Quick Hitch disappointment

[ovrszd]

The World of Quick Hitches is a learning World.

The first lesson is, all implements need to be built to QH specs or modified to QH specs. Once this is accomplished the QH is your lifelong friend and you'll never remove it from the tractor. Without doing that it's basically non effective and a waste of your money.

The second lesson is, regardless of brand, i.e., JD I-Match, LP, Speeco, Harbor Freight, whatever, if the attachment is not QH compatable, it ain't gonna fit. Again, becomes a waste of money.

The third lesson is, generally speaking the extra money paid for a QH buys you strength and durability and not much else. I use the snot outta my QH, both CAT I and CAT II. I bought a Northern Tool CAT I and bent it. My CAT II is an antique and I don't even know the brand. It's built bull strong. I often throw a chain around the main beam and using the 3pt to lift, pull all my M9540 can pull with no worries about bending it.

If all you are after is light duty use of your QH, buy cheap. If you are going to fully use it to it's design capability, buy quality and pay more money.

If you are only going to change 3pt attachments a few times a year, save your money and learn to use the tractor's 3pt arms.

If you are going to change 3pt attachments several times a week and sometimes several times a day, buy a quality QH, modify your attachments to fit and live the good life.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The World of Quick Hitches is a learning World.

The first lesson is, all implements need to be built to QH specs or modified to QH specs. Once this is accomplished the QH is your lifelong friend and you'll never remove it from the tractor. Without doing that it's basically non effective and a waste of your money.

The second lesson is, regardless of brand, i.e., JD I-Match, LP, Speeco, Harbor Freight, whatever, if the attachment is not QH compatable, it ain't gonna fit. Again, becomes a waste of money.

The third lesson is, generally speaking the extra money paid for a QH buys you strength and durability and not much else. I use the snot outta my QH, both CAT I and CAT II. I bought a Northern Tool CAT I and bent it. My CAT II is an antique and I don't even know the brand. It's built bull strong. I often throw a chain around the main beam and using the 3pt to lift, pull all my M9540 can pull with no worries about bending it.

If all you are after is light duty use of your QH, buy cheap. If you are going to fully use it to it's design capability, buy quality and pay more money.

If you are only going to change 3pt attachments a few times a year, save your money and learn to use the tractor's 3pt arms.

If you are going to change 3pt attachments several times a week and sometimes several times a day, buy a quality QH, modify your attachments to fit and live the good life.

Excellent post, thank you. Sort of hits the nail on the head.

 

[ovrszd]

Excellent post, thank you. Sort of hits the nail on the head.

Then throw in Tnt and you start seeing rainbows and butterflys and hearing Angels sing!!!! :cloud9:

I pay little attention to terrain when dropping an attachment because picking it back up is very easy. Only time I get off the tractor is to latch the QH if necessary and/or hook/unhook the PTO.

 

[davrow]

Actually all you need is one of these and you are all set.

The problem with this approach is that you need to modify every single attachment, at $400 per.

Cheaper, easier and better customization to simply change the attachment, ie weld new pins, tabs, whatever.

 

[jenkinsph]

Then throw in Tnt and you start seeing rainbows and butterflys and hearing Angels sing!!!! :cloud9:

I pay little attention to terrain when dropping an attachment because picking it back up is very easy. Only time I get off the tractor is to latch the QH if necessary and/or hook/unhook the PTO.

I agree working in the field I have to drop an implement where it isn't in my way. With the IMatch and tnt it doesn't have to be a perfect spot.

 

[George2615]

sometimes spending more money accomplishes nothing. We all know that, just hope it doesn't play out.
Well....I read the articles here about quick hitches. I've played with the levers in Tractors Supply, looked at the Speeco,
but the more I read about incompatibility the more I felt buying the oem quick hitch would save a lot of aggravation.
Hey, if I paid $400 for a quick hitch that others make at $139 and $279 price points, well, this should be one seriously good
quick hitch and should handle anything.

Wrong.

The Land Pride company, as you know, has the oem supplier deal with Kubota, and touts their compatibility with Kubota.
So why then Land Pride does your very expensive quick hitch not work on the oem ballast box Kubota supplies?
The attachment I most take on and off, is difficult to horse around to line up, and was a primary reason to buy the quick hitch, and your
hitch doesn't work with it, even with adapters?

