I unloaded 42 loads of silage for the neighbor last week and he had these it sure sped things up a lot and saved alot of work. When you hook and unhook wagons 25 times in one day you get really good with those hitches. Can unhook and hook in around 45 seconds.
I should hope so. I could swap trailers behind a trailed forager, when we weren't side loading, in less than 60 seconds consistently. Trouble was with 80 by 12 ton trailer loads in a day, it was wasting over an hour of time every day. That meant that the preferred. method was side loading which required another man and tractor, but it did allow another 8 acres a day to be harvested due to a 10 second change instead of 60 seconds.
I know I've said it before Wes,but that hitch mimics the A-C(Allis-Chalmers🚜)hitch back in the mid 1950's to a"T".Very similar,back up till you see it connect,then drive off with your implement.Very nice!!.
mrih1586 There is a U-Tube video about the quick-tach coupler that A-C was promoting back then.When Wes was demonstrating this in the video,it was like deja vu...HAHA!!.
I worked on a small dairy farm in high school that had a 327 John Deere baler. It had a hitch on the back that allowed the operator to unhook the wagon from the tractor seat. You still had to get off to hook up to an empty wagon but with a extendable tongue, you could just push the tongue into the hitch and it would latch. We just left the pins in the wagon tongue when we brought them back to the field. It was handy.
I don't think Wes is trying to sell the Britts or Europeans on this hitch. He is explaining that with our laws in the US the UK style hitch makes absolutely no sense. We don't require wagons to have lights or brakes. And for Wes he's mostly using wagons which have zero tongue weight beyond their own weight. That means he doesn't have to get out to hook up wiring or hydraulics or pto's and he doesn't need to lift implements tongues. So to pull hay wagons or grain carts in the US this is likely the best hitch method.
Wes, I worked for a farmer that rigged up a hyd cylinder so his mom could still haul wagons. He wrapped a small chain around the top 3pt arm and through the yoke on the cylinder and attached the cable to the other worked great for them.
I know exactly where you are at with bale trailers and unhitching. I totally get that hitch and how it works. I'm lucky both my tractors here in Canada have the U.K spec pick up hitches. When I have some spare shop time i'm just going to build a trailer hitch adapter with an eye on and a small fixed jack stand on it, to keep the hitch eye off the ground 5" so I can just back up and use the hitch on the tractor I already have. When I'm picking up rounds I have to move the trailer twice every load to cut down on field travel and unhook and hook up in the yard before heading back to the field. Thats a lot of time and at the end of 2 weeks every day for 8 hours plus, my arms pretty sore after doing the other chores on top of hitching the trailer. It will speed things up for me some but I'd still have to get out a few times and mess with a safety chain for the highway travel part here in Canada.
You could get an electronically actuated servo type deal. Hit a button and it pulls the cable up, hit it again and the cable goes back to where it was and the hitch locks in place.
That durn hitch is slick the people talking about how much it can lift clean the wax build-up out of your ears this is for quick attachment and pulling trailers not lifting.
I had an idea for the safety hitch, so you too can engage it and not have to get out of the tractor. You could weld about a 2 inch length of piping to hwere the normal pin hitch goes. maybe drill the hole out to about 5 - 6 mm . and get some 6mm solid round stock long enough to go through the hitch to just come out the other side and then stick out the working end about 3 inches. You could weld a washer over the rod right flush with the hitch. now get some tubing wide enough to contain the tubing with washer on it about 2 inches long. weld the tubing to the hitch over the hole. And find a spring that is about half an inch longer than the tube. now put the rod inside the tubing and put the spring on top of the washer, and now weld another washer on top of the tubing that is only big enough for the rod to come out of it. or you could thread it and use one of those lead pipe plumbing caps and drill a hole in the middle big enough for the rod. You just need to make sure that the tube is long enough to hold the tube when it's pulled fully out of the hitch, I dont know how long that is, but you get my drift. And you can have like a bicycle brake lever just behind the rear window that pulls the safety pin out and get a bowden cable kit from ebay for like $10 and make it to the correct length. Happy days.
Worked for a guy that had a hydraulic cylinder hooked up to one of these they made a bracket that held the cylinder in the top link holes then had a spring mounted to the end of the cylinder with a cable running to the quick hitch you simply extended the cylinder to unhook and the spring exstended enough to pull the cable but not brake the cable worked real well
I use these on 3-400 bu gravity wagons. They save a lot of time and your back. But I'm paranoid so use the safety pin on full wagons which negates some of the benefits. Someone of AgTalk said he had one come unhooked. Probably because the cable was too tight or caught on something is the only way it would happen.
Brits have their own ideas and know what works best for them. I haven't seen or used their type but for Wes, this seems to be something that makes his day easier.
It's for wagon drawbars, not weight-transfer trailers. In the UK we need weight transfer trailers for hauling bigger loads behind smaller tractors relatively speaking. Especially on hilly land and roads to give more traction and avoid jackknifing, which is an issue with turntable trailers. See this grass silage haulage video for typical UK and Irish work. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Gz4d9bvxzE8.html
i dont know if they still do in the uk but they had like a funnel shaped couling that went round the tow hook to giude the draw bar in but some people mark a line on top of the pto couling so they can see the line up with the draw bar
Hello Wes I live in the UK and I think it's a great hitch so much easier and quicker I have used the UK hitch and see how you're hitch works ideal for certain applications i.e. pulling wicked good my friend Big time saver. Not to mention the savings on you're back I can see how it would save on one's back big time just one thing to say Wicked c u my friend.
