Handy-Hitch Helps on Ditchsides

Handy-Hitch Helps on Ditchsides HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers (38) 24-6-2 Anybody who's ever mowed the side of a steep ditch knows how dangerous that can be for tractor and operator. Besides potential roll-overs, steep ditchsides can create fluid imbalances that affect lubrication of bearings and differentials. Handy-Hitch Manufacturing says it has come up with a solution to the problem with a tow unit that transfers power and pull to side-mounted rotary mowers. Extending a cylinder moves the Handy-Hitch with trailing mowers out of road mode and into the ditch. Tractor and driver stay safe up on the road shoulder. "We recently beefed up the hitch and eliminated some wear points," says Dave Schott, Handy Hitch Manufacturing, Inc. "We added safety warning decals as recommended by ASAE, raised a gear box to eliminate an unnecessary angle and increased the shaft diameter at the end of the gearbox that attaches to the mower." Although Handy Hitch's main customers are local and state government agencies, farmers and others who contract to mow local ditches are also interested. Using the Handy-Hitch, agricultural tractors can safely handle road ditches which might otherwise require industrial tractors with their lower centers of gravity. The hydraulic motor-driven pto outlets provide power where it's needed, on the sides of the road. One model powers a 5-ft. mower with one 5-ft. batwing deck (at 540 or 1,000 rpm's). Another model powers one 5-ft. mower with two batwing decks. Prices start at $5,900 ($8,555 Canadian). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Handy Hitch Mfg. Inc., 35 Trottier Bay, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 3R3 (ph 204 284-5252).

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