3 Point Quick Hitch Suggestions

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
sarcasm Mike ?
IF the QH follows the dimensions of the 'ASME CAT1 document', then your 5 attachments must be wrong ??
Odds are though that some of them should be within 'spec', maybe, depends on when and where built ?
It is sad though that manufacturers can say 'CAT1' yet knowingly build 'out of spec', then they come up with 'adapters' or 'spacers', at EXTRA cost, so that you hopefully can use YOUR implements with THEIR hitch.

I'm one of the lucky ones, run Allis-Chalmers tractors and implements using their Snap-Coupler system. Any implement fits any tractor,in seconds, hassle free.The 5' tiller is 3pt but use an A-C adapter to use it.
 

Magicman

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
M4900 Utility Special 4WD e/w FEL & 1530 John Deere "Traveling Man"
Oct 8, 2019
5,513
7,576
113
81
Brookhaven, MS
knotholesawmill.com
I am fortunate by having two tractors. The old JD 1530 has Pat's and the M4900 has the Speeco QH. I bought Pat's for the M4900 but I removed them and reattached the QH. (I now have an unused Cat2 Pat's)

Each system has it's advantages as well as disadvantages.
 

Cathy Liebchen

Active member

Equipment
KUBOTA L3901, MX5800, MULE PRO FX, MULE PRO FXT
I can drop an implant off the back and hook up a new one without ever getting off the machine. I guess that is not unique to having the hydraulic top link, but it makes connecting things very easy. With a pats quick hitch, it will require disconnecting the top link and reconnecting it each time I switch implements and having the top link laying down when nothing is attached.

These are minor gripes, but why I prefer the quick hitch versus the pats setup. The quick hitch also adds some extra weight.
Pats requires too much on and off the tractor. It’s good if you have a lot of ancient now obsolete implements
 

icehorse

Member

Equipment
L3901, FEL, box blade, tedder rake, mini round baler, rotary cutter
Aug 10, 2022
88
11
8
98261
Pats requires too much on and off the tractor. It’s good if you have a lot of ancient now obsolete implements
I have some new implements, they're great.

AND, I have a 25 year old tedder rake that works fine, and a baler from India. The rake and the baler just don't fit the QH15.
 

icehorse

Member

Equipment
L3901, FEL, box blade, tedder rake, mini round baler, rotary cutter
Aug 10, 2022
88
11
8
98261
I was considering the Pat's but how does it keep from binding when you are tilting your attachment?
This question led me to an "uh-oh" minute. But I checked, and my lower 3 point arms have ball joints(?) at both ends. So I'm thinking that even though the Pat's will lock down the ball joints at one end, the other end should still keep things from binding. Does that sound right?
 

Papa V

New member

Equipment
L4240 Land Pride Box Blade, Land Pride Disc, HLA Snowplow, EA WRR Grapple
Aug 4, 2022
14
3
3
Michigan
To be honest I have never looked to see if mine has ball joints at both ends. I assumed it only has them on the implement end. Taking that pivot away seems like a bad idea if you need to tilt anything. I will go look at mine in the morning.
 

Ton

Active member

Equipment
BX2380
Aug 26, 2022
58
116
33
MD
Land Pride recently came out with the QH16. I believe only major difference is it is designed for Cat 1 pins from the get-go. So no more spacers, etc. Haven't yet seen it, so can't confirm that, but I have one on order to replace my QH05. No idea what their delivery times to dealers will be.
 

XSpecBx

Member

Equipment
B2601, Artillian Pallet Forks, Woodmaxx MX-8600, LP BB1248
Apr 3, 2022
87
55
18
Ledyard, CT
Land Pride recently came out with the QH16. I believe only major difference is it is designed for Cat 1 pins from the get-go. So no more spacers, etc. Haven't yet seen it, so can't confirm that, but I have one on order to replace my QH05. No idea what their delivery times to dealers will be.
The QH10 and 15 were discontinued and combined into a single QH. It appears that the 16 is essentially the same as the 15, but you no longer need bushings. I’ll have to contact my dealer because that would be the perfect solution. The website and internet have limited information on it, so it must be pretty new
 
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Ton

Active member

Equipment
BX2380
Aug 26, 2022
58
116
33
MD
The QH10 and 15 were discontinued and combined into a single QH. It appears that the 16 is essentially the same as the 15, but you no longer need bushings. I’ll have to contact my dealer because that would be the perfect solution. The website and internet have limited information on it, so it must be pretty new
Yeah, I think they came out with it just in the last few weeks. And the QH15 and others must have come off the LP website just in the last week or so, since I was looking at them on there just last week. Good luck getting one. My dealer threw his arms up in the air and laughed when I asked him when they would be available. But who knows...
 

