Quick-Hitch Adapts To Small Implements

Quick-Hitch Adapts To Small Implements HITCHES Like most small and medium-scale vegetable farmers Reid Allaway and his colleagues at Tourne-Sol Cooperative farm use many different 3-pt hitch implements on different tractors “It’s always a tricky job switching implements because each tool is a bit different There’s a danger for pinched fingers and hands so we’d sometimes just compromise and not change tools because it took way too long ” says Allaway That all changed after Allaway converted all their tractors and implements to a standardized quick-hitch system He adapted a design developed in Norway for Cat II and III hitches but relatively uncommon in North America The first component of the assembly is a triangle frame fabricated out of square steel tubing The locking mechanism uses a “male” triangle pinned to each tractor’s 3-pt lift arms The male triangle is typically installed with a hydraulic cylinder in place of the top link which greatly simplifies aligning the tractor with implements The cylinder also helps control the tool in the field The second part of the assembly is a “female” triangle made out of C-channel These triangles are pinned or welded to each implement in place of the original 3-pt connections  As the male triangle is lifted into the downward-facing C-channel of the female triangle the implement aligns with the tractor and locks securely in place when fully seated “Sway bars or chains on the tractor’s hitch can be kept tight and every implement will line up on center with the tractor without further adjustment ” says Allaway “If the implement doesn’t have hydraulics or a pto there’s a good chance you won’t need to leave your seat to hookup or unhook the implement ” Unhooking is done by simply setting the implement down on a level surface then pulling a rope release on the lock mechanism and driving away Tourne-Sol converted nearly 20 implements and three tractors at a cost of about $3 000 in 2014 Allaway says there’s no question it was time and money well spent “This is probably the biggest efficiency and safety improvement we’ve brought to our tractor operations in a decade ” Allaway says Plans for the female triangles built with imperial-dimension steel can be found at farmhack net or contact Allaway directly at reid@fermetournesol qc ca Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Tourne-Sol Cooperative Farm 1025 Chemin St-Dominique les Cedres Quebec Canada J7T 1P5 ph 450 452-4271; info@fermetournesol qc ca

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