A friend of mine gave me a piece of receiver tubing today. That was the final component I needed to make this happy little guy. It's so much more convenient than using my back blade with a ball mounted on it, since this is easier to put on and the lift range is so much greater. It goes both higher and lower than my backblade did by far, and that's with the top link screwed all the way out.
I was concerned I would have anhard time getting the geometry right, as I wanted the ball to go almost to the ground with a slight downward tilt, and go high enough to grab my 16' landscape trailer with the jack fully extended, with enough clearance between the ground and jack to not catch the ground. This would require a slight uphill tilt when at full height. Nailed it first try!
The uprights and horizontal piece bolted to the drawbar started life as the frame of a Wheelhorse snowblower destined for the scrapyard. Just cut it apart and ground the paint off the weld areas and where it would be hard to grind off after assembly. I didn't want to just simply weld the receiver tube to the drawbar, because I wanted it removable. The welds aren't real pretty (one in particular), but they'll hold just fine. Good penetration all the way round.
Lowered all the way down in this picture.
I was concerned I would have anhard time getting the geometry right, as I wanted the ball to go almost to the ground with a slight downward tilt, and go high enough to grab my 16' landscape trailer with the jack fully extended, with enough clearance between the ground and jack to not catch the ground. This would require a slight uphill tilt when at full height. Nailed it first try!
The uprights and horizontal piece bolted to the drawbar started life as the frame of a Wheelhorse snowblower destined for the scrapyard. Just cut it apart and ground the paint off the weld areas and where it would be hard to grind off after assembly. I didn't want to just simply weld the receiver tube to the drawbar, because I wanted it removable. The welds aren't real pretty (one in particular), but they'll hold just fine. Good penetration all the way round.
Lowered all the way down in this picture.