Kubota upper and lower links

Steve_S · Mar 16, 2001

First I have to say this. I just got done reading the operating opinions thread and I have some input. I just got 70 ton of 2A modified stone on my property. The BX2200 I own handled it fine. I just got my BX about 2 months ago (just in time for the majority of our snow) and I absolutely love it. It does more than I would have guessed. I have a 72" bush hog finisher and a 72" rear blade which the BX handles fine. The mower is a little heavy, but it works. And the blade is cumbersome when using as a ballest, but again, it works fine and for moving snow it can't be beat. Anyway, my whole point to this is, can I get larger lower links for the 3pt hitch? My dealer gave me a larger upper link for free because the original was too short for the bush hog. I just joined this forum and have to say that the opinions and tips are outstanding. I have learned more from this than reading the owners manual. Thanks to all.

Charliebrn · Mar 16, 2001

What are you hooking up that you would require larger 3pt arms for? I assume you mean LONGER arms rather than physically beefier. Keep in mind that the BX has a limited lifting capacity. I must say though, that i'm impressed that it handles the 6' brush hog. What kind is it? My dealer is trying to convince me that it'll only handle a 48"....

I have a new BX as well, brought it home in Jan. Picked up a used 6' rear blade, figured I'd have to cut it down to 5'. But tonight i had my first chance to use it, as we had about 6" of heavy wet snow to plow in the neighborhood drives. Boy, was I shocked! With turfs on (no chains or weights) it did the job just fine! Only fish-tailed once or twice on slick asphalt, and I'm sure that some rear weights would cure that. At one point I was pushing a full 10' of snow in front of the FEL, the rear blade full, snow and slush peeling off the top. YEEEHAAA!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

ronjhall · Mar 17, 2001

Steve
Check out this site. They have a couple of different lower arms. I would not recommend changing them though.

Roy · Mar 18, 2001

Welcome to TBN, sdsjr3. If the lower arm length issue is to increase the spread when attaching/detaching, have you considered a quick-hitch (freedom-hitch)? Another simple trick, for some implements, is to reverse the pins (point the implement pins in, rather than out). Did that for my rear blade, and it greatly reduced the effort required.

Roy

Steve_S · Mar 19, 2001

OK, I finally have a chance to reply to all these posts. First to answer the question as to what I am hooking up that would require larger upper and lower links. The 72" bush hog is rather large. I did reverse the lower pins and that worked fine. But my rear blade is still an issue. And the pins are welded fast. I made my lower links as wide as possible and that helped a great deal but it is still a chore getting the blade on and off because the pins are so far apart. I had to get a larger upper link in order to reach the upper part of the mower bracket. The stock link that comes on the BX isn't quite long enough. And also, Roy, is there a website that I can find the "freedom hitch" at?

Steve_S · Mar 19, 2001

Sorry, I forgot to tell you guys the model number of the bush hog. It is FTH-720 which is a side discharge model. And I am curious why it is recommended NOT to change the length of the lower links.

Bird · Mar 19, 2001

I don't know about a web site for the Freedom Hitch, but if you'll call (800) 586-3811 or (800) 859-3028, they'll send you their literature, price list, and a free video. Wish I could afford it myself.

Bird

Rch · Mar 19, 2001

http://www.freedomhitch.com/index2.html
Link to Freedom Hitch

RCH

Harv · Mar 19, 2001

and a free video. Wish I could afford it

Wow! And I thought I was having budget problems. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird · Mar 19, 2001

You caught me, Harv./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif As my wife is fond of saying, "You know what I meant." (Sometimes she's right, and sometimes she's not!)/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I thought I was having budget problems

I figure if a trip around the world cost a dollar, I couldn't get out of sight.

Harv, did you get any work done on those culverts in the mud? I finally gave up on waiting for it to get dry enough to mow. Figured even if the sun came out it'd take forever for the ground to dry out under a foot of clover, so I just plowed, er . ., I mean mowed, right on through puddles and mud yesterday. At least everything was wet enough that it washed off pretty easily when I finished.

