning into another clusterf$%%&^#Last edited by farmersammm; 2 Weeks Ago at 11:42 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammmNever thought of it.  It might fit on a rollback.  Only weighs around maybe 10,000 with the loader, and wheel weights.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammmThe one thing I'm wondering is whether the damn thing will track when it's towed.  I've pulled running tractors with someone in the seat steering, and non running in a straight line for a few feet, but never had to tow one while making turns without a running engine to power the steering.If the front wheels won't track when turning, I'm thinking I might have to disconnect the steering cylinder from the bellcrank, if possible..............or disconnect the hydraulic lines so that the fluid doesn't prevent the front wheels from self steering.  The Oliver has a valve you can turn so that the tractor can be steered when the engine isn't running (They really made those tractors well back then)This is rapidly turning into another clusterf$%%&^#
Reply:Originally Posted by 12V71That's all going to depend on the amount of caster the front wheels have, which is probably not much. I've had some pretty big tractors towed to the shop by a local towing service that sent out their big KW with the axle lift. They actually towed a 130,000 lb scraper once, They didn't lift it but used the lift to grab the nose and steer it.
Reply:Matter of fact, I have a dolly that I used to get a hoe drill home from an auction  Simply a tray that the press wheels sat in, to keep them up off the ground.  The crazy wheels on the front of the drill stayed on the ground.  It actually handled very good.  It's sitting along the fence line in the yard still.  Been there for over 15yrs.  Probably too light duty to use, but it was a good little moving tool.
Reply:I got fired once, when I was a kid.I was running an old Georgia Pacific stretched Peterbilt (to peddle freight in the CITY).  It was one of those they used to lengthen to comply with bridge weight laws.  Probably came out of California, or the PNW.Anyways.............the damn thing would start to shimmy when going down the highway at high speed, and the only way to get it to stop was yanking the  steering wheel, one way or the other, HARD.  Then it would run good again.I wrote it up every night I got back to the dock.  They did absolutely nothing.I finally wrote "steers like crap" or something like that, maybe "lousy steering".I got in the next morning, and Oney (ya that was his name) said that they had to let me go
Reply:Speaking of a dolly.............................Probably wouldn't have to be overly stout.  My small tractors are the usual 70/30 weight split between front and rear axles, weight wise.  Probably only about 3,000# on the front end.  The 1370 Case is probably heavier on the front, but not a huge amount I'd wager.
Reply:to prevent the grass fires, could you not throw down a tarp and throw a couple of buckets of water over it. then direct the stream of sparks into the tarp?
Reply:Originally Posted by ghost_walkerto prevent the grass fires, could you not throw down a tarp and throw a couple of buckets of water over it. then direct the stream of sparks into the tarp?
Reply:The eye is a full penetration weld, not fillets.  I leave enough of a land to locate the part during fitup.  The assembly is welded in a position that allows gravity to fill the bevel, instead of welding upright, and using arc force to fill the bevel.  This is the reason no fillets were used (full pen instead).  There's little room for the bolts, so space was at a premium.  Once again, arc blow hounded me the entire job.  Irregular workpiece with a lot of angles, and fixturing it to essentially what is a C channel fixturing device.....................always makes for arc blow.  It's unavoidable, unless you switch to an AC rod, which I wouldn't do on something like this.  It needs as much fusion depth as possible on the welds...........AC has less depth of fusion.
Reply:Grindout, and repair on the arc blow.  The repair weld was also affected by arc blow, even though it was done in the opposite direction of travel.  This was just a bad area for some reason.  A strongback is added to take the leverage, and spread it out on the plate.  This area will be under a lot of stress.   More arc blow during weldout.  Sucks to have a nice bead going, and watch your puddle get blown out at the end of the run.  You can weld in from either end, towards the middle, to beat this sometimes...................if you have the patience, and really give a darn about it.  I really don't care what this job looks like, it's not going in a museum.  I can usually keep the fill going by whipping, or pushing the metal back into the puddle.  Something critical I guess I'd just bite the bullet, and come in from either end.  These were actually finish welded in the fixtured position, making it a PITA to change travel direction.  Same area on the assembly, but the C clamp had been removed prior to laying this weld.  There was one additional C clamp placing pressure on this section, not shown in the fixturing picture.  Just a C clamp can make all the difference in the world when it comes to arc blow.  Magnetic fields are weird.
