How big of a tank on a 3 point hitch?

[heus]

I have a carry-all which mounts on the 3 point hitch of my 1957 or 58 Ford 641 (This is like a Golden Jubilee but a later year). The platform measures approximately 24" by 4 feet. I was looking at TSC and their 125 gallon plastic leg tank looks like it would fit. Would this be way too much weight, without having any weights on the front? I currently use a 6 foot finish mower on the 3 point hitch. If I have to drop down to the 65 gallon leg tank, I guess I'll just have to make multiple trips to collect sap.

[woodshillmaple]

I have a 5 foot wide by 3 foot deep carryall that we made on my NH 1720 tractor. That is about 28hp. I used a 275 gallon tote to haul my sap. I do have a front end loader on the tractor so that kind of weight wasnt the problem. The problem lies in how much the hydraulics of the 3pt can handle. As long as I was about half full or less it was ok. Get much over that and it really struggled to lift it.

[Sugarmaker]

heus,
We had a 275 gallon tank on a Ford 5000 a little bigger tractor than yours. We didn't use it a lot, not sure we ever filled it up while on the tractor?
I would guess that the 125 gallon x 8 lb per gallon would work well. That's 1000 lb of weight. Keep it up as close to the tractor as possible. You might need some weights on the front too? Should get great traction!, and you can always lower the tank or only fill it 3/4 full if the front end is to light. Bigger is always better:)
This system is good to gather with because you can let the tank down to the ground. Get the leg tank with the 16 inch lid opening if possible, much easier to clean and or dump into.

Regards,
Chris C.

[nymapleguy607]

I have hauled a 125 gallon tank with our Farmall 140 on the quick hitch
I have had times when I came out of the woods steering with the brakes because the front was about 6in off the ground and the tank was half full.
Lifting the full tank is not the problem it is moving it. If your ground is steep then go with a smaller tank and add some weight to the front of the tractor.
Jeff

[maplemat1]

heus have a few 275 gal. cage tanks located in middlefield ,ohio they would fit on the platform and the price is resonably cheaper than a tsc tank .the are used food grade materials.

[MFarmall]

maplemat1, where is Middlefield from Columbus. If have an extra 275 gallon cage tank I could use one to hold sap. I live about 20 miles south of Columbus.
MFarmall
Mel Woolever

[heus]

maplemat1,
I actually have a 275 cage tank that I picked up at Atkinsons in Ontario this summer. I figured it was too big for my 3 point so I never considered it.

[cncaboose]

If you have a bucket on the tractor you can use 2 of the 65 gallon tanks, one in the bucket and one on the carryall, and get your 130 gallons without taxing your 3 pt lift and have better weight distribution. That's what we do with our 29 hp Kubota and it has worked very well.

[gmcooper]

My uncle has a 641 with a loader. He has a 55 gallon drum filled with concrete for weight when he plows snow in winter. No problem with 3pt lifting it. I think he said it was 1500 lbs. Probably closer to the rear axel than a sap tank might be.

[Farmboy]

This year I might put a 275 tote on the back of our Massey feruson 231s. It's a 52 h.p. 2wd tractor. I will use it for collecting and hauling sap a 1/2 mile down the road.

[dano2840]

i know a farmer who used a 3pt bale spear on the back of his 8n and moved round bales with it the tractor will lift the bales....... but you steer with the brakes!!!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I have a lot of experience with sap on 3 point carryall behind the tractor as that is how I have hauled mine for years. I have a Kutota L3400 4x4 and I have a 125 gallon leg tank on the rear(holds about 140 completely full) and a 65 gallon leg tank in bucket on front(holds about 70 gallon completely full). I usually fill the rear tank to about 120 gallons max and could probably fill it full. Tractor won't pick it up with 120 or more gallons in it, so I fill it with carryall completely lifted to highest point and I have the carryall adjusted so the rear is much higher than the front. This way, the tractor is not straining to lift dead weight, it is already lifted and all it has to do is maintain it which is much easier. Also, main thing, by having it alreay in the air and rear of carryall much higher than the front, this puts the majority of the weight much closer to the rear axle and lift point, so in reality, there is much less weight on the hydraulics than if it was lifting with the weight evenly distributed.

Hope this makes sense. I can usually run about 190 gallons to as much as 200 with each trip.

[drewlamb]

Like WVmapler, I have been moving sap for years with a 3pt hitch carry-all and with forks on the front. I have a 45hp kubota (L-4400) and some short steep hills to climb moving in and out of the bush. I'm able to carry a 225 on the back (about 2300 lb) and a 125 (about 1400 lb) on the front without a problem, loaded to the brim, and the hydraulics will lift the big tank on the rear, just not all the way up, once it's full. I have to be careful to maintain plenty of sap in the front or I have no steering on the hills. Naturally, you'll be limited by whatever your machine can do.

[Houranch]

I had a Ford Jubilee years back, and was unable to pickup an 1100 lb round bale of hay with it,, it wasn't made for that back then,, most that they were made for was a simple 2 bottom plow,, or a very light 3bottom 14 inch plow,, good luck

[wattwood1]

I bought the 65 gallon poly tank from tractor supply last year and mounted it on the back of a MF TO30 which as I recollect is about the same size as a Jubilee +/-. The limiting factor was the rated weight (about 500lbs.) for the 3pt "carry all" that I also picked up from Tractor Supply. The tank just about maxed out the carry all weight limit. I ran the forks through a pallet and mounted the tank on that. I wouldn't have wanted any more weight on the back of that tractor. The 65 gallon 'felt' about right. Rob

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af351/wattwood/Maple%20season/DSC_3630.jpg

Nice looking website and sugarhouse by the way...

[heus]

I ended up buying the 65 gallon leg tank at TSC. I have used it on my carry-all to haul water from my house and through the woods and the ford handles it just fine. Only problem is that the hydraulics take a few minutes to decide they want to work when its cold out. Its funny how the ford seems so much more of a "modern" tractor than the Allis Chalmers WD-45 and WC's I used to own. Nice having a 3-point hitch. Its also funny how the ford seems ancient and outdated compared to a newer tractor.

[ejmaple]

my new holland is 35 hp and handels two 65 gal leg tanks fine, one on a carry all and one in the bucket. this year i'am going to try a 275 gal tank on the rear with a beefed up home made carry all, and the 65 gal in the bucket. i'am sure i won't be filling the 275 gal tank, but needed that extra room for my expanded bush.

[maple flats]

Be carefull of carry all's. They are not all the same. TSC offers 2, 500# and 1000#, I bent a few 500#ers before I got smart and got the 1000#. After I bent that (not hauling a 125 gal sap tank) I bought a 2500# one. I used to load my sawmill with one, now I use my excavator. Remember, sap weight slightly over 8# a gal, the tank is about 40-50 I think, I put a plywood platform on the carryall forks (20#?) Then I did carry a 125 with both my Ford 1500 and 1700, 1500 no loader, 1700 w/loader. Total weight about 1100# but the 1000# rated one did the job. I have also put a 65 in the loader. What ever you try, use a binder strap to anchor the tank on so it won't move as you go over bumps and drop into ruts.