Top 5 Worst Tractor Attachments 

You know what's even more frustrating? Shoveling snow, digging holes by hand and cutting grass with a push reel mower.

I like that you guys aren’t afraid to tell people about products you sell that people don’t like, even if it might hurt your business. It makes you seem more honest.

My father always said “ it’s a poor craftsman who blames his tools”.... sometimes a little thought and ingenuity goes along way

I’ve got a massey 1705 with the drive over 60” deck and I love it. Hooks up easy every time and I’m constantly taking it on and off from mowing to dirtwork

I love my rear mount snowblower... the local dealer talked me out of the front mount so I'd always have my bucket... After 10 years I still agree it was a good choice.

Although drilling into hard ground can sometimes be a problem, I have found that having 2 different size bits definitely helps. It's like drilling a pilot hole first, then come back with the larger bit. Secondly, I put my auger on my tractor by myself without any problem at all. Under the shed I store it in, I drilled a hole in the ground. Then, when I get ready to disconnect the auger, I lower the bit into the hole. That way the auger stands upright after I disconnect it.

At work we recently bought a Wood's RD990X Bush hog along with a quick hitch from Messicks. Had it unloaded, hooked it all up to our Kubota M7040D and cutting grass in a little over an hour. 👍 Two person job if you want to keep the aggravation level down. 😁 Thanks Messicks!!

I love 3 point quick hitches. One thing that I really like about them is they really help to keep hoses out of the pto. Really a peace of mind with how much hydraulic oil and hoses cost.

Hi Neil. Love your videos!! I bought my first and only tractor in January of 2019, a B2650 with a front loader and a rear mounted snowblower. The snowblower has full hydraulic controls. Where I live, we typically get 16 feet of snow per winter. After using walk behind snowblowers for over 40 years, including Hondas for the past 35 years, I can tell without any qualification that the little bit of ‘neck craning’, is an utter joy compared to snow whipping into your face. Plus, with the cameras now available, I might invest in one for when time ravages my body a wee bit more. And, for full disclosure, I live in a city with a house lot of 61 foot frontage. Before anyone chimes in asking why I have this, I am tired of having to work like a dog first thing in the morning to go to work and do it all over again when I come home and try to get into my driveway. Now, I can sit with comfort in my heated factory cab, clear the snow with ease. With 6 years to retirement, I think I can indulge myself a little!😁. Keep up the great work!! Thank you!

You left out the biggest attachment problem; The operator. :)

Very good info! Interesting to hear about the problems with the quick hitch. That was something I was looking for, for my tractor. I never thought the category 1 was not a perfect standard. Good video!!

When I was in High-school back in the 70's I had a PHD in hooking up regular 3 point hitches by my lonesome ... being young and able to mount and dismount the tractor very many times may have helped ... (especially on uneven ground) secret is Wood Wedges and don't get in a hurry

I knew a guy who made a side-on linkage for his "drive over" and just used it kinda like a side mower, but he could run up and down with the discharge underneath and pile up his clippings in "wellkinda rows". He put a folding wheel on the "side-on" so he could just roll it under and lever it up into place. Ended up damaging the side pegs on the extended side but it reminded me so much of the old sicklebar side-mounts. It strikes me that a 4 "drum" mower that side mounts on smaller tractors might be a great thing.

Very good ! For me the first rule of hooking easily to a three point hitch is to pay attention to where and how you unhook! Level open ground is a key. For the post hole digger, a chain hanging from a good tree limb is a very good option. I would hang mine by gearbox so auger was just clear of ground on a level spot. This allows unit to float and I have hooked up by myself many times. Two tall posts with a good crossbeam also works. Never owned snowblower, backhoe, quick attach hitch or belly mower. Did keep a 6 foot steel fence post , pipe or wood post handy to adjust implements during hitching. Better for me than trying to push/ pull units by hand. Again, how one unhooks makes major difference on reattachment . Good subject.

I love my quick hitch. Granted my attachments are compatible. But it's nice, especially with things like a box blade and grading blade. Things you don't have to hook up a PTO or hydraulics. Don't even need to leave the cab. And it's quick enough to pop off for a post hole digger.

Interesting selection. Snow blower isn't an issue in Australia! I love my 3 point hitch post hole digger. Mine is seriously heavy and requires a 45 hp tractor. And I can only just pick up each individual component. But it also works really well and is such an improvement over a hand dug post hole digger that I appreciate it enormously. My grader blade which is mounted on a turn table is brilliant. The only implement I never use is the carry all!