Reply:Quick check on the other Allis, just to make sure the stupid thing would fit  Then finished out the second adapter.  I still need to cut some pipe for crush tubes,, then they're ready to get put to use.Today, we're racing the rain.  If it rains, that's the end of the effort, till the ground is dry enough to go on the place where the tractor's sitting.Oh Yeah...............the discoloration on the plates is the result of the heat used to straighten after welding.  The usual thing...........heat makes stuff move.  If plates warp, bolts won't fit, and the sections won't lay flat on the axle.
Reply:We beat the rain........matter of fact, it rained all around us, but not here,  so all was goodUsed the hydraulics on the Oliver to raise the loader arms enough to take the bale spikes off, then raised the arms enough to clear the cab on the Oliver.  The quick disconnects held pressure in the lines once they were disconnected.  I figured this would happen, and was grateful the arms held until we pulled in the gate.Hooked everything up, and brought her home.  The Allis was actually able to be steered  Turn the steering wheel about 5-6 times, and it actually put pressure to the hydraulic assist cylinder, and moved the bellcrankK'kins steered the tractor, while Hank followed us with the service truck (he was the guy that gave us enough air to air up the tire).  So, now it's sitting safe in the yard, and will sit there till sometime this Winter, when I can get a motor for it.  All's well that ends well (whew)
Reply:For whtbaron........................................  Once again, the Oliver brings home the bacon  The ONLY green mowchine that truly rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:Why not spend 1/2 a day pulling one of them engines down and find out what's really going on with them? Be a big waste of time and money to buy a used engine and 6 months down the road have the same problem.
Reply:Originally Posted by lars66Why not spend 1/2 a day pulling one of them engines down and find out what's really going on with them? Be a big waste of time and money to buy a used engine and 6 months down the road have the same problem.
Reply:If I totally liquidate, I can put the money in equities, and make it through retirement I'm thinking.
Reply:I am 71 years old, and my 60+HP tractor developed a leak (it is a 1979, so over 40 years old)When I saw the leak, I jumped on the JD website, and to replace it,, is about $40K.I do not consider that to be bad, it comes with a 10 year warranty,, no fixin' head gaskets for 10 years.NO WAY will I EVER be alive without a 60HP tractor,, even at 85YO,, the heck with $$$$$,,Oh, yea,, I have owned that tractor since the late 1990's, and it has NEVER earned a dollar,, it is just a toy,,NOW, quit the silly "SELL!" talk,,  ,, and get the tractor running,,, You KNOW you will never be able to live without the tractor,,, We are pullin' for ya!! (Oh, yea, the leak was one of the cloth covered bypass hoses that connects between the injectors,,the fix was a $6 piece of hose off of Amazon,, so, no new tractor for me,,, YET!!)
Reply:Is that the same tractor that you thought was going bad a couple years ago and it turned out to be the cab interfering with the linkage?Originally Posted by farmersammmWe beat the rain........matter of fact, Hooked everything up, and brought her home. K'kins steered the tractor, Attachment 1730313(whew)
Reply:Originally Posted by lars66Is that the same tractor that you thought was going bad a couple years ago and it turned out to be the cab interfering with the linkage?
