Quick Hitch Pulls 20-Ton Load

Quick Hitch Pulls 20-Ton Load TRACTORS Hitches 33-5-25 "My self-aligning 3-pt. hitch lets me hook and unhook implements right from the tractor seat. It eliminates the need to get on and off the tractor to insert pins," says inventor Curtis Schwickerath, New Hampton, Iowa. It consists of a steel frame equipped with a 1-in. thick steel guide and a locking mechanism that automatically locks into the drawpin in the implement's tongue. Schwickerath simply backs up until the guide wraps around the pin. A spring-loaded safety flap locks the pin in place. To unhook, he trips a rope tied to a lever on a safety lock and releases the pin. "It's all mechanical with nothing to wear out," says Schwickerath. "I use it on my tractor's quick hitch but it could also be fitted to the 3-pt. hitch. The only way the drawpin can come out is if I trip the rope. "I use it mostly when moving round bales with a semi trailer flatbed that I pull behind my Deere 7920 front wheel assist loader tractor. It makes it easy to load bales onto the trailer, and then pull the trailer a few miles down the road to my farm. Sometimes I'm pulling loads that weigh up to 20 tons." Schwickerath would like to license his design to a manufacturer. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Curtis Schwickerath, 1537 Ivanhoe Ave., New Hampton, Iowa 50659 (ph 641 394-3030).

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