Toe in or Toe Out?

[MrNoo]

I have a Match ploughing Fergie in the shed belonging to someone else and when I looked at it, it was massively toe'd in, I commented as much and he said his work had been a lot straighter of late!! It obviously had been not set correctly but do any of you set any of your match ploughing tractors up any differently from book spec??
I imagine most are toe'd out a tad, just curious to see if anyone has bothered looking at this aspect but then I am sure most on here are arrow straight with their eyes shut!!

 

[Fergie Ploughman]

2wd would be either straight or toe’d in wouldn’t they? Either way, I doubt it would make a lot of difference the speed we go on soft ground....

 

[MrNoo]

2wd would be either straight or toe’d in wouldn’t they? Either way, I doubt it would make a lot of difference the speed we go on soft ground....

Agreed but this was toe'd in considerable amount, so much so that it looked wrong and was showing tyre degradation, he stated it "did hug the furrow wall better"!! The manual states it is in fact toe in 1/8" so you are quite correct, think mine are all toe'd out a tad

 

[Tonym]

Toe in (in a car) is used to control straight line stability but not in excess amounts
May be toe in would tend to keep you against the furrow wall as you would probably get more grip from the furrow wheel than the land wheel?
If this was so any slight lapses steering into the furrow wall while adjusting the plough etc would be less likely to cause a bend.

 

[MrNoo]

Toe in (in a car) is used to control straight line stability but not in excess amounts
May be toe in would tend to keep you against the furrow wall as you would probably get more grip from the furrow wheel than the land wheel?
If this was so any slight lapses steering into the furrow wall while adjusting the plough etc would be less likely to cause a bend.

Yes, I used to race Mini's for many years and we always ran toe out as when under power the wheels would actually pull more or less inline to slight toe in, depending on how much slack there was in the suspension linkage.
Yes, I did think that would be the case, most of my works starts with a bend but every little helps!!

 

[Ley253]

That used to be the general rule, front wheel drive toe out , rear wheel drive, toe in. One common mistake with mounted plough operation is holding the tractor too hard against the furrow wall. Running the front wheel at such an angle moves the front of the tractor to work and crabs the whole outfit. Wheel needs to run along side the wall, and not be trying to climb out. Two inches wider on the front will keep everything tucked up against the wall nicely.

 

[ploughman1963]

Reversible- I always set mine to parallel

 

[arcobob]

I normally set mine as per tractor manual, usually 1/4" toe in. I have no choice on my IH with the fronts at 48" the rack rod has no adjustment left unless I cut it and shorten it. When in the furrow it looks much more toed in but I think this is an illusion due to camber angle.

 

[kverneland es 80]

Reversible- I always set mine to parallel

learned that the hard way here

 

[Howard150]

Once saw a picture of me and my little 780 in a tractor mag. From the angle that the picture was taken the wheels looked excessively toed in. For whatever reason the drag link on that tractor has a right hand thread on either end. I recollect changing a ball end in a bit of a rush one night when the system of measurement used was more in the style of 'near enough, good enough and sod it' rather than yards feet and inches.
As soon as the toe in was set to parallel it transformed the tractor. A mouldboard plough exerts forces to either side depending on where the cross shaft is set and how much pressure is exerted on the landslides. First time across with all the weight off the landslides allows the tractor to go straight rather than toe in having any effect .
Don't forget tyre wear and cornering forces are not an issue as far as competition ploughing goes. My personal preference is parallel.
Make a slender tube up with a captive nut close to one end. Insert a rod into this tube and nip the bolt up. You now have an adjustable gauge rod with which to check the spacing of the front tyres at mid height - no tape required. Just keep adjusting it and the drag link until it's a snug fit back and front.

 

[massey765]

Bleddy hell. ..tha knows sum stuff

 

[arcobob]

Bleddy hell. ..the knows sum stuff

Won`t help with the speeding but might improve the cornering

 

[Howard150]

Bleddy hell. ..the knows sum stuff

Not too far into blowing mi’ own trumpet ower’loud n’ ower’long as this next statement can be taken both ways.......good or not so good.

But.... a learned and loveable Irish compatriot once said to me ‘Kinnell Davy lad - that head o’ yours must ha’ worn 2 bodies out’

 

[Ley253]

When you use that gauge,mark the tyres at the contact points then roll the tractor forward or back to bring the marks round to the second point. This reduces the chance of a buckled wheel effecting things.

 

[arcobob]

When you use that gauge,mark the tyres at the contact points then roll the tractor forward or back to bring the marks round to the second point. This reduces the chance of a buckled wheel effecting things.

I'd rather use the rim edge but the same could apply

 

[Ley253]

When I started in the motor trade, the rim edges were the datum points, that changed to the tyre walls when it was found that they did not seem to follow rim distortion. Also, (senior moment) the vehicle should only be moved forward when checking, this takes up any slight wear in steering joints. The hard part using a "pole" type gauge is keeping it parallel to the floor.

 

[Dealer]

What's all this pole and measuring

This is the way to go

Straight and parallel

 

[MrNoo]

What's all this pole and measuring

This is the way to go

Straight and parallel

Don't forget to check the camber, castor and bump steer while you're at it!!!!

 

[Dealer]

Self levelling

Enough play in the king pins and stabiliser bars .

 

[Ley253]

Don't forget to check the camber, castor and bump steer while you're at it!!!!

and the Toe out on turns!