swinging draw bar for rear PTO mower/ Good Idea?

[inairam]

I have a new to me 140 with rear bush hog mower. Now the mower is pinned to a small extension plate on the drawbar.

I noticed you have to take wide turns because of the universals on pto shaft.

Would a swinging drawbar be better or worse for the universals?

[Jim Becker]

The ASAE standard says that the center of the drawbar pin hole is to be 14 inches behind the tip of the PTO shaft. Vertical distance from the top of the drawbar to the centerline of the PTO shaft is to be between 6 and 15 inches, with 8 inches recommended.

The 140 (with standard drawbar) came with a hitch plate that bolts to the drawbar and extends it to the 14 inch standard. A lot of people have used the swinging drawbar with PTO equipment but it does not stick out as far as the hitch plate. I don't know if your extension plate is one of the IH plates or not. There is a drawing of it in the 140 Parts Catalog. The better choice between your extension plate and the swinging drawbar comes down to which one gets you closer to the 14 inch dimension. With either one, you will be better off to mount it as far to the left as you can. The straighter the shaft runs, the better it will work.

Even with everything set up to the proper dimensions, you still have to be careful about how tight of a turn you make.

[inairam]

Jim I really appreciate how thorough your post are. I will post some photos of the extension and measure it. I do not have a swing bar for the 140 so I will not be able the check that measurement.

[MiCarl]

I doubt that the swinging draw bar would make much difference. The problem you have is the PTO shaft limits how tight the angle can be between the tractor and implement. Changing the pivot point isn't going to have much effect on how tight you can turn it.

Personally, I prefer to disengage PTO equipment when turning. Particularly when backing up where the angle can get tight in a hurry.

I cut some hay Monday with a tractor that has to be shut down to engage/disengage the PTO so I was backing up at idle with the PTO engaged. It was pretty obvious from the vibration that you can't turn a spinning universal very tight before it starts to bind.