Piston
Elite Member
Why I love my Fit-Rite Hydraulics Side Link.....
-first and foremost...Brian's customer service, is one of the best I've ever seen :thumbsup:
-Easy installation, I didn't order it with the hose kit, as I had spare hoses I could use, instead, I asked Brian what I need, and he not only told me each and every piece, but also right down to the thread type I'll need. It took me about 30-45 minutes to install, including the time it took to plumb in my hoses and fittings. It would have taken me, by best estimate, about 73 seconds to install if I ordered it with the hose kit.
-FLOAT! I never thought I would care, or need, or use, the float position. I bought this side link from the person I bought it from, simply because customer service is most important to me, and he gave me the best. I asked way more questions than he probably wanted to answer, but never let me know I was bothering him :laughing: The FLOAT feature works with my valve that has a float detent built in. When using the landscape rake in my rather uneven area's, almost every time I put the rake down, I put it in float, this way as I go over uneven terrain, the rake will follow the contour, rather than staying at whatever contour the tractor is at. I know the 3pt hitch is supposed to float on it's own, but it really does seem to work better with the float on the side link. I don't know why? I know this will come in handy when snow starts to fall (if it ever does) and I'm scraping the driveway.
I also use the float on my box blade when i'm dragging material, this way I don't dig up what I'm going over, and instead, the box will follow the contour better than without it.
-Hitching up implements-My 3pt Log splitter is notorious for wanting to aggravate the heck out of me when I'm hitching it up :laughing: When I back up to any of my implements now, before I get off the tractor, I put the valve in float detent. I now have the ability to move the side link side to side of course, as well as in/out with the telescoping links, but also up and down very easily, as I can just push or pull the cylinder in/out of the ram, to make it easy to hook up. No more going back to the tractor and making small adjustments to the levers :thumbsup:
I did a lot of research on side links right here on the forum, as well as got some time on a friends L3400 with top N tilt, to try it out for myself. He has a CCM top n tilt setup which works excellent as well. I was a little skeptical to go with a non check valve type cylinder because of all the great reviews on here I've read about regarding the DPOCV cylinders, as well as the previously mentioned L3400 that I've used. However, now that I've been able to compare the two, and get some time under my belt using my side link, I've come to the conclusion that for me, the only disadvantage I see in not having a check valve, is that if I park my tractor for more than a few hours and leave my implement up in the air, (which normally I put it down) when I come back, it will be a couple inches lower on the right side than it was when I left it. Big deal....
In theory, I think the cylinder 'seep' that people talk about is a valid point, but in practice, having time on both systems, It wouldn't be possible for me to tell the difference.
I'm posting my opinions on my side link for anyone who is interested in my thoughts, however most of the time nobody is :laughing::laughing:
I think the DPOCV cylinders that I used also work great, and I haven't noticed many disadvantages to them, aside from the ability to float. However, I haven't noticed any advantage to them either? I suppose if you have leaky valves then the seep could worsen, but if that's the case, you should probably replace the seals on your valves :laughing:
All that being said, I don't think any one system is 'better' than the other, seems to be whatever your needs are, I'm sure there are some situations where a DPOCV cylinder would be better, I just can't think of any for my specific uses.
I'd be happy to answer any questions I can if anyone has any, and especially if your considering a new side link. I can't comment on the top link yet as I don't have one, but give me another month or two and I will.
I hope someone found this informative. :thumbsup:
Happy Tractoring,
-Matt
Sorry I don't have more pics...
If your considering buying a side link, I'd highly recommend taking the plunge, no matter which one you go with. :thumbsup:
-first and foremost...Brian's customer service, is one of the best I've ever seen :thumbsup:
-Easy installation, I didn't order it with the hose kit, as I had spare hoses I could use, instead, I asked Brian what I need, and he not only told me each and every piece, but also right down to the thread type I'll need. It took me about 30-45 minutes to install, including the time it took to plumb in my hoses and fittings. It would have taken me, by best estimate, about 73 seconds to install if I ordered it with the hose kit.
-FLOAT! I never thought I would care, or need, or use, the float position. I bought this side link from the person I bought it from, simply because customer service is most important to me, and he gave me the best. I asked way more questions than he probably wanted to answer, but never let me know I was bothering him :laughing: The FLOAT feature works with my valve that has a float detent built in. When using the landscape rake in my rather uneven area's, almost every time I put the rake down, I put it in float, this way as I go over uneven terrain, the rake will follow the contour, rather than staying at whatever contour the tractor is at. I know the 3pt hitch is supposed to float on it's own, but it really does seem to work better with the float on the side link. I don't know why?
I know this will come in handy when snow starts to fall (if it ever does) and I'm scraping the driveway. I also use the float on my box blade when i'm dragging material, this way I don't dig up what I'm going over, and instead, the box will follow the contour better than without it.
-Hitching up implements-My 3pt Log splitter is notorious for wanting to aggravate the heck out of me when I'm hitching it up :laughing: When I back up to any of my implements now, before I get off the tractor, I put the valve in float detent. I now have the ability to move the side link side to side of course, as well as in/out with the telescoping links, but also up and down very easily, as I can just push or pull the cylinder in/out of the ram, to make it easy to hook up. No more going back to the tractor and making small adjustments to the levers :thumbsup:
I did a lot of research on side links right here on the forum, as well as got some time on a friends L3400 with top N tilt, to try it out for myself. He has a CCM top n tilt setup which works excellent as well. I was a little skeptical to go with a non check valve type cylinder because of all the great reviews on here I've read about regarding the DPOCV cylinders, as well as the previously mentioned L3400 that I've used. However, now that I've been able to compare the two, and get some time under my belt using my side link, I've come to the conclusion that for me, the only disadvantage I see in not having a check valve, is that if I park my tractor for more than a few hours and leave my implement up in the air, (which normally I put it down) when I come back, it will be a couple inches lower on the right side than it was when I left it. Big deal....
In theory, I think the cylinder 'seep' that people talk about is a valid point, but in practice, having time on both systems, It wouldn't be possible for me to tell the difference.
I'm posting my opinions on my side link for anyone who is interested in my thoughts, however most of the time nobody is :laughing::laughing:
I think the DPOCV cylinders that I used also work great, and I haven't noticed many disadvantages to them, aside from the ability to float. However, I haven't noticed any advantage to them either? I suppose if you have leaky valves then the seep could worsen, but if that's the case, you should probably replace the seals on your valves :laughing:
All that being said, I don't think any one system is 'better' than the other, seems to be whatever your needs are, I'm sure there are some situations where a DPOCV cylinder would be better, I just can't think of any for my specific uses.
I'd be happy to answer any questions I can if anyone has any, and especially if your considering a new side link. I can't comment on the top link yet as I don't have one, but give me another month or two and I will.
I hope someone found this informative. :thumbsup:
Happy Tractoring,
-Matt
Sorry I don't have more pics...
If your considering buying a side link, I'd highly recommend taking the plunge, no matter which one you go with. :thumbsup:
