Front Hitch for H

I am planning on bolting a 2" hitch receiver tube to the 2-bolt lower flange on the bottom of the front wheel bolster on my H. I want to use a 6" ball mount riser in the receiver to give me the proper elevation for attaching my log chipper and log splitter so I can more easily spot them by driving forward rather than backing them into position. Has anyone used this flange for a push/pull point with such a moment arm load point? If so, have you had any problems?

I have not used it, but I wonder if it will make it much harder to turn the front wheels, since the ball would be swung laterally when the wheels turn. I would think that if you made something that bolted to the frame rails and extended to the front it might be easier to maneuver, but I don't know.
Zach

I assume you are talking about down between the 2 front wheels? If so, you are asking for trouble. Probably won't have any trouble with using such things as your log splitter or wood chipper, but anything heavier than that COULD very easily cause the entire front bolster to break. A much better idea is to do a little more fabricating and mount the hitch to the 2 bolt holes in the TOP flange.

Well if you want to do it low it would have to clear the front tires by a good bit or you would catch them on the thing. Me if I was going to do something would set it up off the side rails because if you hook it so when you turn it would move then you will have lots of problem because in doing so you would make it turn opposite of what the front end would be doing and that would cause you big big problems

We made a hitch fro the front of our M & SMs that bolt to the front bolster via the two holes in front. We use this hitch to push wagons & such into sheds. Much easier to push a wagon thru a door & around a corner than back it in. This is an old concept and one that many others have done in the past. Local seed delaer used an H with a similiar hitch to back loaded wagons inside to his seed cleaner for years. If you weren't careful I suppose you could break the front bolster off but I haven't heard of it being done.

We also made a tow hitch that connects to the front hitch using a pivot & hitch pin. This allows us to pull one of the tractors from bin site to bin site with a pickup. Makes it a lot more comfortable in the winter time riding in a heated p.u. instead of riding an openstation tractor several miles. Usually, we have the auger hooked to the back of the tractor. Neighbor did break outone of the bolt holes on his nf 656 towing it in the winter when the hyd oil was cold.

I wouldn't think that something as light as a log spliter would cause you problems as long as you watch what you're doing. I've pushed gravity flow wagons with 300 bu on them into the shed with our M or SM. Just watch that you don't cramp the front wheels too tight. If we try to make too tight of a turn the front end will slide. In such a situation you could possible dmage the bolster. Front end will get a little light with a loaded wagon but I never have had it come off the ground though I have heard that will happen if you try it with a 2cyl JD.

As I read your post, I think you"re talking about putting the hitch ahead of and between the front tires. I think that will cause some problems.
I have hitches on the front of my H, M, and SM Farmalls that have been used to push wagons into the barn and for various other tasks. Each was made from a drawbar extension plate that was designed for a Farmall B. The holes in the plate exactly line up with the holes in the lower front of the UPPER bolster, ahead of the bolts that attach the lower bolster section holding the front wheels. This allows for considerably less strain than mounting the hitch down where the wheels are. My hitch plates have been heated with a torch and bent down in the front so they are at approximately the same angle as the wagon tongue raised to that height. Many years of use have given no problems.
If you mount a hitch at the tire level, be very gentle with it.

Done this for decades; make the hitch attach to the rails, works great!

For pushing light things the hitch plate could be fastened where the lower bolster bolts on to the upper bolster and the PTO hitch plate (if you know what that is and still have it) will fit there using longer cap screws (bolts) to secure it, but you won't like this set-up to push heavy loads with because it makes the tractor steer difficult. I always fastened my front hitch to the sides of the tractor's upper bolster where you would mount the cultivators or other attachments. Don't try to mount anything more than a wheel scraper at those tabs on the lower end of the lower bolster between the wheels, you don't want to try to push or pull anything from there.