XSpecBx

Member

Equipment
B2601, Artillian Pallet Forks, Woodmaxx MX-8600, LP BB1248
Apr 3, 2022
87
55
18
Ledyard, CT
Yeah, I think they came out with it just in the last few weeks. And the QH15 and others must have come off the LP website just in the last week or so, since I was looking at them on there just last week. Good luck getting one. My dealer threw his arms up in the air and laughed when I asked him when they would be available. But who knows...
The video for it is only a month old. The good news is I’m not in a rush, but it looks really new, so I’ll have to be prepared to wait a year for it.
 

minthral

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L47
Nov 22, 2021
194
96
28
NC
I had pats with l3301 and wasn’t too happy with it.

The bolts that attach it kept getting loose despite really torquing well. The u bolts also got loose and bent. The nuts literally just pulled through the threads stripping them. Company solution said use loctite, but to be fair they send me parts quickly and free (after some argument).

It helped get sidelinks engaged (the most difficult part), but the toplink is still a manual process. They do this so it’s more compatible and option of more float, but it kinda defeats the quick hitch portion of it.

The hitch geometry was off depending on lift height. This caused the arms to rub metal. Kinda brutal on boxblade. Plenty of slop on the connection too.

Also if you got a backhoe, pats really adds a lot of weight to the lower arms, making it more difficult to remove and reinstall.

Seems the traditional brackets work better. Land pride (aka kubota) models are more of a standard.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
re: loose bolts
you might try ...
1) grinding a blunt point on the bolts
2) adding a lock washer under the nut,or 'double nut'.
The lift latches and starter on my D-14 use #1. They don't ever come off due to virbration
 

minthral

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L47
Nov 22, 2021
194
96
28
NC
Does anyone know what the speeco top hook inside diameter? On the e hitch (red + no bushings) or black (bushings).
 

minthral

Active member

Equipment
Kubota L47
Nov 22, 2021
194
96
28
NC
I recently added a QH15 to my tractor. I looked at the speeco due to the price but I saw different pictures and videos that showed the lower hooks leaving a gap between it and the pins. Now that I have the QH15 I'm happy with my decision to spend a few more bucks and get what I really wanted. The bottom hooks are tight to the bushings and with the bushings there is a lot of material holding everything tight. I was considering the Pat's but how does it keep from binding when you are tilting your attachment? I am very pleased with the quality of the land pride QH.

Well I was considering getting speeco, but this post is not very encouraging.
 

icehorse

Member

Equipment
L3901, FEL, box blade, tedder rake, mini round baler, rotary cutter
Aug 10, 2022
88
11
8
98261
I recently added a QH15 to my tractor. I looked at the speeco due to the price but I saw different pictures and videos that showed the lower hooks leaving a gap between it and the pins. Now that I have the QH15 I'm happy with my decision to spend a few more bucks and get what I really wanted. The bottom hooks are tight to the bushings and with the bushings there is a lot of material holding everything tight. I was considering the Pat's but how does it keep from binding when you are tilting your attachment? I am very pleased with the quality of the land pride QH.
I got my QH15 a few months back. It's great for my box blade and "top and tilt", and I'm sure it will be fine for the LP cutter that should be here any day now. (Although I don't imagine I'll be doing much "top and tilt" with the cutter, but who knows?)

But the QH15 didn't work at all for my hay rake or my baler, so I just got the Pat's QH. I'm done haying for the season, but it looks like it'll be fine for my hay rake and baler. But I can also see that the geometry isn't quite "true" for my box blade.

They say that experts see more details than beginners. I'm far, far from being an expert, but installing the Pat's, truing it, and hooking it to various implements is definitely getting to see more detail than I've noticed in the past. For one thing, it looks to me as though the far ends(?) (the ends farthest from the tractor), of my bottom links are canted in a little bit until they're maybe 30" apart. So when they're only 26" or 27" inches apart they're not quite parallel. Is that normal?

The other thing I've noticed is that the bottom links seem to be canted in a bit from being perpendicular to the ground, and that canting in gets more severe the higher they're lifted. Is that normal?

Neither of these "slightly off from true" issues is important with no QH or with the standard QH15 sort of design, but with the Pat's it does seem like it (the being slightly off), could be an issue.

I'm gonna futz a bit with the truing of the Pat's to see if I can get them truer, but I'm concerned that the bottom links themselves, and the way they move, will make that hard.

If I was made of money, I'd keep both, but I was hoping to return the QH15. Now I fear I'm faced with needing both, the Pat's for haying season and the QH15 for the rest of the year. I'm not too thrilled with that conclusion.

