Bucket-Mounted “Double Hitch” Locks Into Place Automatically

Bucket-Mounted “Double Hitch” Locks Into Place Automatically TRACTORS Hitches John Heinz put together this bucket-mounted “double hitch” so he can move wagons and gooseneck trailers with his skid loader without having to get on and off The hitch extends about 2 ft past the edge of the bucket making it visible from the cab A 1-ft length of square tubing bolted to the front lip of the bucket supports a pair of clevis-shaped steel brackets one above the other The top bracket holds a ball hitch and the bottom bracket holds a spring-loaded “jaw” that opens and closes by pulling on a rope from the cab A 3-pt top link bolts on between the top of the bucket and the square tubing to provide reinforcement “It works slick and saves a lot of time ” says Heinz “To hook up to a wagon I leave the tongue jacked up with a pin in the hitch and then back up until the the spring-loaded jaws snap shut To unhook it I just pull on the rope Most of the time I can hook up to a gooseneck trailer without having to remove the jaws but if they get in the way I can quickly unbolt them I made a similar hitch for the back of my tractor which I use to hook up to wagons and trailers out in the field ” Heinz says the jaws came off the back of an old pull-type forage harvester that was used to make corn silage “The jaws were mounted on back of the harvester and a rope ran up to the tractor When the wagon was full the operator would pull on the rope to disconnect the wagon ” he notes Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Heinz 26178 423rd Ave Alexandria S Dak 57311 ph 605 999-6811; JohnHeinzfarm@santel net

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