Getting an RK24 on a trailer with the 4' brush hog attached?

[JC79]

RK24 Owners,

Up front disclaimer:
I'm excited to have the RK24 and love it thus far. This is my first tractor and Outdoor with the Morgans was a huge influence in my purchase. All that said, I'm a newbie with tractors. My comments below are in that context so please don't construe my comments as a complaint; I'm new and some things may not be so obvious to a beginner. I wanted to share this solely to help others in my situation.

First the basics:
- I picked up the RK24 with backhoe attached, and the brush hog loaded on the trailer with a skid steer by Rural King, and a grapple on order last week.
- I'm brand new to having a tractor, but am reasonably experienced towing bumper mounts and fifth wheels.
- Being new to tractors, the whole 3 pt hitch stuff is new to me.
- while I appreciate the 'bigger tractor' responses, I'd much prefer to have feedback based on the RK24 specifically. Thanks in advance for that.

The situation is that I could not get the RK24 on the 20' trailer that I also purchased from Rural King. The season is that the back wheel of the brush hog stays on the ground and pinches the brush hog up while on the ramps. With other pictures that I have seen of tractors, the rear end of the brush hog (ie the end with the wheel), is off the ground when the 3 point hitch is lifted. Mine is not. With the 3 point hitch up all the way, my brush hog tilts downwards towards the rear and is still resting on the wheel. So when I start to climb up the trailer with the brush hog wheel on the ground, it lifts the rear end as the tractor is tipping backwards to climb the ramps and I get stuck.


So I trailered the RK24 with backhoe home, unloaded it off the trailer, and did some rudimentary playing with the backhoe. All of that went well.

I then wanted to dismount the backhoe, attach the 4' King Kutter brush hog matched for the RK24, then trailer it to my field. I assumed (yeah I know!) the most difficult part would be dismounting the backhoe. But my biggest challenge, by far, was getting the brush hog ready and attached. First there was no manual, then I found one taped up underneath the hog. Next the instructions in the manual (from my vantage point) where not in the appropriate order practically speaking. When it was all said and done, I couldn't get the dang thing on my trailer.

As I described above in this situation, I end up with the tractor in an upward V position with the front end high (climbing the trailer ramps), the rear 3pt hitch end low as a results of the trailer ramp, and the back of the brush hog high as it's still resting on the rear wheel pushing the front of the brush hog down.

The result is that I reach the pivot limits of the brush hog and/or catch the brush hog on the trailer ramps.

I'm sure there is something stupid/silly that I'm missing so any help would be appreciated. I did see that I could put a come-along from the back wheel to a point on the front of the brush hog to lift it up to a point that I might be able to trailer it, but I called it a day before trying that. My thinking was that there was surely something I was missing before resulting to that.

I did call the store where I purchased it, but was informed that they have seen so few RK24s that they simply do not know.

Thanks in advance,
John

 

[gimmodog]

it sounds like you either don't have your top link connected or it is at its full length. tighten (shorten) your top link all the way. there may be multiple holes in your draft links that your lift arms connects to. connect the lift arms to the hole farthest away from tractor to get the fullest height the 3 pt will lift. Post a pic of the 3 pt hitch connected so we can see if my assumptions are correct.

 

[JC79]

The top link is extended all the way, or at least most of the way, in order to get the setup to match the instruction pic in the manual. So maybe the question is do I need a much different adjustment for trailering vs a level brush hogging setup? I was trying to level the brushhog for mowing in initial setup which is why we ended up extending the top link. Then we tried to trailer it. If the configurations are radically different, that might explain my dilemma.

My apologies for the lack of pics. What I thought would be a few hours turned out to be 8 and I timed out

A warning for those as experienced challenged as me, what ended up happening is that the rear brush hog wheel stayed on the ground causing the rear tractor tires to lift, thereby loosing traction. As a result the rear end started to drift off the trailer ramps which wasn’t an ‘expected ride’. A quick brake then shift to 4WD got me out of it, but there is still a need for laundry tonight

 

[gimmodog]

adjust your top ling all the way in for trailering then readjust after taking it off

 

[gimmodog]

you may want to look into a hydraulic top link-- then you could make the adjustments for trailering sitting on the seat

 

[JC79]

adjust your top ling all the way in for trailering then readjust after taking it off

Thank you! I’ll give that a try tomorrow. If it’s as simple as that, I’d sure hope that it would find it’s way to the manual for newbies.