There is one great auger out there and it’s the Belton brand with the hydraulic cylinder pushing down. That helps to get down pressure and it’s also not as flimsy

As always great videos, always informative and well produced, Neil is a natural. I live in Canada where we get a lot of snow so a snow blower is almost mandatory. i am on my second Meteor blower ( made in Canada ) I agree it is a pain in the neck literally but I need my fel so front mount isn't an option. My first tractor was green and without adjustable draft arms it was nightmare trying to align the pins, because of the design of the arms I had to add washers as spacers to keep the arms from rubbing on the tires. My new tractor is orange, the other orange sorry Neil. it has adjustable and telescopic arms so putting on the new Meteor blower is a breeze, had in on in 10 min including hydraulic lines

That's a good video. Agree with the frustration of the 3 Pt Quick Hitch for not fitting all implements. I need to find a 1/2 inch cotter pin to hold the top pin holder so I can move it without wrenches to undo the two bolts/nuts. I am also going to get a metal fabricator to modify the top pin holder so it has more range as it doesn't go low enough for all my implements (including one of the manufacturer's ones which is frustrating!). Aside from that, it seems to be more convenient than doing a lot of adjustments; long story short however, I maybe should have just gotten used to doing it the manual way and then I would be faster now; that may be on the agenda for next year and sell the quick hitch.

I agree wholeheartedly with your selections and logic with items 1-4 - mostly based on personal experience over the past decade and a bit. A couple of comments: Quick attach - you are correct - even within the brand there are issues. I'm a hobby farmer with three small tractors (25 - 50hp), and all have quick-attach all the time. Had to make small modifications to two of them, and took great care when I was selecting the third one and any new implements (I've had 10 rear mount attachments in total). I sold the post-hole auger and cement mixer almost as quickly as I bought them. Lessons learned. I've got a Frontier rear-mount snow blower. Love the price point, and LOVE that I can still have a bucket on the front and that I can quickly and easily swap that for forks (hobbyist sawmiller) while still keeping my snow blower. The 'pain in the neck' that you refer to while real, is also a 'prompt' that gets me back to some yoga and stretching so that I stay limber. Easy to attach and is bullet-proof. One of my favourite implements (Canada). Was surprised to see it appear on the list.

ANYONE WHO HATES THEIR ATTACHMENTS ARE WELCOME TO DROP THEM AT MY PLACE!! LOL I WILL FIGURE A WAY TO TOLERATE THEM, LOL!!

Thanks for the tip on being careful of pto shaft lengths on a new tractor. I could have caused damage to my new B2650 if I had not cut it 2” shorter on my generator. This was on one of your other videos.

Great informative video . I did my auger by myself. I had to take it appart and put it on in peices then I made a stand for it so I can put it on and take it off easily by myself . I add weight to it to help it dig. easier easier

One alternate to the Three Point Quick Attach option are the "Pat's Quick Hitch". They fit on the lower arms and give you the ability to slide in under the pins and lift up to lock it in place. You still have to get off the tractor to hook up the top link, but there's a LOT less fighting with the lower arms to get things to link up. My only problem with them is that they extend the lower arms by a few inches so you have the extend the top link a bit more than you might want to with some accessories.

Very good video Neil. Had to laugh a couple times watching it, thinking "I can relate to that". I have people ask me frequently when they see my 3pt snow blower "Do you have to back up to use that?" I tell them yes, its not as hard to do as they think, and I like having the loader in combination with the blower.

Love my drive over deck. Gotta say the first couple times I put it on I was sick. There is no video that shows the right way. One night I dug in and figured it out. Massey 1725.

When I bought my 1025r I wanted the iMatch quick hitch and it’s the best. Lot of my attachments are quick n easy. Just need to take your time and get to know your machine and it’s quirks.

My Tractor does not have a PTO and so far I have not yet needed a PTO attachment. I have 1982 IH 260A (74HP) with 7 foot front loader and a 7 foot Box blade. These two implements so far have been full filing all my needs around the property. Only additional hardware I purchased were two Clamp on Forks, They worked great for moving tree trunks around and lifting the 8 to 10 foot Norway Spruce trees I planted around the property.

Wow! That is interesting Neal. I expected the auger but not the quick attach. It makes sense though. A salesman at my local dealership warned me against getting one for the reasons you mentioned. I ended up getting extensible links on the 3 point stabilizer. Great video as always.

I have a 6 ft snowblower mounted on a quick hitch on my L4701. Trust me, when you live on a mountain in British Columbia, Canada this setup is a lifesaver. I have no problem blowing in reverse when you have 3 ft of snow fall in just 24 hours!

