3 pt hitch hook-up

[ronbo3]

The first time I changed implements took me about 30 minutes, so I know what you're going through. Now I keep a couple of landscape timbers under my shredder and box blade to get them up off the ground, and that made it a lot easier to connect/disconnect them. Still, I am considering a EasyChange or QuickHitch as something to add in the future.

 

[frank_f15]

i basically do the same as Bird. lowere links first. then top link then usually raise the mower a bit to get a nice straight line for the pto hook up. alto easier to do with wheeled implements. for those that are not on wheels i put them on a dolly when storing them, so much easier to hook back up that way. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[wkasr1]

Thanks again for all the replies. I can hook up what few things I have but the 60" finishing mower will almost make me hop on the riding mower to cut the grass. This is a great board and I read it every day. Thanks, Billy

 

[DannyD]

any chance of getting some photo ideas on how those dollies are built and used

 

[cperky]

I would also like to see pics of the dollys, sounds like a great idea

 

[WCarlson]

I made dollies for implements two ways. For attachments like the box blade, MMM, Fork lift attachment, Snow blower, ballast box, etc., I used wood pallets ( free from my Deere dealer) and attached four heavy duty casters to each pallet. The pallet solution did not work for large implements that have critical elevation requirements for installation, such as the BH, and FEL. For these implements, I use snowmobile dollies. They are cheap (less than $30 for a set of three), strong (each set is capable of supporting 1500 lbs.) and easily customized to each application by use of steel strap or angle iron and bolts, pop rivets, or welding.
Bill

 

[Trev]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thanks again for all the replies. I can hook up what few things I have but the 60" finishing mower will almost make me hop on the riding mower to cut the grass. This is a great board and I read it every day. Thanks, Billy )</font>

Billy,

When I first got my tractor, I had an easy time with all implements *except* for my rear mower.. which was a bear! The problem was getting the PTO hooked up. I finally bought one of those PTO clutches that just slip on to the tractor PTO shaft, and rotate freely so it's easy to line up the splines. I would have had to cut down my PTO shafts for the other implements to use the clutch with them, but it works fine with no adjustment on the mower and since I only need it for the mower I just slip it on when attaching the mower. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif A secondary benefit of the clutch is that when you turn off the PTO the mower blades just coast to a gentle stop instead of instantly stopping with a jarring thud. (I suppose some would say it's safer to be able to stop those blades instantly.. guess that's a trade-off.)

One other thing I've found.. once I hook up the implement, I then raise it up a few inches, and *then* I do the side-to-side alignment part.. moving it sideways back and forth until it's aligned so the PTO shaft has a straight shot, and then slip in the pins to lock it in that position.

I do the same as most here seem to.. lower links first, then top link, and then PTO.

It gets easier with time! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I used to work up a major sweat attaching implements.. but now it works pretty smoothly, and I'll switch them multiple times per day with no problem. It's just a learning curve, like most things.

I have a gravel garage floor, so dollies don't really work for me.. the wheels just sink into the gravel. But a bit of practice still makes it pretty easy.

Let us know how you make out...

Bob

 

[texbaylea]

Talking about pry bars - Klein, I believe, makes what they call a Grizzley Bar. It is tubular, about.b 5' long with a spoon shaped head. The head has notches for pulling spikes. It weigh about 30 lbs. My wife loves it as she has used it to lift a piano and other heavy things for me to place dollies under them. I believe that I paid about $40 dollars for it but it has been well worth it. It has a sharp enough end that you can usually get a bite on a concrete floor to move things along.

 

[DennisY]

Not related to 3 pt but how do you post photos on this site? I tried on another thread and it would not accept it becaues the file was too big
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Inspector507]

Resize your pics with any Photo editing software to under 100KB size. Here's a free simple one. Simple to download and easy to use PIXresizer

 

[beenthere]

Thanks
I downloaded, and now have to figure out how to 'unzip' the *.zip file. Any suggestions? Another download?

Win98Se system.

Looking forward to using it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[surfran]

Many times the Zip files will be the self extracting type. If so, you can double click on the file and it will allow you to save the files within it to a location on your harddrive. If not self extracting, you can dowload a version from Winzip attached below is the link.

Winzip

 

[beenthere]

Thanks.
I downloaded the winzip, and it worked fine.
Now seeing how the PIXresizer works. So far, not so impressed. Because the restrictions for loading pics is file size, I was hoping to be able to just click that into the software, and it would be resized correctly. Seems that I still need to do a trial and error sizing, then save, then see what the size was that was saved. If not small enough, do it over again by trial and error. At least I know if I am too small or still too large.
Am I missing something obvious here?
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[GerardC]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thanks.
I downloaded the winzip, and it worked fine.
Now seeing how the PIXresizer works. So far, not so impressed. Because the restrictions for loading pics is file size, I was hoping to be able to just click that into the software, and it would be resized correctly. Seems that I still need to do a trial and error sizing, then save, then see what the size was that was saved. If not small enough, do it over again by trial and error. At least I know if I am too small or still too large.
Am I missing something obvious here?
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )</font>

beenthere..... Try this link web page

 

[beenthere]

Looks interesting, and do you have experience using it? If so, when you resize an image, does it give you the re-sized file size? Appears to do that along the bottom of the screen image. Can you give it a file size desired, and will it then adjust the pic size (width x length) to fit that file size?

Thanks for the link.

 

[GerardC]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Looks interesting, and do you have experience using it? If so, when you resize an image, does it give you the re-sized file size? Appears to do that along the bottom of the screen image. Can you give it a file size desired, and will it then adjust the pic size (width x length) to fit that file size?

Thanks for the link. )</font>

You got it. Download it and experiment with it. It takes some getting use to but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

 

[beenthere]

GerardC
Cannot get it to download, keep getting "plug-in did not initialize properly" message with only an "OK" button to press. A dead end for me, with my limited operating system knowledge.

I'll try some searching to see what I can find, but would like to download that pic software that you suggested.