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skunkhome
USA
12827 Posts |
 Posted - 07/09/2011 : 10:01:04
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When I got my B112 it had a homemade rather crude, but well designed hitch adapter with ball bolted to the tractor drawbar. Since I could not see any advantage to bolt on tha adapter, I promptly pulled it off so that I could pull pin attachments and set it to the side ,all but discarded. In the meantime I had, the late great, Roy Pope build me a high hitch ball adapter so that I could pull my road trailer but I found it to be too high to pull my garden trailer that also has a ball hitch. Every time I switched from one trailer to the other I had to remove Roy's hitch and screw a ball on the drawbar. Being the lazy type I am I did not like all that screwing around so I drove around with the garden trailer with the tailgate all but scraping the ground. Then when when I was rebuilding my shed this ugly little hitch adapter turned up again. A light came on and I decided to try pinning it to the drawbar rather than bolting it. It turned out that it was snug enough that a pin and hair pin cotter was all it needed to keep her snugly in place. So yesterday my my high/low ball hitch setup was born. Now I need to add a tab with a hole so that I can pull any towed attachments without having to change the hitches. Since the designer/fabricator apparently loved to weld everything I will will have to grind or cut off a full bead weld to remove the old ball. Don't understand why he could not have just tacked the nut in place. All of his welds are what I refer to as gorilla welds so I may be grinding quite a while to get the adapter looking spiffy.
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  Phil
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty."
Benjamin Franklin |
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Talntedmrgreen
USA
4110 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2011 : 10:36:13
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| Nice! I have a similar low type hitch that is bolted where your pin is. It fits the drawbar VERY snugly, so I may have to try the pin idea! I did design my sleeve hitch to clear the ball so I can at least leave it on when I use sleeve hitch attaxhments. |
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larry8200
USA
3166 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2011 : 11:44:23
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Nice, I need to build something like that, my 7112H has the drawbar drilled for a standard ball, and it's ok the way it is, but it would be nice to have it higher and be able to leave the swivel castor on all the time, and not have to crank the jack 100 times round raising it to the high hitch on the truck and back down again. I'm finding I use tha 6' x 8' road trailer here as much as I do on the road. I dont need a dual hitch though, I have 3 dedicated trailer tractors. 
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simplelife
USA
1385 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 13:40:33
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While I would dearly love to have a factory style hitch, one has not presented itself at the proper level of my funds.  I did make a ball hitch many years ago that met my needs, but might be deemed improper and crude by many. Thought I would share it with you for reference.
Politically Incorrect Disclaimers: 
1. Cannot use rear lift with it! Note: not all of my tractors have rear lifts.
2. Sits to high to be safe. Note: Use common sense in the load you are pulling, how you have it loaded and use front counter weights if necessary.
It connects with three pins, 1 a large bolt through the top and two standard pins at the base. On or off in under a minute!
I welded it up from some scrap angle and channel iron I had laying around in order to move my snowmobile trailer, boat trailer, and popup camper around. It works wonders for pulling the trailer around the farm and yard areas for cleaning up limbs and other debris. I have had this probably over twenty years and only pulled the front wheels 2 or three times. 
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Talntedmrgreen
USA
4110 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 19:16:05
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| Perfect! I would add that rear wight is a good idea too...a heavy trailer can pick the rear end right off the ground, and without weight on the tires, you can get a good shove from behind and lose braking capability when moving on a slopre =] |
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swbg
254 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2011 : 23:07:56
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I've been busy of late so this is kind of a late post. I did hitch for trailers for my Soverign a few years back. I had already made the small draw bar in the picture and made sure I could put it on the trailer hitch as well. I go back and forth between a smaller single axle trailer and much bigger and taller tandem axle trailer so I wanted a lot of height adjustment so that I could pick up a trailer without having to get off the tractor and move the jack wheel.
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Cvans
USA
4407 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2011 : 23:49:04
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What a slick Idea! Nice piece of engineering Stan. Thanks for the photos.
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East Central South Dakota
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
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Talntedmrgreen
USA
4110 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 06:09:12
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| Yeah, that's pretty darn cool! What's the piece hanging below with the pin? |
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swbg
254 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 07:08:37
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The very bottom piece with the red pin through it is a little draw bar. I use if pulling things like the seed spreader or anything else. If I don't have the trailer hitch on I can attach it right to the tractor. I found because of the ditch along side the road if I take an implement down one side and up the other it bends the little stationary hitch that is part of the tractor. The drawbar hitch can rotate up and down and doesn't bend.
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skunkhome
USA
12827 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 07:22:43
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Stan, Neat, you must be an engineer. I can't tell from looking but what kind of lift do you have?
We all need to be mindful that high hitching is unstable and can be extremely dangerous. I have see the result on tractors that have far less torque than these. Go easy guys! That said I do like my high hitch and have pulled my trailer with a 4x4x4' pallet of wet sod. I leave my trailer jack just far enough off the ground to clear irregular ground and use it as a "wheelie bar" just in case. |
Phil
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty."
Benjamin Franklin |
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swbg
254 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 22:32:52
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The lift is part of the rototiller attachment. A cable connects it to the hydraulic cylinder that is used for lifting the mowing deck or front attachments.
And you're right about needing to be careful. I did have one incident where I was going down the driveway which is paved and slightly down hill. I was pulling the tandem axle trailer with a load of mulch on it. When I tried to turn the tractor the trailer wanted to stay straight. I was going slow so I stopped before things got to out of hand, but I was on three wheels when I stopped.
And yes I am an engineer. Sometimes that helps, other times it makes things worse. |
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Cvans
USA
4407 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 23:08:38
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"And yes I am an engineer. Sometimes that helps, other times it makes things worse."
Agreed. I'm still suffering from my own knowledge
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East Central South Dakota
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson
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High and low ball hitch
