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Tilting Quick Hitch
"My tilting quick hitch lets you tilt 3-pt. mounted implements to one side or the other and it also makes hookup easy, especially on uneven ground," says Fred Kestrl, New Lenox, Ill. about the hitch he built three years' ago.
A hydraulic cylinder on the left side of the quick hitch frame moves the hitch's left s
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Tilting quick hitch HITCHES Hitches 12-6-8 "My tilting quick hitch lets you tilt 3-pt. mounted implements to one side or the other and it also makes hookup easy, especially on uneven ground," says Fred Kestrl, New Lenox, Ill. about the hitch he built three years' ago.
A hydraulic cylinder on the left side of the quick hitch frame moves the hitch's left side up or down. To build the unit, Kestrl welded an 8-in. arm to the lower right conventional hitch point. He bolted a hinging 8-in. arm to the left hitch point. It bends at the point where the hydraulic cylinder attaches to it. He also extended the top link 8 in.
"If my field cultivator `planes' one way or the other, I can adjust the cylinder to level it. Or, if there's a ridge along a fence and I don't want the cultivator to dig in, I'll just tip one side of the cultivator a little," says Kestrl, adding that the hitch also eliminates the need to preset the depth of cultivator shovels or to ad-just the cultivator's hitch. "You can do all that on-the-go by adjusting the cylinder. It makes it easier to keep the cultivator running level and that means the shovels will last longer and pull easier."
The tilting hitch also works great to level a moldboard plow, according to Kestrl. "Before I built this hitch the plow often dug in on one side or the other. Now I can keep it level so it pulls easier and wears more evenly." He adds that the unit even makes it possible to use a moldboard plow to terrace, because it'll tip the plow to throw dirt deep or shallow.
The hitch also works well with a grader blade. "I use it to flop one side of the blade up or down while cutting ditches or grading roads. You can buy commercial blades equipped with this feature, but they're expensive."
Kestrl says the patented hitch adapts easily to various tractor models. He's currently looking for a manufacturer.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fred Kestrl, Rt. 1, Box 44, New Lenox, Ill. 60451 (ph 815 469-5824).
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