Reply:The brackets I made are the connection for the towbar.  The towbar is something I use to pull trucks, not tractors.  The brackets allowed me to attach it to the loader tractor.What you might be referencing, is the locking system that holds the loader on the subframe permanently attached to the tractor.  I built the loader as a quick attach loader, and the subframe is necessary to keep the stress of the tractor frame.  Subframe rests on front wheels, and rear wheels, entirely bridging the gap between front/back of tractor.SweetMk said:  "It looks like the loader already had connection points for the towbar?What are the brackets for on the black part of the loader frame in the pic?Heck, it might have been easier to make an "A" frame than making the axle connections?My BIL had brackets like that on two tractors, so that he could take an extra tractor to a remote field.Back then, he did not ride a pickup around the farm,  (AND it was a BIG farm, couple thousand acres!!)either walk,  or take the little 1950's JD 420 as a ride to get back to the barn for more supplies(seed for the planter, etc,,) "sorry, forgot to hit the "reply with quote" button
Reply:I watch auctions & find pretty good older john deeres - 4240, 4440, etc for around 10 - 12k all the time. Bought 3 in the last 2 years, clean them up a little & resell them for a 2k profit. They can be found pretty easy. Brinkley Auctions is over in Idabel. They have one coming up on Aug 19 & there are several tractors listed that will sell for less than 10k. Even an old Oliver 500 with original books.https://www.proxibid.com/Brinkley-Au...hloc=true#cnTbhttps://www.proxibid.com/OLIVER-500-...ation/63235506
Reply:Originally Posted by cwbyI watch auctions & find pretty good older john deeres - 4240, 4440, etc for around 10 - 12k all the time. Bought 3 in the last 2 years, clean them up a little & resell them for a 2k profit. They can be found pretty easy. Brinkley Auctions is over in Idabel. They have one coming up on Aug 19 & there are several tractors listed that will sell for less than 10k. Even an old Oliver 500 with original books.https://www.proxibid.com/Brinkley-Au...hloc=true#cnTbhttps://www.proxibid.com/OLIVER-500-...ation/63235506
Reply:Originally Posted by 12V71That's all going to depend on the amount of caster the front wheels have, which is probably not much. I've had some pretty big tractors towed to the shop by a local towing service that sent out their big KW with the axle lift. They actually towed a 130,000 lb scraper once, They didn't lift it but used the lift to grab the nose and steer it.
Reply:If we were working on concrete, I'd still be real unhappy about the process.  Although, it would be simpler using a regular cherrypicker.  I'm just not set up for this kind of work............especially since we have only one place to put the motor while it's being worked on.  I have another 20' container clear on the other side of the yard, but it's full of crap that would have to be gotten rid of in a hurry.
Reply:Called 3 different doods about custom baling.  All are stuck on taking 2/3.  Even had one guy lecture me on the cost of hay equipment, and how he was losing money on baling for shares  If you're losin' money, how come you're still doin' itStarted measuring the Oliver for a towbar adapter (sigh).  Gonna have to risk cutting at least half of the hay meadow I guess.  Need a way to get it home if it pukes.  Still not sure about using it to bale.  I need it for the 3pt crane, otherwise I'm screwed when it comes to doing work.Got BeamBoy fired up  Starting to put together a list of materials for a stinkin' off road gantry crane  Stinkin' thing has to be able to roll over rough ground (rubber tires), and withstand less than perpendicular operation without collapsing.  4000# capacity ought to be enough I'm figuring.This thing gonna be subject to twisting, so I'm figuring on the entire friggin' thing bein' made out of rectangular, and square, tubing.  AND YA MIGHT KNOW..........THIS HAS TO COME AT A TIME WHEN STEEL IS AT ALL TIME HIGHSToo old for this crap.K'kins called today from work.  She said this is like a slap in the face, just when we thought we'd caught up, and were planning on a Winter of rehab work on the equipment.
Reply:Sam.   Could  you not lease or  rent a tractor from  a dealer for a couple of months to get the  haying done?Around  here you could get a used one of the lot for a short term.  I  think it would  be  so much  per hour onthe  hour  counter.  That  would get  you  back in  business  again  for the  meantime.
Reply:I'm limiting calculated stress to around 25Ksi at 4000#.  Realistically, I don't see ever going up to 2 tons, but I'd rather design to that spec.  And..............25Ksi is pushing the limits.  Not much of a safety factor...........but it's not gonna be handled by an idiot, so 25Ksi ought to get by.Choice is between 3x6x3/16, or 4x5x3/16, for the beam.  The wider flange gives more bang for the buck if there's an appreciable price difference, and if I can actually get 4x5 tubing.  God forbid I gotta buy a full stick to get the size.  That's a very real possibility.  At least it'll sell good at my estate sale I guess.  Stupid to be spending this kind of money so close to the end of the game.Last edited by farmersammm; 2 Weeks Ago at 05:01 PM.Reason: spelling
Reply:Originally Posted by JoseySam.   Could  you not lease or  rent a tractor from  a dealer for a couple of months to get the  haying done?Around  here you could get a used one of the lot for a short term.  I  think it would  be  so much  per hour onthe  hour  counter.  That  would get  you  back in  business  again  for the  meantime.
Reply:We were ready to cut at the end of June, but the weather killed us.................but it wouldn't have mattered.  The machines would have died at that time, they just got a temporary reprieve because we hadn't actually pushed the tractors yet.
