Deere Planter Makes Nifty Double Rake Hitch

Deere Planter Makes Nifty Double Rake Hitch HITCHES Hitches 21-4-7 Old corn planters can be used to make nifty "double rake" hitches, allowing you to rake twice as fast, says Norris Patrick, White, S. Dak., who pulls two 8-ft. New Holland rakes together behind a stripped-down Deere 4-row corn planter frame. Patrick already had the 1960's model 494 pull-type planter as well as the rakes. One of the rakes was equipped with a pair of dolly wheels on front. He used sq. steel tubing to lengthen its hitch by 7 ft. and hooked it up to a 4-ft. long drawbar that he clamped onto one side of the planter. He hooked the other rake up directly to the other side of the planter frame, building a separate hitch for it. "I've used it for five years on 200 to 300 acres of hay and it works great," says Patrick. "I had quit using the planter and was looking for a way to make use of it. My son Tony painted it as part of an FFA project. I mounted a hitch at the center of the planter and another hitch on back of the front rake so that I can pull both rakes in-line for trans-port. You can buy old planters like the one I used for only about $50 at auctions. "A bolt welded to the back of the drawbar allows the rear rake to swivel. By unbolting the drawbar and moving it sideways I can adjust the position of the rear rake so that it doesn't miss any hay coming off the front rake, depending on hay conditions." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norris Patrick, 20062 482nd Ave., White, S. Dak. 57276 (ph 605 629-6161).

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