JD quick hitch being re-designed?

[KennyG]

The one Chevy posted a photo looks very similar(except for color of paint) to the the one I bought from Harbor Freight for $69 that works fine.

I have the Harbor Freight hitch also and it works fine for me, but I don't think there is enough paint in the world to make it look as good as the JD.

 

[Tx Jim]

KennyG
I've been running the HF hitch on a 49 pto hp tractor for yrs with no problems. I have no doubt that the JD quick hitch isn't better designed than the HF. I wonder if the lower hooks on Cat l hitch are built to only accept Cat l pins or if the green one is similar to the HF and requires Cat ll bushings or pins to fill in the gap????????? Also I'm curious to know what the green QH cost. I'll bet ""a lot more"" than paint does.

 

[foggy1111]

KennyG
I've been running the HF hitch on a 49 pto hp tractor for yrs with no problems. I have no doubt that the JD quick hitch isn't better designed than the HF. I wonder if the lower hooks on Cat l hitch are built to only accept Cat l pins or if the green one is similar to the HF and requires Cat ll bushings or pins to fill in the gap????????? Also I'm curious to know what the green QH cost. I'll bet ""a lot more"" than paint does.

Paint? Paint? I have the HF QH too. I wish HF would sell them with a galvanized finish on 'em. That way at least it could be useful as a boat anchor.....it surely is not useful as a Quick Hitch.

 

[KennyG]

KennyG
I've been running the HF hitch on a 49 pto hp tractor for yrs with no problems. I have no doubt that the JD quick hitch isn't better designed than the HF. I wonder if the lower hooks on Cat l hitch are built to only accept Cat l pins or if the green one is similar to the HF and requires Cat ll bushings or pins to fill in the gap????????? Also I'm curious to know what the green QH cost. I'll bet ""a lot more"" than paint does.

We've had some discussion on the lower hooks in the past. The JD and the HF are both ASAE compliant on the hook sizing which means they are actually sized for Cat III pins. A lot of people (me included) have used Cat II bushings. This can actually simplify things with the HF because, although the hooks are supposed to be sized for Cat III, the forging quality is not so good so the hooks sometimes need a little grinding to bring them out fit the Cat III pins.

Now, we may get a ranting reply to this that, "of course, Cat I QH are supposed to use Cat II pins" and I know that there are some Cat I QHs that are sized to take Cat II pins, but if you look up the ASAE standard, you will find it adapts to Cat III pins. Also, if you pull the specs for the JD Imatch, you will also find it's sized for Cat III. My HF quick hitch hooks are Cat III size also, but only on one side. They were forged at an angle so each hitch hook tapered from one side to the other. A little grinder time fixed that (making the paint job quality academic.)

 

[Tx Jim]

foggy1111
IMHO if you couldn't utilize the HF QH then the green JD QH will just be a more $$$$$$ boat anchor

 

[Tx Jim]

KennyG
Where does one find these ASAE spec's for QH's on the WWW?

 

[BleedGreen]

I am being told that the "green" quick-hitch available right now is NOT the new iMatch Quick Hitch. It is the same as the Cat1 "black" JDM (John Deere Merchandise) quick hitch that was available all along (with the adjustable top line) The true iMatch did / will have Cat II / Cat III lower links. If your lower links are CatI it is not an iMatch.

 

[kennyd]

KennyG
Where does one find these ASAE spec's for QH's on the WWW?

Not the correct Kenny, but I hope you (or he) doesn't mind:laughing:

Here is the ASAE specs: Will an ASAE Standard Quick Hitch Fit? - Equipment | Lawn & Garden | LSU AgCenter

 

[kennyd]

I am being told that the "green" quick-hitch available right now is NOT the new iMatch Quick Hitch. It is the same as the Cat1 "black" JDM (John Deere Merchandise) quick hitch that was available all along (with the adjustable top line) The true iMatch did / will have Cat II / Cat III lower links. If your lower links are CatI it is not an iMatch.

Why the HE!! does JD discontinue a product line BEFORE the new product is ready for sale? They did this with the 2305/1 series just what last year? Why would they make all their potential customers wait and risk loosing a sale?

:thumbdown::confused2::confused3::smiley_aafz:unch:ullinghair::irked::muttering::hissyfit:

Of course I know you don't have an answer for this, and I know you get frustrated as well since you can't sell what you can't get in stock.

 

[KennyG]

To compare with kennyd's ASAE spec page, here is the John Deere imatch spec page. You will see they match. I think this page shows the old fixed hook version, but I assume the adjustable one is consistent since the John Deere implements are ASAE compatible.

http://http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/tractors/2011/feature/hitch_drawbar_and_pto/cuts/imatch_quick_hitch_optional_all-cuts.html