Bird

Harv · Mar 19, 2001

did you get any work done on those culverts in the mud?

Not yet, Bird. Haven't been back to the property since that last round of pictures, but we're going up again this coming weekend. We've been having summer-like weather lately, so parts of the area should be dried up enough for some tractorin'.

If I keep my priorities straight I'll be dealing with weeds around the house. I've rationalized spending the bucks for a spray rig, but I've been up to my eyeballs in making a living, so I haven't been able to sit down with the dealer to determine what configuration to order. Looks like I might be wearing the ol' Solo backpack sprayer again. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

The muddy road will probably remain muddy for quite some time, so the weeds might be just the distraction I need. For now. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Roy · Mar 19, 2001

sdsjr3… I don't have a quick-hitch or the Freedom Hitch myself. A quick-hitch (probably cheaper, but not as nice as the Freedom Hitch) is available from TSC, catalog entry at http://www.tractorsupplyco.com/catalog/3pt/p149.htm

Now, if I remember correctly, a BX owner on this board did mention in passing that they had a quick-hitch. Maybe they can chime in on supplier, effectiveness and costs.

Also, if I remember, someone a while back mentioned that they replaced the lower lift arms cotter pins with quick-pins. (Del… was that your solution?) They found it easier to attach the implement first, and then attach the arms to the tractor.

Roy

Thomas · Mar 19, 2001

Free video or pamphlets to us its like when the ladies go window shopping. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Your mowing already /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif heck snowbanks up here are 8"+ /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif how about doing a Texas two step and send some warm weather up here. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird · Mar 19, 2001

Your mowing already

And at least 2 to 3 weeks later than I should have mowed because it's been so wet./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

send some warm weather up here

It's still cold down here, too./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif The weatherman just said it was 15 degrees below our "normal" high of 69 today, and he's forecasting a low in the 30s tonight/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif, but the sun's supposed to put in an appearance tomorrow and start to warm up./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I might get to plant a garden yet this month.

Bird

GlueGuy · Mar 19, 2001

"normal" high of 69 today

Now that's interesting. It was 63 this morning when I got up, and I think it must have hit 80 today in the valley. I think we have an excess, I'd be happy to ship some around, as 75 is the upper end of my comfort zone./w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

The GlueGuy

Bird · Mar 19, 2001

75 is the upper end of my comfort zone

Me, too. I really like 60 +/-5./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Brian Williams, substituting for Tom Brokaw tonight, said California had rolling blackouts all over the state. Did that get you, too?

Bird

Harv · Mar 20, 2001

California had rolling blackouts all over the state

I don't know about GlueGuy, but there were blackouts all around us today. To make matters worse, my house was previously in an "exempt" zone, but they just re-zoned us into outage block 14. Tomorrow, if need be, they're going to start blackouts with block 12! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Dang it! I knew I shouldn't be betting my living on these electrical-type computers! /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird · Mar 20, 2001

Don't you love "re-zoning", Harv?/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif All indications are that it's going to be a tough summer. We, supposedly, don't have to worry about blackouts (although I wouldn't bet on it); instead we'll just be paying through the nose with the rate increases./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

skent · Mar 20, 2001

I dunno. . . . last night on one of the National News stations they mentioned that this summer its going to be a potential problem on the east coast too. . . .

GlueGuy · Mar 20, 2001

Did that get you, too?

I guess they were going on, but we didn't see anything. The place where I work is in zone 2 or 3, and they were doing 10 and 11 yesterday, so that's probably why.

At home we're in zone 3, so we are ok until (in the words of Arlo Guthry) "it comes around on the guitar" again. However, when this whole thing started and zone 3 was shut off, we didn't see anything at all. I suspect that (1) we're too far out of town to bother with, or (2) they somehow missed us the first time.

You know what's ironic about this power thing? California ranks 49th in terms of per capita power use. If we were up in the top ten (per capita), we would have been seeing this years ago.

The GlueGuy