BUILDING IN SAFETY
The 3-point hitch: What’s the big deal? That is a question that might be raised by younger readers who can’t envision a farm tractor without a 3-point hitch. About 100 years ago, though, integration of the tractor and implement was a new idea. It was also about 100 years ago that the first tractor flipped over backward when its plow struck an immoveable object.
It is just a matter of physics. Engine torque and flywheel inertia multiplied by the overall gear ratio means that, if the drive wheels are held stationary, torque on the axle will be enough to rotate the entire tractor backward around the axle. Of course, if the tractor was designed so that its drive axle was in front (front wheel-drive) this would not happen, but that configuration, while good for automobiles, is obviously not so good for tractors.
Continuing with the matters of tractor physics, the force of the tractor applied to the implement is called load, or simply draft. The way draft is reflected from the implement (whether it’s a plow or a wagon) to the tractor, and vice versa, can be expressed as a vector, known as the If the line
