quote:

Originally posted by ParkerFly:
Some of you may be familiar with tractor pulling and the sleds that are pulled. Basically a weight box rolls forward off a set of wheels and presses on a pan to stop the tractors. Normally when the tractor first takes off, the rear of the pan is held up in the air by hydraulic cylinders. As the weight box travels forward, it trips something and lets the cylinders float and the pan drops onto the ground. From the cab the sled operator is able to raise the pan back up after the pull is over.
My question is, what is the box tripping as it rolls forward that lets the pan drop? We have a sled that has a mechanical pan drop and we need to convert it to hydraulic, but aren't sure what piece that is that the box trips and how it's set up. I know we'll need an extra spool in the cab to operate it...that's the easy part.
Here is a link to a video where you can see a pull and the sled operate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDbUIIN1t_U If you look closely you'll see when the tractor starts the rear of the pan is down, and when the weight box reaches a certain point the pan drops.
Thanks for any help!