msiewert96

Got my new tractor and picked up a woods brush cutter, this is my first tractor and first time hooking up the cutter, heck if I could get it figured out, anyone got pointers, video pictures etc of how to attach the lower links, I just could not get it aligned I guess, got one on then the other would not come on and vice versa. help please

Dougster

No one ever said it would be easy! And the heavier and more awkward the implement, the worse it is!

There are plenty of devices and tricks to make things a little easier. It's a whole sub-industry in and of itself!

Ducati996

I would search on harbor freights website and look for their 3 pt quick hitch attachment - they sell for around $70 and its will be the best money ever spent.
Until then, only work on level ground with attachments that heavy, because its too difficult to move them. A paved driveway would help a lot.
Got more cuts, mashed fingers and bruises from these beasts, then I care to remember

New to the Fold: Kubota L39 w/grapple, pallet forks, BH QA buckets, and more!
JD 2520, 210Cx, 46BH, 60" Box Blade-Mid West, 52" Mid West aerator, 52" first choice Tiller, 5' Fontier blade, 42" pallet forks, Green MFG PHD, Mid West York Rake w/guage wheels, Cub 3204 with Blower & Simms Cab, Mowers (44",48",50"),Ford 2006 F550 turbo diesel 4x4 w/11' mason dump, 16' 10k Doolittle trailer, Southwestern enclosed trailer, Wright Stander RH 52", Better Outdoor Product Quick 32" WB mower, and more !!

msiewert96

you bring up a whole other subject, who makes thebest quick hitch, pat's, harbor freight, Tractor supply??
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Mickey

My suggestion is to hook up the lower links first. Want to make sure and anti-sway linkage is loose enough so each link can be attached independently of one another. Make sure the height of the lower links are a little lower than the pins on the mower. Lift the arm, place on the mower pin and and secure it with a linch pin. Do the same for the other lower link and then address the upper link. Depending upon space available you may want to consider hooking up the pto shaft first but you have to be very close to the final location for the lower links.


I'll second Duc's comment about the quick mount hitch.

1970 Bolens 1257 w/tiller
2005 Cub 3204 48" deck
Yanmar Fx24D
5' Howse rotary mower
RSB 1300 Yanmar tiller

PaulChristenson

One make sure you leave your brush cutter rails setting on some 6x6 blocks at the front of the rails...

If you get one of your lower links attached...you can extend your top link until it is attached and then just crank the top link back in to bring the other lower link into alignment...

Even easier if you had telescoping sway bars that can be easily adjusted to adapt to a wide variety of implements.

After you are all hooked up then use the right lift link to adjust, without tools..., the level of the implement.

Paul in VT

I used to own an ant farm but had to give it up. I couldn't find tractors small enough to fit it.
-- Steven Wright

Ducati996

Harbor freight all the way because of the price! -usually on sale for $70 bucks, and a lot of folks here have them (myself included).

They offer two models so make sure you order the correct one for your implements (older implements tend to go wider)

Inside clearance: 26-1/2"
Inside clearance: 27-1/2"

adapter

Call their customer service and ask for Item #29309, Description "93691" Hitch Adapter. Its about $9 additional

Attached Images

Quick Hitch adapter.jpg (11.2 KB, 17 views)

LoneCowboy

I hook and unhook probably more than the rest of you combined. Sometimes a couple times a day. I have 3 tractors, lord knows how many implements and it almost never works out that what i have on the tractor is what i need for the job tomorrow.

It's not hard, it just takes practice.

It's much easier if one person is driving the tractor and one person is hooking it up (back a little, forward a little, etc), but it's still not that big of deal.

Extensible link arms make a huge difference.

I like to start on the left side of the tractor. Flip the sway bar holders out (so the bars can move side to side) and remove the cover to the PTO shaft if needed.
Back the tractor in so the left side arm lines up (forget the right arm for now)
Hook that one up, put the pin in to hold it.
I typically hook the PTO shaft up here if needed.

Walk around tractor to right side, go either forward or back to get the right side to line up. let it drag the implment if it needs to, it will happen.
when it does, put that arm on, and pin it in.

Now hook the top link up.

I then pick it up and go out to somewhere flat, I set the sway bars back so it's centered and not hitting a tire, then set the top link for level and then test the PTO

2 to 3 minutes, tops

The quick hitch systems suck. They don't fit everything, they take tons of adjustment, etc.
For as little as most homeowners change implements, just learn to do it.

Brian H
Longmont CO
Pasture Maintenance
NH TN75DA, NH TC45D,
06 Chevy Duramax 2500HD
03 Freightliner Columbia MBE 460

jbrumberg

The key is to have your attachments level and back up to the attachment "on center". All the previous posters are correct in their advise. I also have a hand sledge, crowbar, and straightpick to help with the "fine tuning". Kicking and cussing helps too Jay

NH TC29DA with 14LA FEL with 60" HD QA bucket, cutting edge & toothbar, weighted R-1's, FOPS, CCM M-160 58" tiller, Tebben MD 60" Rotary Cutter, Woods LR 108 96" Landscape Rake, Woods GB60 60" Box Blade

Dougster

I must agree with the Cowboy on this one. The didn't come on my Mahindra 4110, but I will be buying some TYM ones (off their near idential T400/T450) that fit my Mahindra sooner rather than later.

With a frame-mounted Bradco 509 backhoe on the tractor most of the time, the HF quick hitch (or anything similar) saves me nothing. It would be just another "thing" to drag around to every other jobsite.

Dougster™