HF 3pt Quick Hitch doesn't work on B3030

[bandit67]

I finally picked up the Harbor Freight 3pt Quick Hitch #97214 today - been looking for it for a good 6 months for the sale price of $69.99.

Well, it won't work with the deluxe 3 pt lower link arms - there's too much stuff going on with the adjustable link ends to fit inside the quick hitch brackets without modifying the quick hitch itself (grinding away some of the steel). It also turns out the QH won't fit my Landpride RB2572's top link without the HF adapter (it's shy by about a half inch). Didn't try the Midwest landscape rake or the Rhino rotary cutter, but since the lower link ends won't fit without grinding away at the QH, I'm just going to return it.

Just thought I'd let any other B3030 owners that were considering that particular quick hitch know. I'm not too terribly disappointed, as I've gotten used to using the deluxe linkage - a quick hitch setup would be nice, but it seems that so many implements are different these days anyway. I may end up getting another set of the Pat's Quick hitch (sold my last set to my old neighbor), but I'm not sure those would work on the B3030's deluxe link ends either.

 

[art]

Bandit, we try and help people through the different hitches and it is not easy when you want them all to fit one piece! This has been going on longer then I can remember, it used to be to keep the main manufacturers tractor and implements the same to keep a customer coming back. Today there are so many brands of equipment that are trying to be made to hook to tractors and to have one design fit all!

 

[stimpee]

I am going to revive this thread briefly and ask a question:

Last night I was out in the evening hooking up by RB1572 on my B3030 since the snow was starting. As I figured, if I put the blade on, we wouldnt get enough snow to actually need it, which held quite true!

Anyway, I find the B3030 linkage quite easy to hook up, so my only real rub is getting the little hitch pin clips out of the pins that fit into the lateral stabilizer arms on the 3 point arms. Impossible to do with gloves, and painful and cold to do without them!

So, I was thinking about getting the HF quick hitch today so I could quickly and easily switch between my ballast box and the RB1572, and then I found this thread (thanks Bandit for saving me a trip to HF!)

So, if I could easily solve the problem I noted, at least I could hook stuff up without too much pain.

Anyone have any ideas to make that easier? Perhaps some small ball-lock pins that have the little pushbutton on them to allow them to be extracted easily? Or will they just rust up and be useless?

Everything else seems pretty straightforward, so maybe something like this would serve the purpose and be cheap?

If anyone has tried anything, I would be interested to hear it!

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Toolguy]

You don't need the hairpin clips to hold the swaybar pins in place. I have not used them on my B3030 for over 2 years. The pins are plenty long enough not to bounce out of their holes. I have no need for a QH, myself. I find that with the deluxe linkage it is pretty simple to change implements. The trick is to park them on a somewhat level spot when you take them on and off. If I was changing implements several times a day on a regular basis I might think different, though. Good Luck.

 

[California]

... rub is getting the little hitch pin clips out of the pins that fit into the lateral stabilizer arms on the 3 point arms. Impossible to do with gloves, and painful and cold to do without them!

Hairpin style clips?

I wonder if you could attach a 6 inch length of rope to each hairpin, to give you something to grasp with gloves. Just a straight rope, not a loop, since a loop might snag on something.

Even a garbage bag tie, the kind where a barbed length goes back through a rectangular opening, would give you something to grasp.

 

[bandit67]

I have no need for a QH, myself. I find that with the deluxe linkage it is pretty simple to change implements. The trick is to park them on a somewhat level spot when you take them on and off. If I was changing implements several times a day on a regular basis I might think different, though. Good Luck.

Yes, it is much easier with the setup we have on the B3030, but being able to back up to a non-pto driven implement, lift the Quick Hitch, and hook it onto the implement, all without leaving the seat, is a really nice way to go.

At some point, I'll suck it up and buy a more expensive one that will attach to my linkage. What's been holding me back is that the pto shaft on the used rotary cutter I bought has been cut down for a smaller machine, and although it is ok now, the additional length that a QH would add might create the need to purchase a new, longer pto shaft.

So for now, I deal with the linkage and hooking up while standing behind the machine.

 

[stimpee]

I just left the hairpin retaining clips out when I took the blade off this afternoon, so we will see if I have any issues with them "departing"!

If I do, I guess that will force me to identify a simple replacement that I can remove with gloves on.

Thanks!