I had the identical auger and found that if you chained it to a pole or a fence it was easier to put on. The thing I really didn't like about it was that you had to be careful and not screw it into the ground and not be able to get it out. In soft dirt it will go screw itself right in and you can't lift it out because it's stuck and you can't turn it backwards. I know of cases where it happened. Gotta dig it out. I traded mine for a skid steer auger and never looked back.

I totally agree with the belly attached mower deck. I had a 3 point hitch finish mower and used it one year and sol;d it. I bought a zero turn mower that will mow two-three time faster.

Great video, well presented, good helpful info. I like Messicks!

Great Video Neil. I would agree with number 1, my 54D autoconnect is terrible.

I will agree with everything except the mid mount mower. I finally got one after 30 years of 3pt mowing. I think the cut is awesome and no tail swing is what makes it great. Taken it on and off 10 times so far. It is not perfect but not any worse than a 3pt.

Wow, nice honest video. I’m buying tomorrow. I’ll still buy, this is just great to know and helps me get the right one.

Live the honest reviews!! Just wish you were doing a review on a gooseneck or dump trailer. I'm buying one or both in the very near future and I need an honest salesperson.

your honesty is appreciated.

Auger from JD I modified with an PTO hydraulic pump for reverse function and down force plus drill positioning. Perfect.

Try a 12 row planter mounted on the 3 point. You won't complain about the small stuff anymore.

Interesting, I have very little issues with my quick hitch or drive-over mower. Maybe once every season do I have to make an adjustment to the mower linkages and usually, it's minor. I haven't used a post-hole digger, but I can already tell that one would be an issue.

The only attachment that doesn’t work on my JD quick hitch is my 500# 3 point hitch seed spreader. Other than that they all fit and work well

This dude looks like Mac from Always Sunny in Philadelphia

My snow blower is front mount, a real pain to attach unless on perfectly level ground. However the rear ones shown here had sprockets & chains exposed to ice buildup, no way would I touch that model (we get 20 ft. per season). On the post hole digger, huge point missed is that in clay they will screw themselves into the ground in a heartbeat not to mention hitting roots and rocks and also hitting the target is better suited to having an assistant, seems to me front mounts would be better to keep an eye on. With the quick hitch, his point with incompatibilities is spot on but when they work they are great.

I mounted a large screen backup camera for the snow auger. Rarely have to turn my head around to see what is going on.

This was a helpful video Thanks!

I have a 60 inch drive-over deck and have been using it for over a year now. Maybe I just got lucky, but mine works perfectly every time. I can get the deck off or on in about 1 to 2 minutes. I hope it stays that way. It's only a year old. So far, so good. Thanks for the heads-up.

The drive over deck on my 2601 is awesome. But I made a set of small wooden steps for each side. Helps the tractor drive up on the deck vs pushing it.

Fuss? Try digging, shoveling snow, making a post hole with out one of these.

That was a fantastic video. Thanks for that.

THANKS, Neil!!

I have a quick hitch and yes its a love hate relationship, on the finish mower its almost dangerous to hook up trying to align the floating arms on the finish mower, on the bush hog I still have to pin the top link if I want the float feature of the bush hog to run over uneven ground but it is easier to hook the bottom links with the quick hitch, the tiller works pretty good, the landscape rake hooks up nice in the lower links but must be pinned in the top link instead of hooked. If I had it to do again I would probably use the PATS quick attach lower links and just pin the top link since I find myself doing that alot anyway, you have to get off to hook or unhook the drive line so is it really a big deal to hook the top link, I find the bottom links are the ones I use to fight anyway. Good video!

Amen brother! For us small farmers, please start making all 3-point hitch implements quick hitch ready!!!!! Oh, how this drives me crazy!

Thanks Neil, isn’t it about time for another Neil’s deals? Wishing you and yours a very blessed, happy and healthy New Year.🎉

I often wish I had a drive over mower deck, not being young I find sharpening/changing blades on my BX23S heavy going especially since I have no flat surface to work on.

Need a reverse lever pto on the post auger needs it bad in case it gets hung up, the only one I've seen was on a Long,

Kubota B6100 love the post hole auger. Hate when I hit rock in Missouri clay. Hate putting it on. Still better than digging it buy hand.

I went with Pats Quick Hitch system. I like it much better then dealing with the style of quick hitch that you show. A lot of my attachments are not quick hitch adaptable.

I really like that post hole auger. I have figured out how to put it on with ease by my self, no special tools or hangers, and I am 66 years old. It's only problem is that there is no reverse direction on the PTO. So, if the bit burries in too deep, it is hard to extract.

That drive over deck assembly protects the under side of my bx and has saved my hydro fan many times!

