Harlen Grovom packs away equipment the easy way with his hydraulic arm-equipped skid steer. He even uses it to start troublesome tractors.

     “It’s easy to push tractors, trailers, and even 4-wheel wagons into place,” says Grovom.

Grovom used a 5-ft. length of 2 by 4-in. steel tubing for the arm. One end pivots at the lower edge of a quick attach plate on his skid steer. A hydraulic cylinder also is based at the bottom of the plate. Its 8-in. rod attaches to the arm about 2 ft. from the plate.

     “The length of the arm and the cylinder moving left and right provide a lot of steering,” says Grovom. “They allow me to easily direct the drawbar of a wagon when backing up the wagon or other trailing equipment.”

     A 3-ft. length of steel strap is attached at a pivot point at the top of the plate. It extends down to the arm to keep it perpendicular to the plate and adds stability. “If I tilt the plate more than I should, it can bend the arm,” says Grovom. “The strap stiffens up the connections.”

     Grovom has used the quick attach plate and arm on a tractor loader as well. “It works, but not as well as on the skid steer,” he says. “I put all types of equipment away with it, including drills, balers, and planters. I just hook it up and drive, pushing the equipment ahead of me.”

     Grovom says the hitch comes in handy at tractor shows and pushing tractors at home. “I made a bumper on the end of the arm to push tractors to start them,” he says. “It’s safer than pulling with a chain or cable. I just push them, and they take off and drive away.”

     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harlen Grovom, 12643 Highway 17, Park River, N.D. 58270 (ph 701-331-0169).