I feel stupid

[Unclelevi]

I'm about to buy a John Deere 1250 tractor/loader and it has a quick hitch mounted on it. I've never had a quick hitch on any tractor I've owned and want to know how and why to use it. Sorry about my ignorance.

 

[Torvy]

Congrats.

my interpretation of a quick hitch is that it is a frame with lower hooks that latch onto the implements instead of your link arms. Then another that stands in for your top link.

The drawbacks would be extra weight and length. The weight is only a problem if your implements run heavy for your 3pt. Length will just be a maneuverability issue. Not a big deal unless the inches matter.

Seems most who use them like them. Attaching implements without one can be a PITA sometimes.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Congrats.

my interpretation of a quick hitch is that it is a frame with lower hooks that latch onto the implements instead of your link arms. Then another that stands in for your top link.

The drawbacks would be extra weight and length. The weight is only a problem if your implements run heavy for your 3pt. Length will just be a maneuverability issue. Not a big deal unless the inches matter.

Seems most who use them like them. Attaching implements without one can be a PITA sometimes.

My bad I got confuse since he mentioned the loader just before, I though he meant quick attach, I deleted my comment

 

[Unclelevi]

I'm about to buy a John Deere 1250 tractor/loader and it has a quick hitch mounted on it. I've never had a quick hitch on any tractor I've owned and want to know how and why to use it. Sorry about my ignorance.

Looked on you-tube and kinda get the idea now.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

I'm about to buy a John Deere 1250 tractor/loader and it has a quick hitch mounted on it. I've never had a quick hitch on any tractor I've owned and want to know how and why to use it. Sorry about my ignorance.

I wasn’t going to get one but I got sick of wrestling with the 3-point arms to put the ballast box on, not I just back up to it and raise the 3-point and it hooks up

 

[oosik]

I have to agree. All my implements are category 2, are very heavy and you DO NOT wrestle them. You have to align the tractor so that everything lines up. It can be frustrating at times.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I have to agree. All my implements are category 2, are very heavy and you DO NOT wrestle them. You have to align the tractor so that everything lines up. It can be frustrating at times.

Personally I just want to get one side on, then I used a 5ft pry bar and move or lift the implement as needed to hook on the other side.

 

[SmallChange]

All my implements are category 2, are very heavy and you DO NOT wrestle them.

All mine are category 1, but my back isn't even cat 0 anymore. Maybe if they were titanium I could wrestle them, but the only titanium I have to work with is holding my head on my neck.

So, I keep all my implements in the barn where the tractor is, and I have a trolley on an I beam with a chain hoist. Some of the implements I had to add an eye bolt or eye nut so that they could hang from the hoist in a reasonable mounting posture. Even my boom pole, which probably only weighs 60 lbs, I handle this way, and stow with blocks and rope holding it up against the wall. It's rare I lift more than 20 lbs. Oh, sure, in the halcyon days of youth, I did, but not any more!

 

[dodge man]

With the JD quick hitch I think you have to buy the lower pins for you implement. I think some people will have problems getting the top to hook up also and someone makes an add on top hook to help. It all depends on the implements

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

With the JD quick hitch I think you have to buy the lower pins for you implement. I think some people will have problems getting the top to hook up also and someone makes an add on top hook to help. It all depends on the implements

Most of them you do, but the one I got is not John Deere. It was from good Works tractors in Michigan. You don’t need any bushings on it.

 

[kneedeep]

Makes hitching up equipment quicker!

See how I did that! LOL

 

[Williy]

have the quick hitch and enjoy it and the pins came
with the equipment. Only need to get out of the tractor
to lock the pins in or hook up the pto or both

willy

 

[oosik]

Brother - I'm just coming down from a high sweat. Changing over from rear blade to LPGS.

I have a very large field where I can unhook and leave the rear blade. It was just not my day. What normally takes ten minutes took 30. I choose the wrong spot and the operation became a true PITA.

Fortunately - hooking up the LPGS went easy.

That's one downside of Cat 2 implements. You can't "muscle" them.

