Hydraulic side (tilt) link

[Cougsfan]

I would like to get a hydraulic tilt link for my 4720ch. I got a hydraulic top link from Brian at Fit Rite. I am very happy about everything about it except the 3 month plus delivery. Brain is a single person operation and that is simply all the better he can do. Is there any other quicker choices?

 

[Sysop]

They need to be made to fit your tractor to ensure everything is at the proper angles and has the proper amount of adjustment. There are some "standard fit" types that will work on many popular tractors fine. Most of these provide a more limited adjustment than the manual adjustment the tractor shipped with, or they'll be missing a bend that allows proper alignment on the tractor. It will be up to you to notice any small issues and decide how best to correct them.

Brian takes all the guesswork and wondering out of the equation and provides you exactly what you need for a thought-free installation on whatever you own. You won't need to modify anything, guaranteed.

I think he has a life and a day job. I'm pretty sure he's simply providing the service of his knowledge and spare time. Perhaps if he had enough business to pay the bills, turn-around times would improve. Perhaps for a reasonable fee, you can have him 'rush' your order. Perhaps the 3 month wait you had on the top link is not typical and you'll receive the side link much faster. Have you contacted him and inquired about an ETA?

Even larger companies can have wait times while they prepare your product for shipment. I recently had to wait more than a week for everything attachments to build a grapple to ship to me. I don't mind. When a company is building a product for a customer with a name, I think more care is taken than if it is being made to put on a shelf to wait for a customer to come around.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

They need to be made to fit your tractor to ensure everything is at the proper angles and has the proper amount of adjustment. There are some "standard fit" types that will work on many popular tractors fine. Most of these provide a more limited adjustment than the manual adjustment the tractor shipped with, or they'll be missing a bend that allows proper alignment on the tractor. It will be up to you to notice any small issues and decide how best to correct them.

Brian takes all the guesswork and wondering out of the equation and provides you exactly what you need for a thought-free installation on whatever you own. You won't need to modify anything, guaranteed.

I think he has a life and a day job. I'm pretty sure he's simply providing the service of his knowledge and spare time. Perhaps if he had enough business to pay the bills, turn-around times would improve. Perhaps for a reasonable fee, you can have him 'rush' your order. Perhaps the 3 month wait you had on the top link is not typical and you'll receive the side link much faster. Have you contacted him and inquired about an ETA?

Even larger companies can have wait times while they prepare your product for shipment. I recently had to wait more than a week for everything attachments to build a grapple to ship to me. I don't mind. When a company is building a product for a customer with a name, I think more care is taken than if it is being made to put on a shelf to wait for a customer to come around.

Thanks for the insights, but my 70+ hour a week day job is building top & tilt units. I have NO FREE TIME. I'm a one man operation and typically have 60-80 orders in line. I currently have 95 orders. People have told me for the past 3 years that I should raise my prices, a lot to thin out the orders and still make the same amount of $$$. I just can't bring myself to do it. I charge what is a fair cost for what I build and what my costs are.

There are other units available. A person just needs to decide what it is that they can be satisfied with.

 

[ericm979]

I got top and tilt on my 3725 that's made by the dealer, Dave's Tractor. If you can't wait for Brian you might call them and see if they'll sell just the tilt cylinder.

 

[motownbrowne]

Brian, if you have 95 orders in line, I definitely agree about raising your prices!! You gotta have some free time in your schedule.

To the OP, why not just make one? It isn't hard to figure out what size cylinder to use etc. Yes, you will have some trial and error, and may even have to redo part of it. No, it won't be as pretty and elegant as a FitRite cylinder, but if you can weld or have a friend that can weld, I think you oughtta be able to make your own in an afternoon.

 

[Sysop]

Actually, having 95 orders in queue, and working 70+ hours per week to fulfill them, I think ya need to hire a part-time assistant. If prices need to go up to cover a wage; well, that's the cost of a growing business and folk will surely pay to get their product in a timely manner.

Fact that this conversation is even taking place should fully make the case that "changes are needed".

 

[Cougsfan]

Just to be clear, Brian does run a first class operation. The unit I got from him is top quality, and it went on the tractor with about a 10 minute install time with no problems since. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend his product to anyone. You just have to be patient though.

One thing I did to mine was cut off the end of an old tape measure and taped it to the cylinder body, sticking out over the ram so I could look back and tell exactly how far the ram is extended at a glance. On mine, a 5-7/16" inch extension is a neutral position for the front and back blades on my box blade. The tape measure makes adjusting the degree of cut with the box blade much more precise and easy to change and judge in the field.

