Mechanical 3-Pt. Lift Tows Behind ATV’s

Mechanical 3-Pt Lift Tows Behind ATV’s ATV S Terry Jacob turned a ground-drive mechanical lift from an old drill into a 3-pt caddy for ATV’s     “I had a customer who wanted to pull food plot implements with his ATV ” says Jacob “A mechanical lift meant no need for electrical or hydraulic components I can even pull it with my golf cart ”     Jacob started with an 8-ft Minneapolis Moline drill with a ground drive mechanical lift He removed the boxes and cut it down to match the wheel tracks of a 2-row planter he had restored     “I made a rock shaft with a piece of pipe and welded two 3-pt lift arms from an old Ford tractor to it in parallel ” says Jacob “I mounted it to the rear frame of the caddy with an arm welded to the end It connects the rock shaft to the drill’s mechanical lift ”     He pinned the top link for the 3-pt to a bracket he welded to the center of the rear frame Needing a pivot point for lower links Jacob mounted a steel rod between the axles and mounted the lower links to it Braces welded between the front of the caddy frame and the rod as well as a brace from it to the frame above reinforce the rod Top links with clevis ends connect the rocker arms to the lower links to provide lift Additional cross bracing welded in place reinforces the entire caddy     The parallel linkage on the rocker arm provides the vertical lift that Jacob wanted for use with the press wheel planter He also added 80-lb tractor weights to the front of the frame to act as a counterweight to the planter Another 100 lbs of weight added to the rear of the caddy frame prevents wheel slippage when the lift is activated     “To lift or lower the planter the operator pulls on the trip rope ” says Jacob “An adjustable trip on the drill’s drive lets the operator adjust how far down the 3-pt drops which affects down pressure ”     Jacob made a second caddy using the ground drive mechanical lift mechanism from a Minneapolis Moline spring-tooth harrow He points out that any number of old implements have similar lift with some like the drill he first used having a lift on each wheel     “If anyone has old equipment around and wants to talk about how to use it give me a call ” says Jacob “If you think you can do it you probably can There is always a way to make it work ”     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Terry Jacob 9317 S W 72nd Sedgwick Kan 67135 ph 316 393-7731; ruth1110@kanokla net

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