Tractor- More Pulling

More Pulling Details

Maximum Pull On Trailer: 94.5 lb (42.9 kg)
I wanted to see how much the tractor could pull on a trailer. I built a small cart and stacked weight on top of it until the tractor could pull no more. The final weight of the trailer (in a successful pull) was 94.5 pounds.
Before attempting this pull, I did redesign the drive train a little. The 12 toothed bevel gears had been a problem because they kept breaking under high torque. I replaced them with 12 toothed double bevel gears that were thicker and therefore stronger.
The pull looked very impressive as this massive stack of stuff slowly inched ahead. The weight included 56 pounds of exercise weights, 12 pounds of steel flatbar, blue tub full of tires, CD folder, tackle box, unfinished project, spare camera lens, pair of pliers, sack of bb's, and my pocket knife.
I kept piling stuff on, anything that I could grab. Finally, I added an additional 0.2 pounds (on top of 94.5 lb) and heard a "click-click-CRACK" and the tractor's drive train gave out. I don't know which gear broke, I just gave up and went to bed.

The trailer, or cart, used 16 Model Team tires. I built the cart as solidly as I could and it held up fine with almost 100 pounds on it.
I'm not sure how low the coefficient of friction is when rolling the cart, but I'm sure it's very low. The "rollers" (Model Team tires) spun freely and provided little resistance. I pushed the cart (under load) back and forth with my hands and it was pretty easy.
The trick to smooth rollers was to "sandwich" the tires on either side with supports. You'll notice in the pictures that there are beams on either side of the double tires in which the axle is supported.

This is probably it for the tractor. The redesign of the gears is all I can do without completely rebuilding the whole thing. So, the pull numbers given are final.

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		Maximum Pull On Trailer: 94.5 lb (42.9 kg) I wanted to see how much the tractor could pull on a trailer. I built a small cart and stacked weight on top of it until the tractor could pull no more. The final weight of the trailer (in a successful pull) was 94.5 pounds. Before attempting this pull, I did redesign the drive train a little. The 12 toothed bevel gears had been a problem because they kept breaking under high torque. I replaced them with 12 toothed double bevel gears that were thicker and therefore stronger. The pull looked very impressive as this massive stack of stuff slowly inched ahead. The weight included 56 pounds of exercise weights, 12 pounds of steel flatbar, blue tub full of tires, CD folder, tackle box, unfinished project, spare camera lens, pair of pliers, sack of bb's, and my pocket knife. I kept piling stuff on, anything that I could grab. Finally, I added an additional 0.2 pounds (on top of 94.5 lb) and heard a "click-click-CRACK" and the tractor's drive train gave out. I don't know which gear broke, I just gave up and went to bed.



		The trailer, or cart, used 16 Model Team tires. I built the cart as solidly as I could and it held up fine with almost 100 pounds on it. I'm not sure how low the coefficient of friction is when rolling the cart, but I'm sure it's very low. The "rollers" (Model Team tires) spun freely and provided little resistance. I pushed the cart (under load) back and forth with my hands and it was pretty easy. The trick to smooth rollers was to "sandwich" the tires on either side with supports. You'll notice in the pictures that there are beams on either side of the double tires in which the axle is supported.



		This is probably it for the tractor. The redesign of the gears is all I can do without completely rebuilding the whole thing. So, the pull numbers given are final.