So, lesson of the day. Land Pride and Kubota's engineering departments really took a snooze on this one. They need to wake up.
The dealer is now figuring out how to get different pins for the ballast box, likely wider and will have to do some welding to make this work.
I told him to get it done or keep the quick hitch and he understood and agreed completely. And scratched his head like I did.

All I can think of is that the Kubota ballast box is seriously off spec for a Type 1 three point hitch. Well, it goes on with the stock arms, right?
yeah, for a daily dose of grease on your hands and using a long bar to move the thing in line. I have very bad arthritis and I need to make this easier on my body, and
when they emailed me the invoice for the job, and I read the note attached, it sure was disappointing.

REMOVE BALLAST BOX AND MOUNT QUICK HITCH
ATTEMPT TO REMOUNT BALLAST BOX--WILL NOT WORK WITH HITCH

But, that's what welders are for and it will get fixed. And hopefully on not too much of my dime.

so when you go shopping for a quick hitch, the fancy ones, from my experience, do NOT afford greater compatibility. Your results may vary...

Not sure what your ballast box looks like but you could probably pick up a cat 1 draw bar that fits the QH and weld or bolt it to the front of your BB. That's what I have to do for my rake which has cat 0 spacing. My back blade is cat 1 and fits the QH on the bottom hooks but I have to make an adapters for both top link connections because there is a steel brace in the way so the QH hook can't connect as it is. I'm not going to sell my existing 3 pt. equipment for a loss just to buy new compatible QH implements. All the old equipment will fit when I get done. Any new 3 pt. stuff I buy will be QH compatible so It doesn't need modification.

 

[daugen]

I had to chuckle because after watching that video of the Alexander hitch, I realized I had been thinking the same universe myself; i.e. why can't the rear work the same as the front quick attach on my Kubota? I have no problems with the bucket or bucket/grapple at all. and here is the same slide up the narrowing retainer concept in a rear application. I think those adapter plates need to go on a diet, at least a cost diet to make sense. Unless someone is playing swiss army knife with their tractor and is swapping implements like frankly most of us don't, at least not frequently, it's hard to find value for the occasional user like me, even if I would like the ease.
But :thumbsup: on the design, it sure makes sense to me.

 

[ovrszd]

With properly fitted attachments, your QH will work as slick as the Alexander hitch or any other type.

Rather than repost the videos, I've attached a link to a thread I posted that contains videos of me hitching to a cutter with a QH and then hitching to a cutter with extendable 3pt arms.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/292942-quick-hitch-versus-extendable-3pt.html

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The problem with this approach is that you need to modify every single attachment, at $400 per.

Cheaper, easier and better customization to simply change the attachment, ie weld new pins, tabs, whatever.

The way you guys were talking, $$$$ was no object, so all you have to do is buy one of the receiver implement plates for each implement at $372 ea, no modification required and you are all set. I believe that they are designed to fit about any 3pt implement.

So you don't really have to modify anything, just put the receiver plate onto each implement and you are good to go in just about any situation. And all it takes is a little bit of $$$$.

 

[PapaPerk]

Say what you will. I love my JD iMatch hitch on my Kubota. Handy as a pocket in a shirt.

Yes you will have to modify some implements if they aren't quick hitch compatible. That's how it goes.

It is odd the Kubota weight box is not quick hitch compatiable.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Jim, thanks. I don't know, not sure it lists much info online. I understand I-match, almost bought a JD 4 series to get it. Very nice.
I can't do the heavy lifting anymore. Too many operations. but I'll figure it out. One of the absolute requirements of the big barn at my next home, next Spring I hope, will be an area I can back up and easily get implements on. Even if i have to use dolleys, an overhead crane, whatever it takes, horsing a 500-1000 pound implement around on dry ground is just too hard on me. And then I constantly have to get up, get down, get up, get down to adjust the lift, as I can't reach it from outside.
A genuine PITA.
I had friends help me get the ballast box on, and they were totally new to this, and when done one guy looked at me and said "this is nuts".
Of course the ballast box with weight in it had gotten turned around, and we finally had to unload all the weight and then attach it.
Where is all the click click plug and play I was told about?...

