Citation

Hunter AGM. Int. J. Veh. Des. 1981; 2(4): 428-438.

Affiliation

Scott Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Midlothian, Scotland

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Inderscience Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A weight transfer hitch on an agricultural tractor is normally used to give greater wheel traction when pulling trailed equipment. The hitch can equally be used to increase tractor wheel braking force and so increase the critical slope, which is the maximum slope on which the braking force is sufficient to prevent the tractor sliding downhill. The weight transfer hitch therefore has considerable potential as a safety aid in reducing the number of accidents due to tractor overturning which starts when a tractor slides downhill. Optimum use of the weight transfer hitch is analyzed, and the effect of using a weight transfer hitch is shown to be similar to replacing a two-wheel drive tractor with a four-wheel drive one. The weight transfer hitch is most effective when used with light balanced trailed equipment, but by comparison trailer brakes are most effective with heavy trailed equipment.