Triple Hitch Rake Covers 27 Ft. At A Time

Triple Hitch Rake Covers 27 Ft. At A Time RAKES Rakes (31l) 24-1-18 A home-built triple rake hitch lets Royce Chudej, Schulenburg, Texas, hook three 9-ft. side-delivery rakes together to cover up to 27 ft. at a time. The hitch is made from 8-in. dia., heavy wall oil field drill stem pipe. What makes it work is a steering axle off an old combine that "walks" the rakes back and forth behind the tractor. The front rake hooks up directly behind the tractor. The middle rake is towed by an old Massey Ferguson combine steering axle fitted with power steering. The rear rake simply hooks up with a pin to the back of the hitch that extends over the front two rakes. The middle and rear rakes move from side to side by steering the combine axle wheels using a hydraulic lever on the tractor. A 3-in. dia. cylinder acts on a telescoping pipe welded to the steering axle. For transport, Chudej simply steers the middle and rear rakes behind the tractor so they follow directly behind the forward rake. "I already had two of the rakes and was pulling them together, but I wanted to cover even more ground so I bought another used rake for $1,500 and built the hitch," says Chudej. "My wife does most of the raking. Pulling three rakes at a time makes the job much easier for her because she doesn't have to go as fast in order to keep ahead of the baler. With three rakes going she can make a good size windrow in no time. A big advantage of this hitch design is that there's no strain on any of the rake axles." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Royce Chudej, Rt. 4, Box 172, Schulenburg, Texas 78956 (ph 361 865-2970).

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