I have never had dealings with a drive over deck personally, but having torn a bicep tendon sliding a mower deck under a zero-turn I can say that I will definitely be looking into a drive-over for my next mower purchase.

Gotta say i love my quickhitch. I can change between my blade, rake, and bushhog in seconds. You just have to have matching equipment. If your using a bunch of different brands I guess it could be an issue.

I like my Woods quick attach, but the one implement that it will not pick up, due to interference from the structure of the implement, is my Woods back blade. Go figure....

Since we have a front 3pt hitch / PTO / hydraulic remotes on our MF 5713 S, we mount a 3pt snow blower out front and a sand dropper on the rear. It makes quick work of our long lane and big area we have to blow/sand each winter storm.

mounting my 3 ph post hole digger is simple. I use a chain hoist hanging from a shed rafter or roof joist and hang the fully assembled digger in the air so I can back up to the digger and adjust it using the chain hoist to line it up on the pins. works really well and allows me to attach digger by myself.

3pt snowblower is used a lot because it's generally used in conjunction with a snow pusher or blade on the loader

#5 SNOW blower, It's called ' large rear view mirrors on the tractor ' cheap compared to front mount SB's. #4 Post auger, it is what it is ! Sometimes you just have to go and do some work but, we set a post with what works like an boat oar lock (Gimbal) mounted at the top of the post, one man can swing, pitch or rotate it as needed to install on the 3 point.

Thank you!

I mounted my rear snow blower pto 3p on front on my Ferguson -51. No more reversing it, also it worked poorly in reverse as single clutch... Front mounted, Ferguson clutch don't affect blower more. Made video of it when testing it and put on RU-vid ;)

honest and well presented, keep up the no bull shit approach

In case it helps you guys, we hang or post hole digger from a tree by chains. Then we can back the tractor up and adjust the three-point to fit up to the post hole digger. It makes it a lot easier than having to pick it up.

I'm in Canada , I have a snowblower for my compact . Hard on the neck but beats the hell out of shovelling .. LOL

A couple points I make… First, I wholeheartedly agree with your list, but for the QuickHitch part: nice, informative video. While your info is cautionary, I have a new system and do not buy attachments that are not popularly sold in the US and I also verify, as you noted, make sure they are a QuickHitch compatible. Thus this is a minor, if at all, issue for me. The backhoe is useless unless one has soft and / or high organic soils. I live in a (high desert) area with high, tight clay soils and / or rock (not 2-3 inch rocks, but 4-20+ inch rocks). The backhoe, no matter how intimidating the teeth appear and objectively well designed, WILL NOT make a “backhoe” dent in soil. I specifically bought the backhoe attachment to allow me to dig up and plant new (fruit) trees. I sold that attachment, along with the 1025R JD tractor: I needed more power for use in my area. There are front-attaching, V-shaped buckets that do a better job, but still limited usefulness in my area. Incidentally, when I took off (and then replaced) the backhoe, I needed to remove large (~18"x12" plates that were ¾+") plates held on by large, metric bolts with large 30mm and 45mm heads; now WHO has those wrenches in their tool box? I question whether a socket would have been strong enough to "break" the bolts. The wrenches had to be ordered at a cost of $40± each. Furthermore, I needed to remove the back wheels just to access these bolts, and other tractor parts were held on with the same bolts. Geesh, what a mess - and then I had to put it back together when I sold the tractor with the backhoe. I needed to remove the plates because they hung down so low, I had, literally, 4" of clearance. One (of the many rocks in our area) would have stopped my tractor in its tracks - or slid around the rock if I was moving fast enough. Next the mowers… It does not make ANY sense to get 3-point hitch or “drive-over” mower (including nearly all riding mowers) because driving over grass with big, fat tires squishes the grass down and is counter-productive to a clean mowing effort. The only mower worth getting is a front, loader-attached mower. Now, if one is doing general brush mowing, a 3-point hitch mower, would probably be OK. Also note that front-loading attachments’ standards appear to be more universally implemented than QuickHitch stuff.

I think a front buck and rear backhoe are annoying for a "garden tractor" because no matter how big of one you get for your tractor, you always want one bigger. Super handy at times (mainly front bucket) but perpetually wanting a larger/more powerful size is annoying

Do a video about the pros and cons of tractor driven wood splitters and generators.

Those damn post augers yeah not having down pressure sucks I wish I had one for the skid steer rather than trying to use the skid steer to push on the 3 point auger lol.

For the auger issue ... being difficult to attach etc ... drill a shallow hole where you want to park it. Park it upright in the hole.

Yeh, my place is a mixture of black clay, and chert. Just about impossible to put a hole in with a shovel. A manual post hole digger is pretty useless. I don't know if one of those three-point screwdiggers will be any better but it certainly be a lot easier even if it doesn't dig a hole. I'm sure they probably are a pain to put on, but you can't be any more of a pain than trying to dig a hole deep enough to put a fence post in with narrow shovel post hole digger.

i have watched a whole lot of tractor videos since i bought my first sub compact tractor in 2016. i have 650 hours on it and i have quite a few implements. tomorrow i will be getting a pto stump grinder. i love my drive over mower deck. for 5 years its worked great. super easy and fast. but i had to adjust it after delivery. i dont think its possible to make any attachment thats flawless so that people that are anti-mechanically orientated to not have problems and say that sucks. but most could take the steps to learn. but dont. i dont think that after this far along in creation that this will change.

Good video ,good work .

Belarus 420 had 3 pt hitch down pressure. My JD drive over is excellent...no issues. Rear mount blower is a must where we are. If you get serious snow, as we do, a front mount is all but useless. Also you still have your loader when needed to knock down 5-6 ft drifts.

Thank you for the video

I hate my drive over mower deck. The floor of my shop must be too smooth. The tractor just pushes it along instead of going up and over. I've tried tying the deck to the wall of the shop but if the rope on one side stretches more than on the other it gets crooked. What a pain. I so wish I'd bought the standard deck.

I agree with your poll and there are a few more!

I've worn out 3 augers on a cheap, 3 point Howse post hole digger, mostly by myself. It sure beats a hand operated digger. I have an ancient one shovel head manual post hole digger that can get every last crumb of dirt out of a 3 foot hole that an auger digs that my dad gave me. It is over a hundred years old and works off of a hinged shovel with a linkage. The weak link on the 3 point auger is once that center point sits on hard pan or a big rock it's not going anywhere even if you have two tractors and put the bucket on top of the auger.

About the drive over deck . I have a 1025R JD that is a lot better system than Kubota. I made little adjustment one time and now work very well. I like it as I take out the mower to go in the forest within 1 minute in the garage or outside on the grass. So I love this feature. it made 2 years that I have this tractor.

I grew up on farm and with a lot of implements you need to look to the right rear or directly behind the tractor which is a pain in the neck. In 2012 I bought a Toro 520xi. Within a week I traded it’s mint 48” deck for a 60” deck. It’s quite a chore attaching or detaching that huge deck. Slide, turn steering wheel, slide, turn steering wheel, slide, turn steering wheel, slide, turn steering wheel. Then try to get the front bar lined up, then up into the attach-amatic receiver on both sides. It’s supposed to be a no tools operation but it’s much easier with two people. Much easier if you just lift the front of the tractor with a floor jack. That 60” deck was too big for a 20hp Kohler. I should have removed the side panels so that the engine could run cooler. I sold that deck for $600 and now I run 52” decks.

One problem with a quick hitch is pto length with a short pto like on tillers or a loging which the few inches can be a problem

What group of people did you get your data from. These are my number one accessories.

This was helpful as i'm looking to buy a new tractor.

Love my 8N with 72" finish mower!!! Can be put on and off in under 5 minutes and repairs are a dream since the 3 point is its own lift! You can easily crawl under there and change the blades in 10 minutes flat! Try that on one of those under belly decks or a zero turn...

Thank you so much for these videos, Neil. I really wish we didn't live 1500 miles away. I'd buy a tractor from you!

Out of interest why do American tractors still often the enclosed linkage ball arms rather than hook type quick connect like a lot of the European tractors as I noticed that I believe in you Kubota M5-111 video which had lower link arms similar to our old Ford 6610 with the slide out ends while out M5-111 has the hook type with stabilizer bars?

Never seen a snowblower like that. What we usually got here in Finland is rear mounted but we pull it forward instead of backing up and pushing it. No neck problems.

I love my quick hitch, I use it on everything including my 3 point hitch mounted snowblower. I have both a finish mower and brush hog for my B2601 and it was a major pain swapping them before I got the quick hitch, Now the hardest part is connecting the pto

Literally every implement I'm looking at getting 🤣🤣 except the auger. What other implements are used on compact tractors??!?

Oh man I have a kubota tg1860 and that mower deck does not like to keep still and it's not even a drive over

Entertaining Neal !! Thank you !!! Be safe and God bless you and your family !!!!!! Eddy

I'm new school. I have never attached a 3 point implement without a QH. Love then darn thing.

Thanks I was just getting ready to buy an auger. Not now!!!!!