Add-On 3-Pt. Hitch Equips Hummer For Field Work

Add-On 3-Pt. Hitch Equips Hummer For Field Work HITCHES Hitches 24-2-3 If you want to get the attention of your neighbors, just head to the field this spring with a Hummer truck pulling a five-bottom plow. Tom Kendle thinks Hummers, which are commercial versions of military Hummers, make perfect farm utility vehicles, especially when equipped with a 3-pt. hitch and pto. In fact, he developed his own patented design for a 3-pt hitch that can be easily bolted to any Hummer. "One outstanding feature of the Hummer is that you can have torque on all four wheels even if a wheel is in the air," says Kendle, an employee of the A.M.G. plant in Mishawaka, Ind., where Hummers are built. "With true 4-WD final reduction at the wheels and a naturally aspirated diesel, it puts 10,000 lbs. of torque on the ground. With the turbocharged option, that goes even higher." The first time Kendle drove a Hummer, he knew it had farm potential. He thinks it makes sense to buy one in place of a pickup because it'll do everything a pickup can do plus work in the field. Although new ones sell for $55,000 stripped down, used ones can be found for $25,000. One of the options available for the Hummer is a 12,000-lb. winch which can be attached either front or back. Kendle uses the winch plates to mount his add-on 3-pt. hitch. "I can carry a 1,500-lb. bale around on a spike without any extra weights on the Hummer," says Kendle. He has also used the truck to pull a 24-ft. drag across the field at 10 mph using 0.39 gal of fuel per acre. "That's twice the speed and half the fuel of a tractor." To make the unit even more versatile, he adds a hydraulic motor with a pto shaft mounted to the hitch. He uses an 8, 16, or 24 hp hydraulic pump to produce the power for the unit. The advantage of a separate power unit is constant pto speed regardless of what is being done with the truck. Kendle has also mounted his 3-pt. hitch to the front end of conventional tractors, and he built a smaller one just for garden tractors. He has also mounted his 3-pt. hitches on the front of a '78 Ford 250 truck equipped with a snowplow bracket. Kendle sells his medium duty 3-pt. hitch for $1,385 with electric hydraulic assembly for another $545. The garden tractor unit will soon be available for $600. The pto unit with the 16 hp generator, shaft, motor and hoses sells for $5,743. His dozer blade sells for $1,080. All prices are FOB. For those who would like to see the units in action, Kendle sells a video for $14.95 plus $3.00 for shipping. He also has a booklet of pictures of his units in use. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tom Kendle, 26179 May Street, Edwardsburg, Mich. (ph 616 663-8997).

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