Since we have
been attending antique tractor shows, we have wanted to mount a plow to the
Newgren lift. At a show last May, our
friend Craig loaned us his Newgren plow and it was a hit. It did appear that folks who had never
encountered a farm jeep had trouble completely grasping the concept without an
implement hanging off the back. Seeing
the plow back there drew a larger crowd.
While we have
3 plows on the farm – a Ford Dearborn 2-14, a Massey-Ferguson 1-16 and a Wiard
2-12, none of these seemed to work correctly (not enough ground clearance for
transportation) with the Newgren lift.
Luckily are search for plow information led us to Clint Dixon who has
helped us find specifications for the operation of our lift, as well as lessons
in plow geometry.
The following
is an email exchange that describes what we have learned:
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Clint,
Over the weekend,
I got the Newgren lift working and tried to see how it would do with
my 3 plows. All have tall masts, but wanted to see if one might work as a
"show with the jeep" plow. I hoped the Wiard would work, but no
luck. Then tried a Dearborn 2-14 and a MF 1-16. The 1-16 came
close, but was only a couple of inches off the ground.
So I'm going to
build some pin-on adapters for the Newgren arms that will allow me to
lift the plows high enough for transport, even if not for actual field work.
I'll continue my search for an early Newgren plow.
It is not the mast
height, but the ground to pin height on the plow that is the problem.
Don't know if there are any other any commercial plows that would fit the Newgren lift,
unmodified.
Barry
Barry,
Well, this one
took some thought and some research.
The ASAE standards
for a “Category I” 3-point hitch indicate that the Lower Hitch Points on the
Lower Links must lower to a height of no greater than 10-inches above the
ground. They must raise to a height of no less than 32-inches above the ground.
This 22-inch span is called the “power range”. (The Lower Hitch Points are the
holes/balls at the ends of the lower links where the lower hitch studs on the
implement directly attach.)
From Willys
literature from 1951, I see that the Monroe Lift mounted on a Jeep Universal
equipped with 7:00x15 tires, heavy springs, and a 180 lb. operator allows the
Lower Hitch Points to lower to a height of 7-inches above the ground – well
below the ASAE standard. It also allows the Lower Hitch Points to raise to a
height of 32-7/8 inches above the ground – just meeting the ASAE requirement.
The Monroe Lift
mounted on my Dodge Power Wagon allows the Lower Hitch Points to lower to 7-1/2
inches from the ground and raise to 32-1/2 inches. Again, meeting the ASAE
standards.
I have never had
the chance to compare these dimensions to a Newgren Lift mounted on a
Jeep. I have to imagine the dimensions would be close if J.B. Love was trying
to meet the Category I standards. If they deviate to any great degree, this
could definitely contribute to what you have experienced.
I measured the
distances from the ground to the center of the rockshaft on my Newgren plows,
each having the tall masts. The dimension varies slightly depending upon the
type of plowshares and how much they are worn, but 21-1/2 inches is an average.
I do not have a Wiard, Dearborn, or Massey Ferguson near to measure, but I
suspect the dimensions would not vary by more than an inch. I do not know how
this dimension compares to an early short-masted Newgren.
This 21-1/2 inch
measurement as taken with the plow sitting on the ground allows the plow to
lower up to 14-inches into the ground. As a general rule, a 16-inch plow will
work best when plowing an 8-inch deep furrow, a 14-inch plow at 7-inchs, and a
12-inch plow at a 6-inch furrow. This gives us a reserve of 6 to 8 inches of
available additional plow working depth in the ground. This can be valuable
when the front wheels of the vehicle pass through a washout or low spot. They
can drop quite a bit before the plow is actually pulled from the ground.
This 21-1/2 inch
rockshaft-to-ground measurement also means that the plow should lift high enough
that the plowshare points will be about 10 to 11-inches above the ground during
transport (not taking into account suspension squat from the extra weight).
This is about where the plows lift to on my Power Wagon.
An early Newgren plow,
with the short mast height, will no longer be parallel to the ground when
raised to transport position with a Newgren Lift. The tail should be slightly
high, but this has no real effect on overall ground clearance. A later Newgren plow,
with the tall mast height, will be at approximately the same angle to the
ground when raised to transport position with a Monroe Lift. The same thing
happens with Dearborn and Ferguson plows on Ford and Ferguson tractors, and
Dearborn and Ferguson plows on vehicles with Monroe Lifts.
…
Could anything be
bent on your lift? Or, do you not have original lower links and yours may be
too short? I do not have the dimensions, but I could maybe get them for you.
Are you sure you are getting full stroke out of the cylinder? Is the pump maybe
loosing pressure before the cylinder is completely extended?
I am not aware of
any plows other than what you have that would work better.
I am interested to
hear what you find out.
Best Regards,
Clint
Clint,
Thank you for this
great information. The lower arms and the adjustment links are
reproductions on the lift. It is possible that they are not the proper
length. I'll try to take some measurements of the lift range and see
where I'm at now.
I had to have the
cylinder complete rebuild, with a new body. The shop reused the end caps
and the end section of the rod, but I can't be sure it was done to original
specs.
I'm not sure how
to thank you for taking the time to research this. You have saved me
hours of chasing the wrong issue. I'll keep you informed of my progress.
Barry
Hi Barry,
Well it took a
while but I got some dimensions for you.
The original arms
on a Newgren lift measure 21-1/2 inches, centerline to centerline,
from the hole where the lift arm mounts to the rockshaft to the hole where the
implement attaches.
The lift arms
measure 1 inch thick and 2-1/2 inches wide.
With the arms
fully lifted, the measurement from the hole where the implement attaches to the
ground is approximately 27 inches (depending upon tire condition, rear
suspension condition, etc. of course).
The amount of
shaft that sticks out beyond the pivot block under the rockshaft is 3-1/2
inches. With the lift fully lowered, you can manually raise the lift arms, but
the 3-1/2 inches of shaft will never pull out of the pivot block.
I do not know for
sure, but I suspect, if you had an early short mast Newgren plow and
a later tall mast Newgren plow sitting next to each other, the
implement attaching points on the early plow would be a little closer to the ground
than the implement attaching points on the later Newgren.
Hope this helps.
Clint
Clint,
The measurements
match to what we have, for both the arm length/size and for the lift range (we
did get 28" by screwing the adjusters all the way up). So we are on
the lookout for a plow.
Thanks again for all the help.
Barry
The
good news is that we know we have the correct setup. Need to continue looking for an original
Newgren plow. However, we may need to
change our description of the Newgren lift as be compatible with standard 3PT implements.