Something I found I don't particularly like about my Branson is that the linkage on the controls for the aux hydraulics is really crappy. There is no "feel" to it like there is on the FEL control. The detents are weak, and it is hard to adjust it one way or the other just a little bit. I think if I could find some more restrictive flow restrictors it would help compensate for the crappy linkage.

 

[RNeumann]

Check out Gearmore. They have a few other names depending on region. The website for TnT isn't good but they have good products and I have been happy with mine.

 

[oosik]

Well, that's what you have to expect when you provide a superior product with exacting fit, finish & function. The word get out, the orders pile up and the wait time increases. I got my hydraulic top link in December of 2013 and the wait time was around one month. Unlike many other products, my Fit Rite top link works as advertised, all the time, and has never let me down. I will pay more & wait for any product like that.

 

[Branson Bob]

Just to be clear, Brian does run a first class operation. The unit I got from him is top quality, and it went on the tractor with about a 10 minute install time with no problems since. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend his product to anyone. You just have to be patient though.

One thing I did to mine was cut off the end of an old tape measure and taped it to the cylinder body, sticking out over the ram so I could look back and tell exactly how far the ram is extended at a glance. On mine, a 5-7/16" inch extension is a neutral position for the front and back blades on my box blade. The tape measure makes adjusting the degree of cut with the box blade much more precise and easy to change and judge in the field.

Something I found I don't particularly like about my Branson is that the linkage on the controls for the aux hydraulics is really crappy. There is no "feel" to it like there is on the FEL control. The detents are weak, and it is hard to adjust it one way or the other just a little bit. I think if I could find some more restrictive flow restrictors it would help compensate for the crappy linkage.

Hey Cougsfan (and others).

I’m interested in installing a Top and Tilt system for my 2016 Branson 3520H Tractor which I purchased from Dave’s Tractor in Red Bluff, CA. Dave will sell me everything I need to install it myself but unfortunately the price is the same whether the dealership installs it or I do and the cost of transporting the tractor to the dealership is pretty high.

Though I haven’t installed hydraulics, I work in construction and am pretty handy however I have a few questions regarding the installation if I were to buy the parts through Fit-Rite or Gearmore or another supplier.

1) I have the dealer-installed backhoe on the tractor. Will this enable me to tap off the existing rear remotes to provide the hydraulics necessary for the Top and Tilt?

2) Besides Cylinders, Hoses, and Valve and Bracket Assembly, what else would I need to buy?

Thanks.

 

[ericm979]

Do you have the factory remote valves? There's two levers to the right of the seat behind the 3pt control lever, and two sets of female plugs on the top of the rear of the transmission housing. The valve body is back there, connected to the levers by a linkage. The valve body bolts on to the top of the transmission housing and there's a hydraulic line to it from the loader valve. I think when the rear valves are not installed the hydraulic line either attaches directly to the trans case or to a cover that goes where the valve body goes.

If you have the valves free when the BH is off you're set. Or if you have aftermarket valves, they don't need to be the factory ones.

 

[RNeumann]

Hey Cougsfan (and others).

I’m interested in installing a Top and Tilt system for my 2016 Branson 3520H Tractor which I purchased from Dave’s Tractor in Red Bluff, CA. Dave will sell me everything I need to install it myself but unfortunately the price is the same whether the dealership installs it or I do and the cost of transporting the tractor to the dealership is pretty high.

Though I haven’t installed hydraulics, I work in construction and am pretty handy however I have a few questions regarding the installation if I were to buy the parts through Fit-Rite or Gearmore or another supplier.

1) I have the dealer-installed backhoe on the tractor. Will this enable me to tap off the existing rear remotes to provide the hydraulics necessary for the Top and Tilt?

2) Besides Cylinders, Hoses, and Valve and Bracket Assembly, what else would I need to buy?

Thanks.

Dave’s Tractor was going to sell me mine and it was the Gearmore T&T. It has the valves and two cylinders. You make the hoses to meet your needs. You would come off the power beyond on the loader valve and then run a return line back into the machine. No other valves or special items needed.

If you can plumb the lines you are all good.

If your tractor has a set of remotes make sure they aren’t controlled by a valve- you want just open ports. No need to be in a position to have to open a valve to run the T&T.

Here is a video of mine-
Mahindra 1538 hydraulic top and tilt, third 3rd function - YouTube
Mahindra 1533 1538 hydraulics 3rd Function how to - YouTube

 

[Branson Bob]

Dave’s Tractor was going to sell me mine and it was the Gearmore T&T. It has the valves and two cylinders. You make the hoses to meet your needs. You would come off the power beyond on the loader valve and then run a return line back into the machine. No other valves or special items needed.

