Bolt-On 3-Pt. Hitch

Bolt-On 3-Pt. Hitch TRACTORS Hitches 31-5-11 A desire for a 3-pt. hitch for a Deere M turned into a fast-growing business for Brian and Bill Thomas. Brian had the M, and his dad Bill had the expertise to design a 3-pt. hitch. Now they market it and other products via their Redlandhill website and through about 160 dealers across the country. The original Cat. I 3-pt. hitch design for the John Deere M is available for $459. Its simple bolt-on installation requires no welding or modifications and has since been adapted to a number of John Deere lawn and garden tractors. They include the 318, 322, 330, 332, 420 and 430 and sell for $450. "One of our customers brought his JD 318 in one day and asked if we could make a 3-pt. hitch for it," says Brian. "Since then, they've been flying off the shelf." Unlike Deere's original kits, which are no longer available, the Redlandhill kits connect to the original rockshaft. The vertical lift links can be positioned for maximum lifting power or for a greater range of lifting, up to 16 in. from low to high. Outside mounted stabilizer chains don't interfere with implement change, and the top link can be positioned at three different heights to match a range of implements. "We built the 3-pt hitch, but that meant I lost the use of my factory drawbar, so my dad designed the Handi Hitch," explains Brian. "It worked great, and in the past four years we've sold about 5,000 of them alone." The Handi Hitch is equipped with a clevis hitch and both 2 and 1 7/8-in. dia. balls and is priced at $131. It can also be equipped with a bolt-on standard 2-in. receiver hitch. A Dura Hitch with a single predrilled hole is priced at $110. Both hitches are available in 20-in. and 26-in. lengths to fit a wide variety of Category I 3-pt. hitches. They also can be equipped with Redlandhill designed and manufactured boom poles and a carryall. The JD lawn and garden version and the original 3-pt. for the JD M, as well as the Handi Hitch, Dura Hitch and accessories, are made from scratch at the company's new facility. The company buys hydraulic cylinders and modifies them to produce two other popular products. They are hydraulic top and side links for Category I 3-pts. and hydraulic top links for Category II 3-pt. hitches. Redlandhill also makes a Weld Up kit to convert implements to a Category 1 3-pt. hitch. The 1/2-in. by 2-in. steel kit is priced at $59. They also distribute a variety of 3-pt. conversion kits for larger John Deere, Ford and Farmall models. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Redlandhill, 3304 North U.S. Hwy. 220, Ellerbe, N.C. 28338 (ph 910 652-0101; toll free 800 204-0273; sales@redlandhill.com; www.redlandhill.com).

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