Reply:I'm tellin' ya.........rubber tires is da way to goGotta have fun with it, or you'd just sit and cry.
Reply:don't you work out of a couple of shipping containers?  use them for the base of your crane. then you only need to go from top of container to your desired height, so saving on steel. if your only lifting a cab or engine and not sections of titanic, then the container roof if in good nick should be strong enough, especially if you use some spreader platesalso if you can get between containers a quick tarp roof can be made to keep weather off.even if only able to get along side one container thats still most of a leg of a gantry crane made for you
Reply:Originally Posted by ghost_walkerdon't you work out of a couple of shipping containers?  use them for the base of your crane. then you only need to go from top of container to your desired height, so saving on steel. if your only lifting a cab or engine and not sections of titanic, then the container roof if in good nick should be strong enough, especially if you use some spreader platesalso if you can get between containers a quick tarp roof can be made to keep weather off.even if only able to get along side one container thats still most of a leg of a gantry crane made for you
Reply:Rent a small crane for a couple days?  Save on construction, speeds up the process, and you won't have to trip over it later.   Some of my contractor friends use them to set trusses and its a few hundred $$ including the operator.  Shorten up the boom, and its likely they have the capacity.  Another option might be an off road forklift if you know someone who has one.  Local rental yard here has pretty much anything I need.   Not real cheap, but if you only need it once or twice, worth looking into.Last edited by Zimm; 1 Week Ago at 02:28 PM.
Reply:Spent a good part of the morning checking steel.I can get a 10 foot section of standard I beam, 6" web, 3" flange,, for $100.  Cut it down to 8 feet, and I'll get 1 ton capacity.To bump it up to an 8" web will cost $200 for the same length because the guy has to order a full stick, and cut to my length.  8 footer bumps the capacity up to 2 tons.3x3x3/16 square tubing is $247 per stick.  Minimum of around 3 sticks required.  Have some drops on my rack that might cut the requirement.  Somehow,, it seems to me that I used to raise hell when this stuff was around $120/stick.Only other cost is 4 wheel spindles with hubs.  I already have some 15" trailer tires.I had a cobbled up overhead thingy collapse on me when I was a kid, so I'm very cautious about anything over my head.  I'm thinking the extra capacity can't hurt for another $100
Reply:You are welcome to this Sammm. Surplus to me but too far to drop it off at your place. Maybe 12V71 will.   Seems he's always up to an "adventure" LOLSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk:
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammmThe other container is about 500 feet away from the "shop" container, so it's a no go I guess.
Reply:Originally Posted by Lis2323You are welcome to this Sammm. Surplus to me but too far to drop it off at your place. Maybe 12V71 will.   Seems he's always up to an "adventure" LOLSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:I have a never used snowplow, and a gently used Rhino 10' bush hog, that are flip items.  I buy this stuff, and resell it.  (No, I can't use the Rhino..........it's 1000pto, and my stuff is 540pto)These can offset some of the upcoming costs...............but oops!!!!!!!!!!  Snowplow is up on the Great Dane deck (too high to reach with the 3pt crane), and the 10' Rhino is too heavy for the 3pt crane.  You really miss a loader when you don't have a loader.
Reply:Originally Posted by Lis2323You are welcome to this Sammm. Surplus to me but too far to drop it off at your place. Maybe 12V71 will.   Seems he's always up to an "adventure" LOLSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Do you have a buddy near that would rent you a tractor for a couple days to get your hay in? Seems like thats top priority right now for you guys. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by IAMsteelworkerDo you have a buddy near that would rent you a tractor for a couple days to get your hay in? Seems like thats top priority right now for you guys. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammmI have a guy that's going to haul some hay we have stored on the hay meadow, and I'm planning to cut the field near the house that's in Johnson Grass now.  It's a small field,, but will make enough hay, with the other stuff we have, to get through Winter when we sell off around 35 head.  It's gonna be tight, but it's doable.  We'll buy some 3-Ways in the Spring (bred cow, with a calf on her side).To be honest, there are no "buddies" around here.  Everyone is willing to "help" for a stiff price.  It's a crap corner of the worldTo be fair..........there are people willing to help, and we've been offered help on other stuff.  But anyone with larger equipment expects a price.  Already got an "offer" for "that tractor that quit up there".  I could scrap it for more than the offer.