what is the difference, besides price, of all of these 3 pt quick hitchs

smitesmash · Sep 17, 2014

Harbor freight sells one for $130 (cat 1),
My local Kubota sells one for $480

Another tractor dealer nearby sells one for $315

Its both tempting and logical to assume that the cheap one will break or bend faster. On the other hand, I have seen enough marketing gimmicks to know that there may be in fact no difference between the three, I just can't tell.

I have found that my local Kubota dealership has a tremendous upsell for some of what it sells, starting at 2x what the regional price for that item is.

Initially this will be carrying a a7' box blade. So, is one any better than the other? How can I tell before purchasing it?
Or should I just work my way up the price scale until I find one that does not break?

Rocky Hoffler · Sep 17, 2014

I bought mine for 99 dollars at local tractor dealer (not Kubota) and have had three of them and have let them go when I sold tractor can't see how they can be built for that price but they have worked fine. TSC sells them for about 250 and 18 dollars for bushings apiece I pay 12 for a set. sometimes it pays to shop around

Rocky Hoffler · Sep 17, 2014

Just noticed a 7 foot box blade isn't that a lot for your tractor. and quick hitch I use are cat 1 should of paid more attention and wouldn't have second in a row post sorry.

Gary Fowler · Sep 17, 2014

If they are all Cat 1 or all Cat 2 then they should hold up to that size tractor. Kubota and JD paint is very expensive. Shop around and if the Category is the same, likely there is no difference in material strength.

KennyG · Sep 17, 2014

I have the harbor freight QH. No complaints. I'm sure the more expensive ones are better finished and maybe the levers work smoother, but I can't imagine breaking it. My only caution (and this applies independent of price) is that some equipment has structure that limits the width of the opening for the top hook. Depe nding on the hook and implement geometry, a QH with an adjustable top hook may have bolts that interfere with the implement. In these cases, you need to modify the QH to use pins instead of bolts or get an adapter link to put in place of the top hook. I mention this because it was problem with my box blade and I've seen several other box blades that would have the same problem.

Guesseral · Sep 17, 2014

Mine is a harbor freight and it works just fine. I did extend the top link hook out about an inch so it was easier to get into the top link on the implements, I also replaced the bolts that hold the top hook in with blank pins and S pins all from TSP incase I needed to adjust the hook up or down but I would have done that on any one of them. Reworking my non-quick hitch implements has been the most work but I have actually enjoyed it.

BukitCase · Sep 17, 2014

I have the HF QH's on both of my 45 horse tractors, no problems yet.

As to the 7 foot box, I have a Gannon 7 footer for mine and all I can say is don't skimp on front counterweights (no loader on either of mine, you should be OK) and you may run out of traction if you try to take too big a bite.

Gary's right, some colors of paint are just too rich for MY blood

... Steve

smitesmash · Sep 17, 2014

I have either a loader bucket, or grapple, so front counterweight can be taken care of..

Other than that. Thanks everybody.

smitesmash · Sep 17, 2014

So, interesting sidenote. I had opened amazon website to see this item (to get the price) and I found thane section on the amazon page: 'Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought', and two of the items were 'butler creek rifle scope covers'... Amazon analytics must be an interesting place to work.

94BULLITT · Sep 17, 2014

I like the JD imatch. It is a quality QH at a good price. Here is a video that I made comparing an imatch to a HF quick hitch.

http://youtu.be/GQ9vkEwrtC8?list=UUfZecx081YCkV19RSWCLlWw

I have since got a second imatch. I currently don't use my HF QH, I do have plans for it.