Wes I have ordered those for all my tractors bc after seeing u using them I believe what ur saying about hooking and unhooking equipment everyday so if I can do it in safer matter then I am all for it and hope it's stoped raining their bc it's getting kinda dry here in central Nebraska
Hi Wes when you mentioned shoulder, I known what you could do to improve that. You could change that so that instead of using your hand you should use your foot.
One advantage of European hitch system is all there equipment hitches that way. Bergman is great if all you pull is tounged wagons. If you want to pull a manure spreader in the same day you have to have wrenches along. I believe the European style is safer faster for all farm applications.
Maybe for you Dad's tractor make the cable a bit longer and put one of those big D-shaped pull rope handles on the end like the ones seen on snow blower engines?
Why not add a small electric linear actuator to the cable and mount it on the back of the tractor somewhere close to the hitch. Just supply 12 volts and mount a button or switch in the cab. Turn the switch one way and the actuator pulls the latch open. Flip it the other way and it lets the cable go slack.
I was using one when a Parker wagon had the box beam front axle split in the middle. I pulled the wagon set off the road into a field access drive and got the hitch unhooked. Lost some paint off the hitch beating the trip lever to the release position but the hitch was unharmed otherwise. When the axle broke it put the tongue on a twist. That put pressure on both the top and bottom of the movable parts. And the wagon set was loaded with 700 bushel of corn and downhill toward the tractor. took some bad words and some beating on parts to get them loose. Unhooked the back wagon and pulled it in to empty. The next day we used a kiddy pool and a grain vacuum to empty the broke back wagon. The wagon was traded in to a salvager and sat there for 2 weeks before they came and got it
For your dad why dont you just attach the cable to the 3pt arm. Then he could lift the arms just alittle to relase hitch. Might need a heavy spring to keep pulling shit out of cable. Just an idea. Nice hitch wish i had that with my old DMI 470 wagons.
It may not be the safest idea. ... but for your dad. .. could he attach that wire cable to the top of your 3pt arm? I would think a stiff spring would be needed also but trim the cable to trip the hitch just prior to the arms being up all the way. Just a thought. ... have a blessed day.
Ey up Wes, big fan of you but as a Brit it wouldn’t make a lot of difference as you can’t generally pop your trailer on and drive away, you have to get out to plug your lights in anyway so it wouldn’t save a great deal of time and wouldn’t be worth the cost. And wouldn’t you need to buy the adapter for every trailer or implement you have in order to use this? It’s impressive don’t get me wrong but I don’t think it would catch on in the uk. Anyways yeah another great video, love to see your machinery working especially your mowers as we don’t have those over here, I hope you have a safe and productive season my friend! Take care. Jon
it seems that safety of agricultural wheels just is not a thing over there. the UK being forced into air brakes over a certain weight yet any weight on tractor over there and theres nothing.... its weird man. and no im not a hater of Wes lol
You're right. If he was going down the road, with a wagon, he'd still lhave to get out and plug in the lights and hook up the safety chains. However, for a day of moving wagons around the field / farm, this set up could (potentially) save a person hours of getting into, and out of, the tractor. Even on a small tractor (David Brown B30 for example) this rig would be a knee saver and time saver.
The thing is that it isn't meant for every implement. Plus there are no lights or brakes to connect on US hay wagons (or 99% of other implements either). Some new items have lights but it's not required in most areas. The only wagons I see with brakes on them are owned by the Amish and they are used to help keep the load off of the horses when they go down a grade and those are as simple as they get, a lever on the side of the deck connected to a cable that goes back to modified mechanical band or drum brakes.
Hey Wes they look like a fantastic idea if you are running that style of trailer . Would you have room on the side to make a lever that the cable hooked to so that your Dad would just have to give the lever a flick to unlatch?
Probably pays quicker than you think as you can move the trailer closer to the bales several times whilst loading it. If you were getting out to put a pin in you'd just park the trailer in the middle and travel further with the loader thus costing time and money.
