Thread: A Frame Towing

Hello All,

Have you ever owned something for years and just associated that item with one specific purpose? Then one day you turn your head at it and see it from a different perspective and say to yourself "well bugger me, I could use that for another new purpose!"

I have just returned from my shed after looking for a place to store away the A-Frame so that it is out of the way. The place I chose was in between some pallet racking. The same spot is where my disassembled tractor mounted three-point linkage jib crane is stored away. The jib is in one piece and the three-point linkage frame is the other piece. I turned my head to a different angle and made the above utterance. It turns out I found a very close match to my jib crane that was on sale on Gumtree. The photograph was sourced on the 4th of December 2023 from, https://gumtreeau-res.cloudinary.com/image/private/t_$_s-l800/move/49157459-9d67-4a80-922d-03888d8db2e2. The part within the red circle is the three point linkage frame. Each corner of the frame has stay bar or mounting pins fixed to the frame.

Instead of mounting the winch to the A-Frame I could mount the winch to the three-point linkage - is sure as hell is strong enough with how thick the steel is! I could use the bracket where the eye of the jib fits into the three point linkage as the point where the winch rope can be secured via a hitch pin. Where the mounting pins hook into the three point linkage bars I could use a top link end that fits over the mounting pin. Then if the diameter is the right size and thread, I could screw on a stabiliser chain onto the top link end. Then using a D shackle fix a length of chain to hook onto the vehicle to be towed. To check out what the parts I have described are visit this site... accessed 4th December 2023 from, Tractor 3 point Linkage parts – ARK Parts. I studied Farm Management and did units in Agricultural Mechanisation - hence my familiarity with tractor parts. Oh, I have no dealings with the mob who just happen to have a website that names each of the three-point linkage parts. I am sure that some of the names of parts are different to the ones I learnt... all those decades ago!

Anyway, by visiting the local farm machinery and tractor place and buying just a couple of new parts, it will allow the A-Frame to remain unmolested. The only barrier could be differences between the thread pitch and diameters of the top link end and the stabiliser chain link's female thread. I am sure there will be lots of bins of tractor goodies to hunt through so I can come up with a good solution.
Just by turning my head at new angle and seeing things differently.. and taking some time to think a bit.



Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I'm not a fan of A frame towing, Lionel, particularly small vehicles behind a mobile home. What happens when the mobile home needs to reverse? Impossible!

Hello Ian,

I will not be contributing to your displeasure as my A-Frame towing will be limited to the paddock.

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Ian,

I will not be contributing to your displeasure as my A-Frame towing will be limited to the paddock.

Kind regards
Lionel

I saw that, mate. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you try to reverse with any precision.

Back in the 1980's a few of us in the Land Rover club used to have A frames permanently mounted on the front of their Landys

I remember a trip where a fellow club member broke a steering relay box up north of Licola. Luckily he had an A frame - So I towed him home all the way to Doncaster , I had my 302 Powered SWB at the time . His Holden powered Landy had never gone so fast . Of course he was sitting in his Landy helping with brakes & indicators etc.

At one stage I swerved when I saw a cat, I missed but he got it.

And more recently I hooked up my Electric lightweight with an A frame & towed it behind my Iveco , The experiment was to demonstrate you can charge an EV battery by towing .
this is the dashcam view from Landy

Hello All,

Just been doing some more digging online into different options with three-point linkage parts. If I get a universal ball end - female thread, plus the same size stabiliser eye bolt with the same handed thread, then I should be okay to have a point to hook the chains that secure to the vehicle that will be winched in and out of the shed. Less parts than first thought Plus, all the parts are designed for the sort of working load a tractor produces. So more of a safety margin for me. :0)

Well, that is it for me for tonight. Take care everyone!

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I saw that, mate. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you try to reverse with any precision.

If the tow vehicle is meaty enough its not a problem, the front of the towed vehicle goes where its forced to.

Originally Posted by goingbush

Back in the 1980's a few of us in the Land Rover club used to have A frames permanently mounted on the front of their Landys

I remember a trip where a fellow club member broke a steering relay box up north of Licola. Luckily he had an A frame - So I towed him home all the way to Doncaster , I had my 302 Powered SWB at the time . His Holden powered Landy had never gone so fast . Of course he was sitting in his Landy helping with brakes & indicators etc.

At one stage I swerved when I saw a cat, I missed but he got it.

And more recently I hooked up my Electric lightweight with an A frame & towed it behind my Iveco , The experiment was to demonstrate you can charge an EV battery by towing .
this is the dashcam view from Landy

Hello Goingbush,

I have seen some Series Land Rovers on the road that have been fitted with A-Frames. At the time the A-Frame's presence raised the thought that they could not be too confident about the vehicle's reliability if it was so certain that it would require towing. An open invitation for something to go wrong.

I had to refer to Google Maps to work out the road distance between Licola and Doncaster, it equals 246 km.

The 302 would have been a Ford Cleveland V8 out of something like a 1974 XB? Did you match the V8 up to the standard Land Rover gearbox and transfer case?

It has been years since I saw a Series vehicle fitted with an Australian V8 for sale. The last one I saw on eBay was a Series shortie with a Holden V8 - not sure if it was a 253 or a 308 - it was a red motor though.


Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Thanks Lionel.

Hello Ian,

If all my prior planning of the location of voluminous thoroughfares does fail and I do need to reverse with the A-Frame, there will not be the need for high degrees of precision manoeuvrability. One of the advantages of having a paddock is that it provides lots of space.

Kind regards
Lionel