Front 3-Pt. Hitch Designed For Small Tractors

Front 3-Pt Hitch Designed For Small Tractors HITCHES Torben Jenk of Malvern Penn recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a tractor equipped with a front-mounted cultivator It was hooked up to a state-of-the-art front-mount 3-pt hitch made by Edwards Equipment Union Gap Wash “I saw this set-up last June at an organic farm operated by a Mennonite family in central Pennsylvania ” says Jenk “The farmer said he likes it because he has a much better view with the implement in front He had tried using belly-mounted attachments with the tractor but said they take too long to attach and detach He did note one limitation– the extra weight up front can cause some ‘crab-steer’ slippage on hillsides ” The hitch isn’t new but is unique says Randy Searl “We’ve been building front-mounted hitches for almost 35 years and sell a lot of them up and down the West Coast where they’re widely used with pack forks to haul bins of fruit out of orchards These hitches are designed mainly for tractors from 25 to 150 hp Models are available to carry 800 1 500 or 3 000 lbs 24 in in front of the hitch “The hitches can be set up for use with any Cat I or II 3-pt mounted implement We also build a variety of front-mounted implements including forks mowers brush removers spray booms and so forth We don’t build cultivators but our hitches can carry cultivators made by other manufacturers ” The 3-pt hitch that Jenk photographed bolts on in place of the tractor’s front weight bracket Steel arms run down both sides of the tractor all the way back to the tractor’s clutch housing to help support the load A single hydraulic cylinder is used to raise and lower the hitch A hitch ball on either side of the frame can be swung out to the side allowing easy attachment and detachment of implements The company’s 1 500-lb capacity 3-pt hitch sells for $3 200 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Edwards Equipment Co 4312 Main St Union Gap Wash 98903 ph 509 248-1770 or 800 452-5151; sales@edwards-equip com; www edwards-equip com

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