what is PTO?

[TomH]

My tractor has two PTOs. Both are 5" long steel shafts with ridges and grooves. Implements have a matching female receiver that plugs onto the PTO. One is under the mid belly and one directly sticking out on the rear. The one mid belly can power mid mount mowers and front mount snow blowers. The one on the rear can power my brush hog, generator, wood chipper, rear finish mower, post hole auger, rototiller, grass clipping vacuum, fence line string trimmer, flail mower, trencher, and an endless number of other machines powered by the direct mechanical torque coming from the PTO. Some tractor owners will attach a PTO driven backhoe that mounts to the 3 point hitch, but backhoes are better attached to a sub-frame mount and powered by the tractor's hydraulics.

Pickups in the F-550 range are often used by fire departments. Ford offers (pretty sure all domestic makers do too), a PTO option which inserts an extra cog in the transmission. This extra cog is the power take off. A panel can be removed from the tranny, uncovering the PTO. Either a generator or a hydraulic pump is then mated to the side of the tranny and connected directly to the PTO cog that's inside the tranny. Contrary to what carringb says above, the hydro pump itself is not the PTO. The PTO is the extra cog that drives either the hydro pump or the generator. The upfitting kit also includes an automatic high idle switch that increases the idle high enough to run the generator when it is engaged. The considerable generator power is used to power large racks of portable spot and flood lights that firefighters need to see large structures at night. The generator also usually powers a water pump that while small in relation to the big pumper trucks, has enough amps to put out a considerable stream of water, something particularly useful if this pickup is in a location unaccessible by the big trucks. It is also possible to attach a hydraulic pump to the PTO rather than a generator. The "Build Your Truck" online functions don't list these options as they are not desired by most truck purchasers. If you use search functions, however, you will find manufacturer's web pages and instructions for ordering the truck with the PTO and generator.

Some garden tractors have a pulley belt driver and in the instruction manual refer to that as a PTO. That's a bit liberal use of the word, but technically true. The same thing provides power to old fashioned radiator fans, alternators, etc.

[E350]

TomH: Do you know of a older ("cheaper") garden tractor like that? One that can handle a mowing deck in the Summer and snowblower in the Winter with chains? (BTW, you guys really know your stuff! And to the OP, I had a blue 4x4 van just like that one in Santa Rosa but it didn't have an overdrive. That overdrive might make that van worthwhile at the right price. Have it checked out by a competent mechanic.

[1der]

Well, in the context of our van, PTO stands for Personal Time Off - In in our case it is severly under utilized but never underpowered. When properly utilized and engaged, it is a great generator for relieving anxiety and creating powerful transformational experiences.

[TomH]

Originally Posted by E350

TomH: Do you know of a older ("cheaper") garden tractor like that? One that can handle a mowing deck in the Summer and snowblower in the Winter with chains? (BTW, you guys really know your stuff! And to the OP, I had a blue 4x4 van just like that one in Santa Rosa but it didn't have an overdrive. That overdrive might make that van worthwhile at the right price. Have it checked out by a competent mechanic.

They all have it, even those smaller "lawn tractors." It's where the power comes from to drive the mid-mount mower deck. You can take that deck off to remove and sharpen blades. Also, if you use the garden tractor to tow a little box scraper or self-powered rototiller, you normally remove the mower. When you reattach the mower to the belly, you place the drive belt around this little PTO. It's a drive shaft ending in a pulley and you loop the drive belt over it and use the tightening mechanisms. The thing sticks straight down from the belly of the mower below the seat. As to whether you can power a snow blower from such a PTO, my guess is that the cheapo brands aren't set up for that, but some of the biggest sized John Deere gasoline garden tractors might be. If you''re willing to go up to a sub-compact utility tractor, then you will find that in all the makes: JD, Kubota, New Holland, Kioti, on so on. The place to get all the info you need and more is here:

http://tractorbynet.com

This is what a PTO looks like on a utility tractor:



Here's an implement attached to the PTO via drive shaft. Note that implements are also attached to the tractor by either 3 point hitch or subframe hitch. (This one happens to have a hydraulic attachment also, but only some attachments also haye that.)



Here is a PTO from the bottom of a garden tractor. Sorry, I couldn't find one in situ.



The garden tractor PTO is not much more than a toy in contrast with the utility tractor PTO.

On Ford trucks, you must have diesel super-duty and order the truck with Option 62R. This option is an extra cog wheel in the transmission and it constitutes the PTO. A panel comes off the tranny and either a generator or a hydraulic pump then mates to the side of the tranny. The drive mechanism of either the generator or hydro pump mates to the PTO to provide mechanical power. As I stated above, the hydro pump is not the PTO (and neither is the generator). Either of those mates to the PTO which is the extra cog in the tranny:

http://realacpower.com/ford_f-series_2011-2015/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vt6A_XXxhw

[carringb]

Originally Posted by TomH

On Ford trucks, you must have diesel super-duty and order the truck with Option 62R.

It is available with the V10 also. However with the V10 is is driven by the torque converter, so it cannot operate at idle, because the T/C clutch requires 1100 RPM. The diesels get the "slit-shaft" PTO which means its driven by the input shaft, so full torque is available at idle and in any gear.

[E350]

TomH: Thank you for your pictures and insight. That BX1860 4x4 looks pretty friggin' cool!

[twotimer]

Hi fellas, I have a 2003 E-350 Quigley/Sportsmobile. When I purchased my stock van, I specified the Borg-Warner transfer case with the PTO option. To date, I have not used the PTO for anything, but I'm seriously considering utilizing it for a winch setup. Does anyone know how to go about putting together a setup for a winch? Any suggestions are appreciated.

[TomH]

Originally Posted by twotimer

Hi fellas, I have a 2003 E-350 Quigley/Sportsmobile. When I purchased my stock van, I specified the Borg-Warner transfer case with the PTO option. To date, I have not used the PTO for anything, but I'm seriously considering utilizing it for a winch setup. Does anyone know how to go about putting together a setup for a winch? Any suggestions are appreciated.

As has been stated previously, there are different kinds of PTOs. Lawn and garden tractors have a simple belt and pulley which provide minimal transfer of force. A utility tractor with a spined drive shaft can feed torque to a winch mounted on the three point hitch on the back of a tractor. Such winches are sometimes used to pull felled trees when logging. The transfer case type PTO is designed to have either a proprietary electric generator or a proprietary hydraulic pump mated fully to the side of the transfer case and an extra cog wheel in the transfer case drives the auxillary component. There is no way to provide direct mechanical linkage from your transfer case to a winch. You would need to have either the PTO powered generator sending electricity to an electric winch, or the PTO powered hydraulic pump sending hydraulic fluid to a hydraulically powered winch. A direct mechanical transfer of torque would be unwieldy and impractical due to the transfer case PTO design. On a utility tractor, the PTO is a drive shaft extension and can drive such a winch. Your transfer case can't. As you can see below, a PTO powered winch is not quite the size of something you want to put on the front of your van anyway.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350

My first wife says I spend too much time here and now Rick agrees with her.................

Mike

My first wife didn't like a lot of the things I did. LOL