Another note for first timers: I have a dear neighbor friend that KNOWS all about this stuff. He’s awesome and very well intentioned, but his pace was well ahead of my understanding and that came back to bite me multiple times. So my advice is take your time and make sure you understand to avoid my predicament.

Gimmodog, I appreciate your understanding

 

[gimmodog]

glad I could help

 

[Btown]

Yes just adjust the top link to the desired angle. Simple easy fix.

 

[scottz]

Good luck John. I was in your shoes back in June. I sent a couple “stupid” questions to my RK Tractor rep, he was patient and great to work with.

Stick at it and watch a lot of youtube. Look for TYM and Mahindra videos.

It is tough at first but you will get the hang of it.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Don't forget to make sure your mower PTO shaft is the correct length for your tractor. More than likely it is too long as received from the mfg for the 'bigger tractors". If it is too long, you will damage your tractor or mower when raising it up while mowing or transporting.

 

[OhioCowboy]

I'm curious as to how easy or hard it was to remove the backhoe. I have an RK24 also and have read the manual instructions on removing and it sounds reasonably easy, but simple things sometimes are difficult for simple people. :confused3: So I've avoided taking it off so far.

 

[JC79]

I'm curious as to how easy or hard it was to remove the backhoe. I have an RK24 also and have read the manual instructions on removing and it sounds reasonably easy, but simple things sometimes are difficult for simple people. :confused3: So I've avoided taking it off so far.

Admittedly, I wasn’t looking forward to it but RK Tractor Guy sent me some YouTube links below and it’s very easy. I had a hard time figuring it out when looking at the tractor because everything is black, but I followed the process and it came off really easy. I rested the backhoe on wood blocks to keep it off the ground and blocked up the control end in case the hydraulics leaked down.


I haven’t tried to put it back on yet because I’ve been futzing with the brush hog. I figured the backhoe would be time consuming and the brush hog would be 5 minutes. It was exactly the opposite; go figure.

WRT the brush hog shaft, I didn’t change the length as it is ‘performance matched’ by RK so I assume it would be ok as is. A neighbor friend who has experience with these things says it looks fine.

For those with the KingCutter brush hog, be mindful of the manual. It appears that it is shipped without grease. There is a note in the manual page 27 that says no grease in fittings when shipped.

Here are the backhoe removal videos. Different brands but very similar.

Here ya go, a couple of examples.

Removing a Backhoe from a Tractor - YouTube

How to remove a backhoe from a Mahindra Tractor - YouTube

*NEW* Kubota BX23s BT603 Backhoe removal - YouTube

 

[OhioCowboy]

It's also a good idea to check the gearbox to make sure it's full. Some manufacturers ship them full, some sellers add it for customers before delivery, some sell them empty to avoid leaks during shipment, and there's the normal QC/QA errors.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Admittedly, I wasn’t looking forward to it but RK Tractor Guy sent me some YouTube links below and it’s very easy. I had a hard time figuring it out when looking at the tractor because everything is black, but I followed the process and it came off really easy. I rested the backhoe on wood blocks to keep it off the ground and blocked up the control end in case the hydraulics leaked down.]

I'll give it a shot. thanks. I'm getting ready to use it in the woods for stocking up for next years firewood supply and it's a lot more maneuverable w/o the hoe.

 

[JC79]

It's also a good idea to check the gearbox to make sure it's full. Some manufacturers ship them full, some sellers add it for customers before delivery, some sell them empty to avoid leaks during shipment, and there's the normal QC/QA errors.

I learned the definition of full on the gear box. An ‘experienced’ neighbor said fill it up which is what we did; right to the top! Instinct said check the manual which is where I saw that you only fill until it starts coming out of the smaller hole on the lower back side. So I then had to drain all the oil that I had just put in

 

[OhioCowboy]

LOL. Those learning moments are expensive, especially if you use the synthetic gear & Engine oils...think about changing my tractor engine oil and forgetting to put the oil drain plug back in. ??? What's that sound I hear in the oil drain pan??? :ashamed: