Down force on 3 pt hitch

[gpreuss]

I've seen a hundred threads on having downward force on the 3PH. I've needed a rear jack a few times, so decided to make one. It takes some carefun operation - you have to be sure to leave the 3 point arms control all the way low, and you don't want to jack it and leave it - my remote hydraulic control bleeds off pressure to fast to just trust it, so I use jack stands under the axle if I'm doing anything serious. But it is pretty quick and easy.

 

[MagKarl]

Boy gpreuss, no offense meant at all but that makes me just a bit nervous and I'm the furthest thing from a safety nazi.

I see that the cylinder is doing the main lift job, but it's not doing anything to resist rolling over. You've got a high center of gravity and narrow base made up by the jack stand spread in the rear and a center pivot up front.

All the rolling over resistance is provided by your vertical links in compression and the top shaft that connects the lift arms in torsion. Skinny rods in compression just scare me from a buckling standpoint. Be careful man.

 

[gpreuss]

Thanks for your concern, and for the fair comments. As I said, I wouldn't do anything with the tractor without putting jack stands under the rear axle. But I like this for picking up the rear end to get the jack stands there. For me, it is a lot better than bottle jacks or automotive jacks; they go right where you really want to put your jack stand backups.

 

[78-79fordman]

Just looks like a really bad idea to me . Putting all kinds of stress on stuff in the wrong way and very dangerous looks like to me also .

 

[Eric McCarthy]

That does indeed have a bad idea written all over it. Take it from somebody who had his tractor fall in his lap last summer and still has a nasty scar to prove it. I was doing a brake job and used a bottle jack and jackstand, it still managed to fall off and pin my leg under the axle.

Thankfully the old man was outside working near me when it happened. But you'd think a retired firefighter could have got the tractor off me a little bit FASTER.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

That does indeed have a bad idea written all over it. Take it from somebody who had his tractor fall in his lap last summer and still has a nasty scar to prove it. I was doing a brake job and used a bottle jack and jackstand, it still managed to fall off and pin my leg under the axle.

Thankfully the old man was outside working near me when it happened. But you'd think a retired firefighter could have got the tractor off me a little bit FASTER.