He Made His Own Hydraulic-Operated Top Link
Manually-controlled, screw-type top links on tractor 3-pt. hitches can be difficult to adjust, especially when the 3-pt. is carrying a lot of weight. Commercial hydraulic-operated top links are available but sell for $180 to $200. Leonard Seltzer, Manhattan, Ill., made his own using a standard 8-in. cylinder.
Seltzer bought the 2 by 8-in. cylinder at a Fleet Farm store for $50. He cut a pair of brackets out of heavy plate steel that pin to each end of the cylinder. The brackets in turn pin onto the tractor and 3-pt. hitch.
"I use it with a pallet forklift on my Long 360 tractor, which has about 35 horsepower," says Seltzer. "One end of the cylinder is threaded which allows me to adjust the yoke up or down. I bought 3/8-in. dia. hydraulic hoses and fittings. My total cost was about $100. I drew a cardboard pattern and used it as a template to make the end brackets. You could use a bigger cylinder on a larger tractor."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leonard Seltzer, 16040 W. Elwood Manhattan Rd., Manhattan, Ill. 60442 ph 815 478-3578)
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He Made His Own Hydraulic-Operated Top Link HITCHES Hitches 24-5-10 Manually-controlled, screw-type top links on tractor 3-pt. hitches can be difficult to adjust, especially when the 3-pt. is carrying a lot of weight. Commercial hydraulic-operated top links are available but sell for $180 to $200. Leonard Seltzer, Manhattan, Ill., made his own using a standard 8-in. cylinder.
Seltzer bought the 2 by 8-in. cylinder at a Fleet Farm store for $50. He cut a pair of brackets out of heavy plate steel that pin to each end of the cylinder. The brackets in turn pin onto the tractor and 3-pt. hitch.
"I use it with a pallet forklift on my Long 360 tractor, which has about 35 horsepower," says Seltzer. "One end of the cylinder is threaded which allows me to adjust the yoke up or down. I bought 3/8-in. dia. hydraulic hoses and fittings. My total cost was about $100. I drew a cardboard pattern and used it as a template to make the end brackets. You could use a bigger cylinder on a larger tractor."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Leonard Seltzer, 16040 W. Elwood Manhattan Rd., Manhattan, Ill. 60442 ph 815 478-3578)
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