It's actually been quite warm this afternoon - 70F.

 

[wolc123]

If I were to add them up, I suppose I’d have a dozen or so, category 1 3-point implements. I have (2) tractors with 3-point hitches, one mid sized and one large. Keeping the implements on level ground makes changes relatively easy, especially with the mid sized tractor.

My mid sized tractor is a 1951 Ford 8n, which is the most refined form of the tractor that first brought the 3-point hitch to the masses, back in 1939. That thing is so damned easy to change implements on, that I find myself using it for most tasks that require changes. The tractor is very easily rolled by hand on level ground, by reaching up and grabbing a rear tire lug, so I just got to get “close” when changing implements.

It seems to me that all make/models of tractors developed since then have been a step backwards in terms of ease of changing 3-point implements. It’s almost like Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson teamed up, to make the perfect design back in the 1930’s, and folks have been screwing it up ever since. I usually keep a hammer on a bracket on the rear fenders of both 3-point tractors, and that helps get the pins in and out.



A PTO hookup adds additional complexity to the changes. The only PTO driven 3-point inplement I have now is my Bush-hog and that stays on my larger tractor about 75 % of the time. I only take it off in the winter, when it gets exchanged for a rear snowplow, and in late spring when it comes off, so I can use that tractor on a pull-type disk.
(Ive yet to see any 3-point disk that I’ve thought was worth more than its weight in scrap metal).

 

[LouNY]

Well I guess that I'll be the sole dissenter as I have no use for the rear quick hitches. While they may be a bit easier for the lift arms I find them to be a royal pain when hooking up the pto and at times the hydraulics.
If your tractor has the extendable lower links or the euro hooks they make 3 point hookups better.
I have even been know to get in and hook up the pto before finishing backing up and hooking up the lift arms.

 

[gstrom99]

Sorry about my ignorance.

Welcome. Don't feel bad. We're here to help (well, most of us are).

 

[tacticalturnip]

All mine are category 1, but my back isn't even cat 0 anymore. Maybe if they were titanium I could wrestle them, but the only titanium I have to work with is holding my head on my neck.

So, I keep all my implements in the barn where the tractor is, and I have a trolley on an I beam with a chain hoist. Some of the implements I had to add an eye bolt or eye nut so that they could hang from the hoist in a reasonable mounting posture. Even my boom pole, which probably only weighs 60 lbs, I handle this way, and stow with blocks and rope holding it up against the wall. It's rare I lift more than 20 lbs. Oh, sure, in the halcyon days of youth, I did, but not any more!

If you don't mind, would you post a picture of this setup? It's not something I'm about to copy, but the idea sounds really inventive.

 

[SmallChange]

would you post a picture of this setup?

Here is an overview. The I beam is partly visible at the top edge, with the orange chain hoist. My auger hanging from a stationary cable, my boom pole hanging from blocks and tackle, and my landscape rake just leaning on the wall, are all visible on the left. My counterweight is on the right.
The I beam only allows side to side movement. The tractor, of course, moves forwards and backwards, to give me the other dimension of alignment. The heaviest attachments live directly under the ends of the I beam, and the lighter ones are close so I can move them around using the hoist plus little ratcheting chain hoists.

 

[SmallChange]

would you post a picture of this setup?

Here's a detail of the counterweight, my heaviest attachment, off the tractor but ready to be mounted. I've hooked the eye nut with the hoist, and have added a spring. Without the spring, the trolley lurches as I try to move the assembly sideways, and it's a little scary. Without any deliberate springiness in the system, the tension on the chain gets very big. The static lift capacity is more than enough, but these shocks may be a different story. The spring takes away the shocks.
Note also a little of the adapter plate for mounting 3PT implements on my FEL, peeking out from the top right corner. It's not terribly heavy, and I can manage it with the chain hoist even though it is not directly under the I beam.

 

[scootr]

Quick hitch requires all of your attachments to have the same pin width. I have a 30 yr collection of attachments of varying pin widths. Pats Quick hitch was a good solution for me when going from attachment to attachment.