If you can plumb the lines you are all good.

If your tractor has a set of remotes make sure they aren’t controlled by a valve- you want just open ports. No need to be in a position to have to open a valve to run the T&T.

Here is a video of mine-
Mahindra 1538 hydraulic top and tilt, third 3rd function - YouTube
Mahindra 1533 1538 hydraulics 3rd Function how to - YouTube

Thanks very much for the great reply. Much appreciated.

 

[Cougsfan]

One other thing that makes the installation worth while are restrictor valves. Without them the hydraulics operate so fast that you have a heck of a time positioning your ram exactly where you want.

 

[Branson Bob]

One other thing that makes the installation worth while are restrictor valves. Without them the hydraulics operate so fast that you have a heck of a time positioning your ram exactly where you want.

Thanks Cougsfan.

I'm gonna move forward with this and let you know how it turns out.

 

[Branson Bob]

Do you have the factory remote valves? There's two levers to the right of the seat behind the 3pt control lever, and two sets of female plugs on the top of the rear of the transmission housing. The valve body is back there, connected to the levers by a linkage. The valve body bolts on to the top of the transmission housing and there's a hydraulic line to it from the loader valve. I think when the rear valves are not installed the hydraulic line either attaches directly to the trans case or to a cover that goes where the valve body goes.

If you have the valves free when the BH is off you're set. Or if you have aftermarket valves, they don't need to be the factory ones.

Hey Eric. I just saw your reply... missed it earlier for some reason.

Thanks!

 

[Branson Bob]

I'm interested in installing a Top and Tilt system for my 2016 Branson 3520H Tractor which I purchased from Dave's Tractors in Red Bluff, CA. Dave will sell me everything I need to install it myself but unfortunately the price is the same whether the dealership installs it or I do and the cost of transporting the tractor to the dealership is pretty high.

To clarify this, Dave's Tractors just sent me a few emails which explain why the price is the same installed or shipped for me to install:

"I have attached an estimate with the top and tilt kit, along with the front
remote hydraulic kit shipped to you out the door.

The reason why we do not give a break if you installed it yourself is
because with the top and tilt kits, we install them onto one of our tractors
here, make the hoses and mounts, and make sure everything works properly.
After that we box it up and send it to you.

This way we know there will be no issues and it is a lot easier for the
customer to put it together. I had a customer in the past that wanted a bare
kit and said he could do it himself. I ended up spending 3 hours on the
phone with him off and on guiding him to do it for 3 days. After that
happened we started to put the kits together here, shipped them out and it
make life a lot easier for the customer and us.

We do have everything instock and ready to be built. The diameters of the
rams that we use are 2.5 inches for both the side link ram and top link ram.

There are directions with the kits. It really is not too bad, you will have to remove the seat to install the rear remote hydraulics but it is about a 45 minute job.

To be honest, you should try to install them yourself, I will even send you pictures to help you and if the directions are not clear I will guide you. Once we get the kits together it is a lot easier to guide the customer.

I really like the kits because they are just bolt on. And since we premake the hoses, they are just thread on as well."

 

[Reg]

Check out Gearmore. They have a few other names depending on region. The website for TnT isn't good but they have good products and I have been happy with mine.

I looked on their site.
As with so many implement/accessory providers they don't list anything for Branson/Century/Kukje - although they DO list some JD tractors.

I don't remember which JD tractors correspond to which B/C/K tractors (contract built by Kukje for JD).
Was the 4110 the "same" as the Kukje large frame ? (but for paint colors and emblems).

 

[RNeumann]

Call them or call a good retailer. I think they make about everything. I’d make sure you get exactly what you need- especially the side link.

 

[Reg]

Call them or call a good retailer. I think they make about everything. I’d make sure you get exactly what you need- especially the side link.

I have gone through a couple of hydraulic top links - same problem with both.
Actually it is MY problem that has put them both to the scrap pile.
I typically take the back hoe off in a HURRY because there is something else I need to put on and do something URGENTLY !
In my haste I put it on the wrong way round, i.e. with the ports CLOSE to the tractor - on my tractor that is SO WRONG.
If I pull the top link in with the implement raised the port closest to the tractor gets busted.

So, then I spend a year or three without hydraulic top link and I have to say I do THINK more when I have to climb off and on again 3 or 4 times to get it "right", but once it is right.... ...ahh, so good.
I want a hydraulic side link, but I will probably do as I have done with the top link, i.e. start out with it anywhere and adjust on the fly, which is OK but isn't as repeatable as the screw jack.

Anyway, for what it may be worth to someone; be sure to mount your top link the right way around so that the ports don't foul the tractor.