What is Tractor Pulling?

What is tractor pulling?

The Pickering Sledge Sorry ladies, it's not big burly men pulling a tractor down a track. In fact it's BIG BURLY tractors pulling a sledge down a track!

It all started many years ago in the USA (where else) when neighbouring farmers argued about which had the most powerful tractor. These debates were finally decided by contest in the farmyard, chaining the tractors to a large weight, and seeing which tractor could pull it the furthest. It was soon found that the amount of weight required to provide a good test of strength was too much to allow the tractors to get moving in the first place. A system of progressively increasing weight was needed. This was developed first into spectators stepping onto a barn door, and, later into the sled similar to that used today. Tractor Pulling crossed the Atlantic in the early 1970’s and is now seen across Europe, both at stand alone events and agricultural shows.

Tractor Pulling Today

And now for the cunning bit ( so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a Weasel - Baldick in Black Adder) . As the Pulling Tractor moves the sledge down the track, a weight-box is moved up to sledge from the back to the front, therefore increasing the pressure on the skid pan under the front of the sledge. Have a look at the sequence of illustrations at the bottom of the page which should help explain what happens.

Most of the Pulling sledges are based (sometimes loosely and sometimes literally) on a 40 or 44 foot articulated (semi) trailer, usually with twin axles at the rear. At the front of sledge is a skid-plate which supports the body, to which the Puller is attached, normally by means of adjustable chains. At the back of the sledge is the weight-box mounted on runners to enable it to be pulled forward as the Pull progresses.

The Welland sledge from Welland just outside Great Malvern in Worcestershire is used at the Ross-on-Wye Steam Engine Society Rally which is held over three days on the last week-end in July. The unit is based on a 40-foot semi trailer. The trailer itself weighs 9-odd tonnes and the weight-box (concrete-lined) 6-tonnes. A Coventry Climax diesel engine is mounted below the trailer bed bahind the wheels which is used to pull the weight-box forward. The skid plate under the front of the sledge weighs in at about 3-tonnes giving an all up weight of 18-tonnes. When the weight-box is fully forward and the trailer brakes fully on the drag is esimated to be 95-tonnes deadweight! No wonder it takes a lot of power and momentum to get to the end of the track.

The Sledge at the start of the Tractor Pull The Tractor Pull starts at the end of the track (normally about 100-metres) with the weight-box at the back-end of it's track (in other words, at the back end of the sledge). In some cases (if the Puller is known to be very powerful, the weight-box may be moved forward).

The Sledge part way through the Tractor Pull

As the Pull progresses the weight-box is moved forward thereby increasing the downward pressure of the skid-plate and increasing the drag of the sledge.

The Sledge at the end of Tractor Pull By the time the sledge has reached the end of the track the weight-box will be fully forward and brakes on the rear wheels will have been applied (assuming the sledge if fitted with brakes). In the case of the Welland sledge the drag is reputed to be 95-tonnes (although this figure is now probably less as some of the ballasting concrete fell out of the weight-box).