ill be watching this thread. Would a quick hitch help you?

 

I guess it might but I am hesitant to add more weight (and cost). Plus, I understand that the quick hitch might present some problems in regards to the PTO shaft length because the implement would sit farther back than normal. It might not be enough to matter but....

 

There shouldn't be any down force on the 3 point arms, and so you should be able to lift them easily by hand, so I always lower the arms so that they are a little lower than the pins on the implement and then I can raise the arms up to the pin height without having to reach the lift control handle. Likewise with removal, just set the implement on the ground and lower the handle a little bit more before you get off of the tractor, and there shouldn't be any vertical stress on the pin to ball junction except for the weight of the lift arms themselves.

 

Yeah, what he said plus I keep a small pinch bar on the tractor and a 6' metal "T" post close by in case I need to horse it around a bit. But if I pay attention when I back up to the implement most of the time the small bar is all that is needed. I would be very hesitant to make a handle to reach the control valve from the back of the tractor due to the danger of possible getting yourself in a pinch point. In fact you should not be back there with the engine running hooking up implements, I know we all have done it but that don't make it the smart or safe thing to do.

 

Look at the far left of this pic, the lower lift arms "extend" by lifting a spring loaded latch.

I would never consider a tractor without that feature, unless it was available as an option.

If I am within 6 inches, I simply extend the lift arm, and put it on the attachment.

After the attachment is connected, simply back up until the lower arm locks in place.

Can you get those for your tractor?? :dunno:

I also keep several of those $10 HF jack stands near where I park an attachment.

The attachment never goes to the ground, I do not have to do any lifting.

 

My Ford 4000 has the extendable ends on the arms as well, but mine and my brother-in-laws Kubota's don't, but I don't have any issue with them if I line things up by eye when I back up to an implement and leave the arms a little lower than the pins on the implement.

 

'i have been hooking things up since the 50's , read-neck is right on, but i also keep a piece of pipe close to the heavy stuff i am hooking up for leverage and always keep a good framing hammer in the tool box for knocking stuff loose

 

I use a small pinch bar for manipulating heavy stuff plus I use it to pop the tight links off. I also lift and roll my mower into a ditch to connect the top link so I don't have to use force to adjust it. You can also take advantage of those big tires by rolling them back and forth to line the pins up. I like my mower a little higher in back than in front. Less bogging. One thing that helps the most is removing implements on level ground so you can position the tractor right where you want it without it rolling away any.

 

If I shut a tractor off when getting behind it to hook up something I would wear starters out way ahead of their time. I'm on level ground and in neutral and sometimes push on a tire to move the tractor to line things up. Any of my equipment that is toplink sensitive has the toplink on it and I use the lift arms to hook up the toplink so it doesn't have to be changed. I have 13 different 3pt pieces of equipment that I use on 4 different tractors. I don't drink while around equipment and in 51 years around tractors so far have had bruised shins and pinched fingers usually from being in a hurry.

RetiredLE, check the lenghth of your pto shafts to see if the quick hitch would be a problem. I can reach the lift arms on my 154 Leyland so I can hook them up while on the tractor. Fabricate something to manipulate the arms while on the tractor. Then when you get off all you have to do is put the pins in.

CADplans, are your front tires loaded?

 

CADplans, are your front tires loaded?

No, this tractor needs zero front end weight, even with this 1,100 pound mower hanging in the back, and the loader setting in the corner of the field.

There is no way to "wiggle" an eleven hundred pound attachment, with any bar.

 

After 30 plus years i can back right up to it & hook right up, with the smaller tractors, i could reach around & move an arm, can't do it on the bigger ones, they stay running.
THEN, the next time i couldn't hook it up or unhook it easily to save my life, i blame it on the moon phase:dunno:


Ronnie

 

I put my attachments on pallets. Be suprised what you can move on wood.

 

CADplans, if you had the front tires loaded you could run less pressure and still not have them look half flat when you have something heavy on the loader. It works even better on the rear tires when lifting heary 3pt attachments. It also stops the rocking and rolling you get with just air in the tires. Makes the tractor more stable with the loader full. Sorry to hi jack the thread. Had to say something while I was thinking about it.

My Kubota M5400 is a pain to hook up to attachments I can't move. I have some saddle hitches on some old equipment that I would like to use. It has u shaped brackets on the equipment and a round bar on the lift arms. You lift the round bar into the brackets, put a pin through the bracket under the round bar, hook up the toplink and go.

 

RetiredLe, from one tractor friend to another GET a quick hitch hands down it will save you a trip to the ER, I know lots of people that have lost hands, time and money trying to hook something to a tractor. and the older we get the less reaction time we have. I got one for my old Massey and it is the best thing I have done yet. I don't have to get off my tractor and touch anything and get pinned between the tractor and Equipment. :thThumbsU

 

If you get a quick hitch make sure ALL your imps use identical three point configs. Noting worse than having to remove a q-hitch because one imp is different.

I set my 6' shredder down on pieces of 4" PVC. It slides around so much I have to be careful not to slide it off the pipe. Cheap and easy.

 

I've been using this;

But now I find that there are two problems; first, the area around the hoist isn't where I want to keep my growing pile of implements, and second, the hoist is attached to the structure of the house, and the OH goes nuts at the noise.

So now I'm thinking of hanging my heavy implements on chains. Those that go on the FEL [bucket, pallet fork, hedge cutter] would be higher up, perhaps above those that go on the 3-point [mowing deck, disk harrow]. it will be easy to swing them the few inches to the mountings, give them a little turn or tilt. Then start the motor, raise the hydraulics, and slip the chain.
This should work fine with implements weighing up to a ton. Of course you need a strong roof or a dedicated frame.

 

Update: I fashioned a prototype control for the lift arms using some parts I had lying around in the shop and life is so much easier now. Even though the lift arms can be raised manually, they don't move individually. They both raise at the same time. I found that on more than one occasion, I would get one lift arm lined up and pinned but then the other would be either a bit too low or too high. Then there was the problem getting the top link to line up.

Now I simply tweak the arms using my control lever to line up the pins and once they are secured, I raise and/or lower the implement until the top link is lined up. Easy peasy.

Parts used were: Screen door brace, small nut/bolt, cable clamp and a generic control lever. In addition a short section of brake line and a long bolt was threaded into the headache rack to support the screen door brace.

Time permitting, I am going to improve the design a bit by using a thicker control rod and a modified turnbuckle to attach it to the factory control lever.