Driving class

IH didn't do their homework on that too-high-speed fifth gear, in my opinion. It is almost useless on a rough road with a heavy wagon behind. The engine is at idle at around 5 mph, and there is not enough torque to pull a load at this speed, which is about where the washboard begins to make your load start to shimmy up and down. This tractor desperately needed another gear in between (like JD's and some Olivers in the late 30s and through the 40s). I think the engineers saw a quick and maybe cheap solution (1939 was still in the Depression). Fifth is straight-through via a dog-clutch, just like a 3-speed car tranny in third gear. No expensive gears needed. But the gap between 4th and 5th is enormous if you try to synchronize the gear speeds enough to shift on-the-go.

The steering gear on these tractors will develop wear after 60 or 70 years, and then they will shimmy when they get up near the top in road gear. Don't know if it's dangerous, but I don't like it and I slow down until the shimmy stops.
Brakes on an H are weak (external contracting, like on the cars of the 20s!!!!). I wouldn't trust them at high speeds with a wagon load of people.
High center of gravity on tractors like this. Decals on new tractors warned against high-speed turns--danger of tipping over--you usually don't walk out from under a tractor that falls on you.
Make sure your brakes are adjusted so they pull evenly when locked together, and ALWAYS lock them together when traveling in 5th gear.

A better speed for hayrides, I think, would be
maybe 7-8 mph, and that is difficult to get with this tractor and a load behind it. If you are lucky enough to have one of the few H's with the factory-optional 7 mph fourth gear, you're in better shape.

GET COMFORTABLE!!!!! !!!!! !!!! If you do hayrides you MUST be able to react to every possible scenario quickly safely and just about perfectly the first time. When you have riders (especially strangers) you dont get to have do-overs and the lawyers will get involved. Also, the first thing i tell every inexperienced operator is if youre not sure slam the clutch and brakes through the floor. Stop that thing immediately(when by yourself you know, no wagon or anything). When you stop you can evaluate your situation, what happened what you are going to do etc. Its much easier to make a good decision from a stop than when moving. There are certain situations where you need to move out of danger but for the majority you should stop and evaluate. hope this helps.

Don’t even consider using 5th gear – it’s a transport gear and is WAY too fast for use safely in close quarters or with people in a wagon behind you!

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SAFETY TIPS:

1 - If you’re gonna pull a wagon filled with people make sure your brakes are in tip top shape!

Remember - your tractor’s brakes are marginal for stopping the tractor by itself. Now hook 2 – 3 tons of wagon + people on behind. Executing a quick stop from even walking speed can be a harrowing experience if your brakes are not perfect. And it will be downright terrifying if you’re descending any kind of a grade.

2 - If you’re carrying kids/teenagers on the hayride, it’s HIGHLY recommended a responsible adult be on board the wagon to serve as a 2nd set of eyes and ears behind you.

I pull hayrides only at a friend's Christmas tree farm (covered by their business liability insurance), and at our annual antique tractor show (covered by the club's insurance).

Remember your cargo is people, slower is always best. Use your throttle to adjust road speed with smooth slow movements on the clutch and brake. I would think 3rd gear would be a good start or maybe 4th, as 5th gear your asking for problems no matter how careful you are.

Movement on the trailer will be 10 times worse than felt movement on the tractor. Mirrors are a must have or even a person with a 2way radio to help you.

Parades is just like bumper to bumper traffic. Just wait a few seconds and you'll soon catch up with the pack.

T_Bone

Your tranny is not synched, so shifting up (or down) through the gears (though it can be done) is not to be preferred. I shift through the gears on my Ram without clutching pretty regularly when I don't have a load on her, but then Dodge gave me a foot-feed for the CUmmins instead of a hand throttle, so I can shift, drop the RPMs and still have a hand on the wheel. Your H doesn't offer that convenience.

Drive it some (actually, I'd say a good bit) and get used to what it goes in each gear before you try hauling a wagon load of people. That's a BIG responsibility.

But in driving it, you'll learn what kind of speeds she'll make in each gear.

Road gear? So it's 11 or 12 mph. Makin' that kind of "speed" sittin' in the open air with your head eight feet off the ground on a vehicle with no springs, you'll feel like a hound with his head hangin' out the window of a pickup doin' 60. It's made for speed, not hauling heavy loads, and will surprise you when you first try it. You want to start out one notch above idle, and that will get you going as fast as full-bore in any gear other gear you have.

First time I tried it, I'd taken a couple of borrowed hay wagons back to a neighbor, and was bobtailin' back. Figured Grandpa couldn't see me so why not try it. I was amazed how much faster it was. Took me a short piece of road to finally idle it down and take off. Throttled it up once I got goin' and the front end would lift comin' off a yes ma'am in the road. I was twelve and learned that day about the pucker factor. All good fun, and I got home safely. Point is, road gear has its use but is not to be trifled with and is certailnly not a good idea for haulin' people behind.

Haulin' a hay wagon full of people, first or second will be your gear, dependin' on how crowded the grounds are.