Thoughts?
 

rc51stierhoff

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, MX6000, Ford 8N, (BX sold)
Sep 13, 2021
2,561
3,081
113
Ohio
I got my QH15 a few months back. It's great for my box blade and "top and tilt", and I'm sure it will be fine for the LP cutter that should be here any day now. (Although I don't imagine I'll be doing much "top and tilt" with the cutter, but who knows?)

But the QH15 didn't work at all for my hay rake or my baler, so I just got the Pat's QH. I'm done haying for the season, but it looks like it'll be fine for my hay rake and baler. But I can also see that the geometry isn't quite "true" for my box blade.

They say that experts see more details than beginners. I'm far, far from being an expert, but installing the Pat's, truing it, and hooking it to various implements is definitely getting to see more detail than I've noticed in the past. For one thing, it looks to me as though the far ends(?) (the ends farthest from the tractor), of my bottom links are canted in a little bit until they're maybe 30" apart. So when they're only 26" or 27" inches apart they're not quite parallel. Is that normal?

The other thing I've noticed is that the bottom links seem to be canted in a bit from being perpendicular to the ground, and that canting in gets more severe the higher they're lifted. Is that normal?

Neither of these "slightly off from true" issues is important with no QH or with the standard QH15 sort of design, but with the Pat's it does seem like it (the being slightly off), could be an issue.

I'm gonna futz a bit with the truing of the Pat's to see if I can get them truer, but I'm concerned that the bottom links themselves, and the way they move, will make that hard.

If I was made of money, I'd keep both, but I was hoping to return the QH15. Now I fear I'm faced with needing both, the Pat's for haying season and the QH15 for the rest of the year. I'm not too thrilled with that conclusion.

Thoughts?
At the end of the day, both systems work as well as the original 3 pt arms as purchased. Personally I have less issues with the pats as you control the width with the cross piece…after you set to an implement score or paint a line for repeatability. That being said the original 3 pt arms will grab whatever…if in doubt put it on a flat surface…if still a struggle set it on a dolly that you can roll / adjust to slip the 3pt arm over the pin on the implement. The tractor as purchase should work. The pats should make it easier. I personally don’t understand how folks with QH don’t seem to have to get off to flip the levers on the QH (whether to attach the top link in conjunction with the pats or flipper levers on QH…one way or another you have to get off the machine…I hope flipping the levers isnt straining folks too much 😉)or attach the PTO. I certainly have not figured out how to properly attach without getting off the tractor…(or doing some new yoga pose to flip the levers) unless there is help standing there waiting. Just IMO.
 
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icehorse

Member

Equipment
L3901, FEL, box blade, tedder rake, mini round baler, rotary cutter
Aug 10, 2022
88
11
8
98261
At the end of the day, both systems work as well as the original 3 pt arms as purchased. Personally I have less issues with the pats as you control the width with the cross piece…after you set to an implement score or paint a line for repeatability. That being said the original 3 pt arms will grab whatever…if in doubt put it on a flat surface…if still a struggle set it on a dolly that you can roll / adjust to slip the 3pt arm over the pin on the implement. The tractor as purchase should work. The pats should make it easier. I personally don’t understand how folks with QH don’t seem to have to get off to flip the levers on the QH (whether to attach the top link in conjunction with the pats or flipper levers on QH…one way or another you have to get off the machine…I hope flipping the levers isnt straining folks too much 😉)or attach the PTO. I certainly have not figured out how to properly attach without getting off the tractor…(or doing some new yoga pose to flip the levers) unless there is help standing there waiting. Just IMO.
So far my ONLY concern with the Pat's is that the lower pins on the implements aren't sitting square and flat on the Pat's's hooks. I'm thinking maybe that between washers and bushings on the implements, I shouldn't worry about the lack of square and flat?
 

rc51stierhoff

Well-known member

Equipment
B2650, MX6000, Ford 8N, (BX sold)
Sep 13, 2021
2,561
3,081
113
Ohio
So far my ONLY concern with the Pat's is that the lower pins on the implements aren't sitting square and flat on the Pat's's hooks. I'm thinking maybe that between washers and bushings on the implements, I shouldn't worry about the lack of square and flat?
I don’t think a slight cant is an issue if you get the width correct on the spreader.(if you have a severe condition or you are worried contact Pats) If it’s canted too much you should be able to adjust the screws as to how it sets/tightens to the link arms. Mine have a slight can’t but it’s not much and not so severe the that adjusting the spread can’t accomodate on the available space on the pin…also if mucking with the screws do your self a favor and put a drop of medium thread lock on for piece of mind…after you have them where you want them. It will still be removable but it should help keep the screws from backing out…just a drop.