I've read enough threads where I know there is incompatibility everywhere, so this is nothing new.
At least the Land Pride hitch was made in Kansas. I think. I hope...

made in Kansas, yes, we hope :laughing:

 

[Jack Yuan]

Daugen, I've only seen ONE QH that looks to solve these problems sensibly, and it may have been discontinued - I've not been able to find it on Priefert's site the last couple of times I've looked, luckily I "borrowed" the pic before it disappeared. One of my hundreds of proposed projects is to mod my HF qh's (I have 3) with at least the toplink they used - so far, I've not run into an implement that's too far off width-wise.

Note that top hook height AND draw pin width are adjustable on this one... Steve

impressive photo :thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

made in Kansas, yes, we hope :laughing:

What have you been up to Jack???? Haven't heard much out of you for a while. Hope things are well over there. We sent the First Lady over to entertain you folks. You can keep her if you like....

 

[GManBart]

I think Pat's Quick Hitch does nearly as much, with more flexibility, for less $.

 

[ovrszd]

I think Pat's Quick Hitch does nearly as much, with more flexibility, for less $.

Yep, it does 66% as much. I guess you could call that "nearly". Impossible to pick up a 3pt attachment and move it with a Pat's without getting off the tractor. You can actually buy a HF QH CAT I for less money than a Pat's.

 

[Dutch445]

Yep, it does 66% as much. I guess you could call that "nearly". Impossible to pick up a 3pt attachment and move it with a Pat's without getting off the tractor. You can actually buy a HF QH CAT I for less money than a Pat's.

agreed, but, Pat's easy change will fit a wider range of implements without modifying them. and since a lot of the implements require the operator to
jump off to hook up the PTO shaft, the top link isn't an issue. but rakes/blades will require that extra step.
all comes down to what the individual is doing and what works best for his operation.

 

[Guesseral]

agreed, but, Pat's easy change will fit a wider range of implements without modifying them. and since a lot of the implements require the operator to
jump off to hook up the PTO shaft, the top link isn't an issue. but rakes/blades will require that extra step.
all comes down to what the individual is doing and what works best for his operation.

Don't you also have to install a spreader bar between the two lower arms, that may have to be adjusted for different implements? I am not real sure on this just seem to remember something like that.

 

[GManBart]

Yep, it does 66% as much. I guess you could call that "nearly". Impossible to pick up a 3pt attachment and move it with a Pat's without getting off the tractor. You can actually buy a HF QH CAT I for less money than a Pat's.

Sure, but if the OP had a Pat's Easy Change, it would have fit, and this thread wouldn't exist. I don't care about having to get off the seat....I frequently have to do that to hook up the PTO anyway.

I think the reality is, there's no perfect fix for the issue. I simply don't want to have to struggle to hook up the lift arms, and Pat's system makes it a snap, and with a hydraulic top link, the whole process is painless...for my uses anyway.

 

[GManBart]

Don't you also have to install a spreader bar between the two lower arms, that may have to be adjusted for different implements? I am not real sure on this just seem to remember something like that.

It's optional...sometimes it's handy, sometimes it seems to be in the way. I generally don't use mine....back up, lightly bump the lift arm ends (the Pat's part) on the implement, and they spread open.

 

[daugen]

ok, a little more fuel for the what's this all going to cost me discussion.
because of two recent operations on my wrist and elbow, I can't do any of this stuff for a while, so
I told the dealer to fix it, resolve the problem.

They did, for $361.19 including the 22 dollar pair of new pins and several hours of welding.
Or several hours of something. Likely they had to take all the weights out, that didn't please them
for sure. A real potpourri of toe breakers in there, big stones, gym weights, etc. And then they had to put it all back in.
I bet they did so nicely. I would expect for the bill that my gym weights might even be aligned, perhaps with a laser...

So...if you are a non welding not too handy person, like myself, at the moment, and you have six implements, and three won't fit.
That's a thousand bucks of added cost.
I would never do this again...I just need to see what they did and how they did it, not too complicated here, and repeat it likely somewhere else. I don't have any
grade two implements other than my big Land Pride mower which will work on both. Wouldn't it be amazing, perhaps amazingly aggravating, if it would work on both 1 and 2 pins but not the adapter? And both LandPride... Boy, that's next. I have a new welder and needed the excuse to weld. And my arm will be strong enough later this summer to weld, so good way to do what I wanted to do anyway. At 350 a pop I'm sure not going to sub this out again.

so when you do your worst case scenarios, there's a labor number. Hmmm. About the same as that fancy new adapter.
Not if you can weld...and I needed a good reason to start.