3 Point hitch question

[DonRybak]

I have the RK37 HST cab model that I purchased in early late June or early July. I have about 17 hours on it now from pasture mowing but I've noticed something that I'm not sure if it's an issue or not. The 3 point hitch control lever marking are from 1 to something like 9 with 9 being the lowest position. That seems backwards to me. But the question I have that maybe another owner can let me know if theirs is the same, my hitch doesn't start to raise until I have the lever about 65 to 70% off the lowest position. I have an old Case tractor and the hitch on it starts raising almost the instant the lever comes off the lowest position. If RKTractor guy happens to read this maybe he can make a suggestion to have some type of stop added so that once you get the correct hitch level set you can set the stop so that if you have to raise the attachment to cross over a road or something you only have to lower the level back to the stop for it to be right where you want it.

Thanks....Don

 

[g8erh8er]

You have the exact tractor I'm interested in purchasing. Interested to know how you've been liking it thus far? I'm in Florida and having a cab with A/C would be a godsend.

OK, on to the topic. Just for reference, my Massey 1532 3-point doesn't start to lift until about halfway through the lever's travel. Well, it may be moving the lifting arms before that but you don't see movement in the mowing deck until about 50% stick travel.

Additionally, the Massey has two adjustable stops, one below and one above the lever. You can see them in the pic below. I'm not familiar with the geometry of the fairing around the RK37 lifting lever, but you may be able to make some of your own stops pretty easily with a short bolt, some large washers, and a wing nut. Heck, the ones for the Massey may even work. I could take some measurements if you want.

 

[Mike Madison]

On my tractors (3 Kubotas and a Ferguson) there is almost always a lag varying from a few seconds to as much as twenty seconds (cold start) from the time that the lever is moved to the time that the lift arms move. You might try moving the lever a small amount up and then waiting a bit before concluding that the lift arms didn't move.

 

[DonRybak]

g8erh8er, I love the tractor. The only complaint I have is what I put in my review back at the end of July. The PTO lever to the left of the seat should either be shorter or the on/off positions moved toward the rear of the tractor so the knob is moved back. The way it's positioned now, if I lift the seat arm to exit the tractor I keep hitting the knob my with butt knocking it off. It's not threaded on but just a push-on so it comes off pretty easy. Hmmmm, maybe it's a butt issue. As I also mentioned in my first review, with our summer heat and humidity A/C is no longer a nicety but a necessity. Also, I purchased the 60" rotary cutter but I regret not buying the 72" I was worried that with the 72" being wider than the width of the tires that if my wife was mowing she would use the tires as a guide along the fence line and be knocking down the fence posts. But on my first time mowing it dawned on me that duh, the loader bucket is wider than the mower and makes a good guide. Now I have nice big 6 inch width of grass along the fence that I either ignore or finish off with my zero turn mower. Two of the three times I've mowed the 10 acres so far, I've been ready for a cold beer so the grass gets to stay. Hey, I'm 71 years old and can make my own choices. I really do think the tractor is a great value for the $$$. Thanks for the suggestion of making my own stops for the hitch lever I'll have to do some looking at it but the floor to the sides of the lever has a type of foam padding so I wouldn't want to do anything to damage that.........Don

 

[DonRybak]

Mike, when I mow I try to have the front of the rotary mower about 4 inches off the ground and the back about 2 inches higher. After I've mowed for a couple hours and take a break I let the mower down. To get it back to that position the lever still has to be at about 70 - 75% of the travel length to get there. I'll have to measure the distance from the ground to the bottom of the lift arms at full lift and see where they are distance wise. I'm not even sure the arms are going to full height. I appreciate the response......Don

 

[oosik]

My 3-point arms do not start lifting on my Kubota until the position control lever is 1/4 of the way on its travel to the full up position. Really it does not make a whole lot of difference - as long as the position control lever brings your 3-point lower arms to the full up position - who cares when the moment of upward movement begins.

 

[RTBee]

On my RK55 there is a knob that can be adjusted to stop the lever going down, but not one on the other side to limit it up. I'm surprised that isn't included with the RK37 as well.

 

[g8erh8er]

Thanks for the update Don glad to hear you're pleased with your purchase. I just need to sell my Massey and I might be joining you.

Regarding the PTO switch, have you considered applying some silicone caulk to the mating surfaces? That might provide enough stiction to hold it on when bumped, but still be easily removable if you need to.

Feel free to post some pics of the 3 pt lever fairing. I might be able to give you some ideas once I see the geometry of the mating envelope you're dealing with.

Like RTBee mentioned the RK55 appears to have a stop on the low side of the lever, but from videos I've seen it appears to be a very different setup than the RK37.

 

[DonRybak]

Thanks to everybody for the replies and suggestions. I looked at te 3 point lever briefly this afternoon and it appears that g8erh8er was onto something with making something of my own design. It looks like a small carriage bolt would be perfect it I can get to the slot from the bottom. The square portion of the bolt would ride in the slot and prevent it from turning when tightening the wingnut. RTBee, you say that your RK55 has a stop. That's what I'm looking for. Something to stop the lever at the lowered position that I want. Now, if I raise the mower to cross over an area I have to fiddle with the lever a couple minutes to get it back to where I wan it set again. If there were a stop that I could set I could just lower the lever until it hits the stop and the mower would be at the correct height. Maybe I need to go back and look at a RK55 and another 37 just to make sure that I don't have something missing. oosik, I agree that it doesn't make a lot of difference as to when the arms start lifting but if yours start at 25% from the lowest level and mine don't start until 65 - 70% from the bottom there has to be something between the two machines. I'm not sure I'm getting the full lift on the arms. That's why I mentioned before of measuring the distance from the ground to the bottom of the arms at full lift. I'll do that this weekend. Have a great week......Don

 

[g8erh8er]

Don - carriage bolt sounds like a great idea. FYI, assuming your cab model utilizes the same fairing under the protective cloth as the open cab RK37, the depth lever has a much wider slot (see below). Looks to be plenty of room to work the bolt down into that side and then back up the position lever slot.

I've also attached a pic of the RK55 setup. You can see the stop shown at the bottom of the pic. I bet you could buy that stop and modify it to fit.