Just a question

[Old560]

Just sitting here pondering things this morning. If you had a 3/4 inch hitch pin and a 3/4 inch bolt say grade 5 or grade 8 would the 3/4 inch bolt be as strong as the 3/4 inch hitch pin? I don’t think they harden hitch pins. No, I’m not gonna go buy a 3/4 inch bolt because it might be cheaper than a hitch Pin. I have both laying around. Do hitch pins have a stronger sheer strength? Just wondering.

 

[Bob NY]

We used 3/4 inch bolts as draw pins for years. I don't recall one ever failing.

 

[MM-TX]

The pin will bend where grade 8 is harder and brittle. Which is better?

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

I've seen all manner of bolt & "custom" hitch pin through the years. I've also used a heavy screw driver to move a hay rack to get unloaded. Just had someone follow the wagon up the embankment with a block in case of "pin" failure. The baler & grain drill that came home last fall had bolts for pins & they were used up until a couple years ago. The one on the grain drill was 1/2".

Mike

 

[Fixingfarmer]

The Vermeer implements we have come with a special bolt that’s welded to a steel lock I should look and see what grade it is if I can see dashes. If manufacturers do it it’s probably ok

 

[joeysmith]

Or are the pins softer
Id rather wear a pin out than a drawbar

 

[Tony in SD]

I bet most everyone on here has used bolts, screw drivers, pliers, and other tools & objects for hitch pins.
But to answer your question, bolts are designed for mostly for tensile strength and not so much for shear strength. Grade 5 & 8 are harder which makes them more brittle. The brittleness could cause sudden failure as opposed to hitch pins which are softer and tend to bend before breaking. Thus giving you a warning that it is about to fail.

 

[TheBartman47]

Or are the pins softer
Id rather wear a pin out than a drawbar

Agreed... also, a bolt with threads seems it would scratch thread marks in the drawbar.

 

[Jim.ME]

Agreed... also, a bolt with threads seems it would scratch thread marks in the drawbar.

One should use a bolt long enough that only the unthreaded shank is in the hitch or drawbar as a pin, the threads are a weak point.

 

[moresmoke]

There are different grades of hitch pin as well. Hard to make an apples to apples comparison.

 

[JOCCO]

A real question WHAT ARE YOU TOWING? light implement on wheels or a sprayer that weighs tons over rough ground. What are you towing with 200 hp tractor or a Farmall cub?

 

[Willow Lane]

From any that I've seen, standard red head pins are listed as grade 5, while the blue head ones are shown as grade 8.. Do they use the same standards? I don't know. The big advantage of the standard pin over the bolt is that you can grab the pin and pull it out over trying to pull out a bolt.

 

[Janicholson]

The pin will bend where grade 8 is harder and brittle. Which is better?

I have a grade* bolt that I put in a vice and beat it over 90 degrees (sharp angle) not brittle, just hard/tough. JIm

 

[Janicholson]

I have a grade* bolt that I put in a vice and beat it over 90 degrees (sharp angle) not brittle, just hard/tough. JIm

proof

 

[MM-TX]

proof

Sort of like the great oil debate. By degrees.

 

[Brown David]

proof

Vise abuse!!

 

[caterpillar guy]

We make a lot of pins from what ever we have on hand from old fingers out of the auger on the combine head to an old S cam shaft out of the semi for the brakes. I cut the S cam shaft off for the grain cart fits well and will probably not be a problem. At least I don't anticipate any. Most of our pins and tongues are at least 7/8 or bigger. I like to use bigger pins for less wear on the drawbar. I use an old spindle from a tractor for the draw pin on the dic fits the drawbar well and the disk hitch. We also weld on head from old pieces with round shaft for pins. We have a few I've collected from odd things like a dealer used a pin tp load a piece of equipment on and left in the tongue I tied to that for tieing donw and then I got the pin. things like that if they left them on the truck there mine. If they wanted them they needed to take them when they picked up things. Not many would come hand me the binder if I left it or call me and say I left one some place just pick it up here.

 

[Johnnypopper]

Just sitting here pondering things this morning. If you had a 3/4 inch hitch pin and a 3/4 inch bolt say grade 5 or grade 8 would the 3/4 inch bolt be as strong as the 3/4 inch hitch pin? I don’t think they harden hitch pins. No, I’m not gonna go buy a 3/4 inch bolt because it might be cheaper than a hitch Pin. I have both laying around. Do hitch pins have a stronger sheer strength? Just wondering.

Has anyone used one of these for a draw pin? This has been the draw pin with our John Deere B as long as I can remember.

 

[dlbuck]

View attachment 125818
Has anyone used one of these for a draw pin? This has been the draw pin with our John Deere B as long as I can remember.

My Grandpa did the same thing on a John Deere B.

 

[Rich'sToys]

View attachment 125818
Has anyone used one of these for a draw pin? This has been the draw pin with our John Deere B as long as I can remember.

That was common when I was growing up. We had several of them.