Hi Wes Mathew form Australia. I like watching your vids we use a different style of quick hitch its a 3 point hitch 1 haven't looked back since we bought it. They do not sell those over here but if they did we might look into it. I have a quick solution for your dad and your idea of a hydraulic ram.. Reckon keep the cable but connect it to the linkage arms with a spring or rubber strap so that when you put the linkage arms down it eventually take up the slack and releases the hitch? Just a thought love the vids mate cheers
Do u have to remove the tractor drawbar then to use the 3-point linkage? Does seem like thete be much clearance between the 3point quick hitch and end of that drawbar speed hitch
Oh my just the amount a fuel savings alone of getting in and out of the tractor and the idling over a Year's worth of time will pay for this I never knew it existed thumbs up Good Ole American ingenuity. If it said made in England they would be proud of it LOL
I live in the uk and my dad hates the European hitches as they take up a spool valve that might be need if we use a pull type cultivator as our tractors have 4 spool values but one is permanently plugged into the front linkage for safety reasons then the hitch taking a spool valve meaning you only have two other spool valves available to use
well we have two tractors build same year with linkages and the first one is permanently plugged and the other has quick couplers in and we ask the dealer and they said well it shouldn't have quick couples. but the linkages on the tractor are from the factory so should have something so you can use it but there isn't
its ok to back up and get it hitched but with out the safety pin fitted i can see this coming unhooked if you hit a bump coming up a hill, so you still have to get out and put the safety pin in every time so where is the gain, so in the us i think its law you have to put the safety pin in when towing on the road
Is there any way you could run the cable to the floor of the tractor cab and using something like a foot pedal?. Just a suggestion Wes Thanks for sharing..
Thought of that too but one wrong move and you drop the trailer when you don't want to (like on the road). Plus his Dad takes the dog with him in the tractor I think, and that would be right down where the dog could flop onto it and presto-- unhitch at the wrong time! Later! OL J R :)
John Deere 535 discbine keeps breaking the bolts that hold the gear box on the discbine and when the bolts break then the plate that holds the gear box cracks I like the discbine I had the mower at John Deere shop 6 times last year they can not fix it last time only thing they did was put thread lock on the bolts do you have any idea to fix
Just for being lazy I feel like you could attach that cable to the top of the three point with a large spring so when u pick the three point up all the way it’ll unhook. You’d just have to run with the three point like an inch or two lower than normal.
Every time you climb down and back up into your tractor or Truck, you take a chance of getting hurt. The less you do that the better. Safety First Brother. There worth every dollar, and more. Doctors aren't cheap.
i like the idea of it but its so easy to release it by accident. yehh it has a lock pin hole so that just defeats the object of it being quick as you still have to jump off the tractor to pin it...... okay watched more after commenting and you basically said what i just said in a different way
Fair point. Those are needed for road transport and steep land. Otherwise not needed for flat private land. In my case with a trailed forager, if labour wasn't available for side loading on steep land, the trailer had to be attached to the back of the forager, using an automatic hook hitch, plus I had to get off to couple a through hydraulic brake line. And the haulage tractor's driver had to get off twice. Once to take the lights, brake and tipping pipe off, then to connect the next trailer's. I'm old enough to remember having to do this multiple times a day using Dowty screw-on hydraulic couplers, before quick-attach couplers were available. No brakes or lights on trailers in those days though.
Huw Williams ah oke, thanks. Here in The Netherlands trailer brakes are obligated by law. Since Jan 1 2018 hydraulic brakes are not allowed on new trailers and tractors, so air brakes are required. Trailer lights are always required and there are a lot of rules about reflectors, traiangles and the color of the lights. I think that's why we don't use speed hitches, because we have to get out of the cabin to connect at least two hoses and cable's. As a driver you really want trailer brakes in The Netherlands, even when the land is flat, we use 120 hp tractors to pull a full 20 ton (44000lbs) European trailer.
Jan 1 2018 was the EU date for 'Mother regulations' which brought in a whole lot of new safety regulations, including cab decals and switch decals, wide angle mirrors, mandatory air brakes, seat use switches and linked PTO switches and more. Of course we can still use trailers with hydraulic only brakes and we can choose not to connect them on private land when it is appropriate. Same with trailer lights in that they have always been required on public roads but on private farm land it is up to the driver whether to connect them or not. cema-agri.org/newsletterarticle/countdown-mother-regulation-european-type-approval-all-tractors-1-january-2018
That's the thing isn't it. This hitch isn't designed for trailers that transfer weight to the tractor's drive wheels. UK trailers usually work with up to three tons of weight on the hitch to aid traction so we can use bigger trailers on smaller lighter tractors. The drawbar on my tractors are only used for towing a baler and a forage harvester, and since I now get a big Claas Jaguar in, not even on the forager. They do tow 12 ton trailers full of forage along the SPFH and home to the pit at high speed and on steep land and roads though. Where the road is suitable, up to 35mph/50kph. Same with the slurry tankers. I'm dreadfully underpowered for the road haulage actually. Sub 200hp on 40 and 50kph tractors [or even 30kph, it makes no difference] up hills pulls the speed back to 11kph and on one steep road section, 9kph. The semi-powershift New Holland is more efficient than the CVT tractor, because they perform equally with identical loads up hill, yet one is 140hp and the other is 177 on the shaft.
Mechanical simplicity is nice, but that this is screaming for a simple electric solenoid to perform that function. Push a button and you're on your way.
Yes and another one to retract a spring loaded locking pin to prevent inadvertant uncoupling... have a little control box that could sit on the fender next to the controls, and plug right into the tractor's trailer connector for power and ground... easy peasy and much safer! Momentary switch on both solenoids... Later! OL J R :)
Wes, check your Facebook messenger... I sent you a message (didn't know how to get ahold of you). I have a hyd cyl with return spring. I think I would work great! (With a few added mounting tabs). I would like to send this cyl to you. If you check your FB messages from Brandon S----at you will see all the details.
