Rusty quit shifting!!!

Seriously Sean, a lot of guys buy a tractor without any previous experience handling one. Some folks have been damn lucky too. Not joking about tractor safety here. Heck, a 13 HP Farmall Cub is capable of rotating around that centerline in the right circumstances. Even if all the warning stickers are intact, how many actually read them untill after a SHTF moment where the sticker is all they can see because they're crushed under their tractor? Torque moves things, that's why you bought the tractor in the first place. The engine in the tractor produces the torque. All that gearing in the tractor multiplies the engine torque tremendously allowing it to do some serious pulling. What I want Sean to do is put it into terms everyone can understand. His grasp of the proper terminology exceedes my simple wording abilitys concerning harnessing a tractor's torque application. Sean, tell them why a tractor can flip itself over and why you always hitch them below the centerline of the drive axel.

 

On a Ford 555 backhoe, if you extend the hoe full out, with the bucket about a foot off the ground and lift the front bucket about a foot off the ground the CG is almost perfectly at the rear wheels. In that configuration, I would then put it in 3rd gear (low), and slowly, while holding one of the rear brakes down, release the clutch. The whole thing would start spinning like a top on one wheel, a 13,500 lb top. With the backhoe, I could also pick up a discarded beer bottle, stand it on end, and shove it into the ground without breaking it. Man, I miss working there. I've had some fun jobs. No complaints.

That's not what HB wants to hear, LOL, but I don't have all day to give a lesson in physics. It's easier just to trust me. These tractors have bars that are specifically intended to be used as towing locations. The actual load path is not at the hitch ball, or whatever, but on the bottom of the tractor, in front of the rear wheels. No way you can flip one that way.

The best lesson I've heard regarding torque is this; Imagine stepping up to a urinal to pee, whilst having a boner. Now, imagine that when you push down on your Johnson, your feet fly out from under you and you hit your face on the tile wall. That is the true meaning of torque.

 

The best lesson I've heard regarding torque is this; Imagine stepping up to a urinal to pee, whilst having a boner. Now, imagine that when you push down on your Johnson, your feet fly out from under you and you hit your face on the tile wall. That is the true meaning of torque.

I always thought that was the difference between a piss boner and a sex boner. But I guess torque is still involved

 

Ok ! Thanks Sean, explaining where the safe load path originates is what I wanted. I bet somewhere in your old manuscripts you have that nifty diagram showing the force paths involved in this discussion. If you happen to run across it in the future post it, it makes everything succinctly clear. Good job ol' Bean !

 

Hey, no sweat. Again, I just don't want to see someone get hurt. Thanks for understanding.

We had a road at the FoMoCoTracto test track that started out level, but every 10 feet or so the banking would progressively increase 5°, up to around 45°, I think. We'd remotely drive tractors along that road, real slow, until they'd tip over, then record that angle. You'd be really surprised how stable they are going longitudinal on a hill. When you think you're about to roll one, odds are you've got another 5-10° before that actually happens (don't try this at home). Good times, like I said.

 

Yes, we all saw that, and if you've been playing along, you'll see we all disagreed with that pull point. Again, we've mentioned it, you're on your own. Good luck.

As an aside; this thread has been great. Thank you, I've enjoyed it.

 

Fascinating stuff to city folks I guess. To most people who grew up driving a tractor on a farm, it didn't take all those experiments to figure that out. I say most because I do know of a few people who have been killed or injured by flipping or rolling a tractor. Most of the time it's caused by doing something stupid..........and we all agree that you can't fix stupid. However, you can put a roll bar and seat belt on the tractor for those occasions.

 

The blade would keep the tractor from flipping, just like the disc that I mentioned earlier. You were in no danger from that maneuver. Carry on.

 

I wish everyone would stop giving Dennis so much trouble. Safe, unsafe, smart, not smart, to each his own. My 4 year old takes steep angled hills too fast for my liking when he cuts the yard, but to each his own. He's young, and nimble. He can jump off if the mower tips on a hill.

 

Yes, he can. Like I said, great thread. I learned something, for sure.

 

Always good to learn in the help sections, that's what they're for! I think Dennis did fine, by the way.

 

I was able to make a side mount battery tray from a 65-66 mustang work with minimal modification on my 66.... Only got that one becuase I have a bunch of mustang parts houses locally.

 

wont a 67 mustang tray fit better?

just wondering.

 

I put a 1992 F-150 tray in my 71 with minor mods. It's galvanized with a better looking tie-down (the one on the bottom side).