Mounting a trailer hitch ball on the rear of a BX23S

[Dave Ogren]

A lot of the Trailer Balls have a 3/4"or .750" dia. shank. A lot of the receivers have a 1" hole. This can be solved by a bushing They cast less than a dollar on Amazon. I paid about $.79 for one a few weeks ago. Good luck,
Dave

 

[ejb11235]

A lot of the Trailer Balls have a 3/4"or .750" dia. shank. A lot of the receivers have a 1" hole. This can be solved by a bushing They cast less than a dollar on Amazon. I paid about $.79 for one a few weeks ago. Good luck,
Dave

Thanks ... maybe I gave up a little too quickly

Oh, I just found a 2" ball called a "ATV/Lawn Tractor Hitch Ball" that has a 5/8" shank

I bet that's what I need.

 

[ejb11235]

ok damn all of you bullies ... I just ordered two hitch balls ... one has a 5/8" shank and the other has a 3/4" shank ... if one of those doesn't fit I'm giving up. I also got on the wait list for a Ai2 receiver hitch.

oh, and thanks

 

[GreensvilleJay]

you'll probably want to order a BH 'dolly' ,cause once the BH is off, it takes up a LOT of space. At least if it's mobile you CAN get around it....

 

[ejb11235]

you'll probably want to order a BH 'dolly' ,cause once the BH is off, it takes up a LOT of space. At least if it's mobile you CAN get around it....

OH I've had the BH off a few times. I have a place for it down by my well-head. Everything is rough gravel though ... no garage or concrete pad ... not for a while. Usually I keep the BH on the tractor and only take it off when I want to wreck my driveway with the box blade I don't know how to use yet.

 

[Vigo]

I want to have as small a package as I can get, so I can go anywhere the tractor can go. This is why I'd really like to mount the chipper on a carry all.

I totally understand. I Have a b6100 which is a bit smaller than a bx, and a b8200 which is larger. The 8200 has a backhoe and the impact on maneuverability vs the 6100 is pretty serious in tight spaces, especially as far as dragging the ground. And dragging the ground itself wouldn't be that bad but i have to worry about the hoses back there too if im doing anything that's grinding the bottom of the backhoe across the ground, etc.

The box blade comes with time but 80% of it is about the top link! I can't say im an expert but i hardly ever make anything worse with it nowadays.

 

[JimDeL]

ok damn all of you bullies ... I just ordered two hitch balls ... one has a 5/8" shank and the other has a 3/4" shank ... if one of those doesn't fit I'm giving up. I also got on the wait list for a Ai2 receiver hitch. oh, and thanks

The hole in the tractor's plate is ¾", so you should be okay.

 

[ejb11235]

The box blade comes with time but 80% of it is about the top link! I can't say im an expert but i hardly ever make anything worse with it nowadays.

Ah yes, the top link ... I really want to put hydraulic top and tilt on at some point. "I hardly ever make anything worse" ... OMG can I carry your lunch box for you?

 

[ejb11235]

The hole in the tractor's plate is ¾", so you should be okay.

Thank you. This was actually the piece of information I was trying to get when I originally posted. Once I get the new hitch balls I'll report back as to which one fit my plate.

 

[Old_Paint]

Putting any kind of trailed equipment on the 3 point hitch has some risk. If the hitch is above the centerline of the axle on the trailed load, a sudden stop or going downhill on a steep grade could cause the hitch to raise up. The 3-point hitch is not hydraulically held down. Nothing but gravity holds the 3-point lift down. When I'm towing my big trailer (16 footer, tandem axle) with my tractor, I always lower the hitch as much as I can if I have to go down a hill. The axles on that trailer are so far back it probably wouldn't push up anyway, but I don't take any chances. I'd rather have to clean a little mud off the hitch than get pushed down a hill. Getting sideways with a trailer pushing is no fun.

My little trailer isn't heavy enough to push the tractor around, but it will most certainly push the lift up and scare the bejeebers outta ya. All I need to do is walk to the back of the trailer, and I only weigh 185 pounds. It's a well-balanced trailer that I built for yard work so I wouldn't have a lot of tongue weight on my riding mower before I got the LX. I also sized it so I could load the riding mower in it, which with the engine up front would load the tongue enough to prevent speed wobbles if I towed it with the truck. It's WONDERFUL for moving the amount of leaves I have to every year (8 trailer loads so far this year, and we're just getting started). Sometimes, I just put the 3 point hitch all the way up and leave the quick hitch on the LX, and use the draw-bar that was intended for trailer towing and pulling duties. That has the disadvantage of widening the minimum turn radius to avoid rubbing the tongue with the back tires on the LX. That is NOT a pretty noise.

 

[ejb11235]

Putting any kind of trailed equipment on the 3 point hitch has some risk. If the hitch is above the centerline of the axle on the trailed load, a sudden stop or going downhill on a steep grade could cause the hitch to raise up. The 3-point hitch is not hydraulically held down. Nothing but gravity holds the 3-point lift down. When I'm towing my big trailer (16 footer, tandem axle) with my tractor, I always lower the hitch as much as I can if I have to go down a hill. The axles on that trailer are so far back it probably wouldn't push up anyway, but I don't take any chances. I'd rather have to clean a little mud off the hitch than get pushed down a hill. Getting sideways with a trailer pushing is no fun.

My little trailer isn't heavy enough to push the tractor around, but it will most certainly push the lift up and scare the bejeebers outta ya. All I need to do is walk to the back of the trailer, and I only weigh 185 pounds. It's a well-balanced trailer that I built for yard work so I wouldn't have a lot of tongue weight on my riding mower before I got the LX. I also sized it so I could load the riding mower in it, which with the engine up front would load the tongue enough to prevent speed wobbles if I towed it with the truck. It's WONDERFUL for moving the amount of leaves I have to every year (8 trailer loads so far this year, and we're just getting started). Sometimes, I just put the 3 point hitch all the way up and leave the quick hitch on the LX, and use the draw-bar that was intended for trailer towing and pulling duties. That has the disadvantage of widening the minimum turn radius to avoid rubbing the tongue with the back tires on the LX. That is NOT a pretty noise.

I have no plans to get a 3PH trailer hitch, but thanks for the warnings. It never hurts to be reminded of how things can go wrong and why. With all those leaves you must have a ridiculous leaf mulch supply.

 

[Old_Paint]

I have no plans to get a 3PH trailer hitch, but thanks for the warnings. It never hurts to be reminded of how things can go wrong and why. With all those leaves you must have a ridiculous leaf mulch supply.

And night crawler earthworms that look like snakes. I need to get back into fishing.

Most of the leaves are water oak, and not particularly good mulch because of the very high pH. But I do have a rather large mound of the stuff that I feed into the compost pile along with all the kitchen vegetable waste, and some chips as well to help keep the soil loose. The acids from the decaying vegetable matter and green plants balance out the high pH from the leaves. I've been pushing that stuff into some big washes in my back yard since 2004. Takes a bit to convert it to useful soil, but I'm getting the hang of it. Having the tractor has sped that process up a little, for sure. Still have to wait for stuff to rot, though.

A general rule of thumb is that the more useful or powerful a piece of equipment is, the more dangerous it is. Some folks think me a know-it-all or patronizing when I point out safety things. No, I never have the intent to challenge anyone's intelligence, I'm just giving a gentle nudge that what they're doing can get them killed in the blink of an eye, and a suggestion to be careful. I survived a 40-year Electrical Engineering career working around high voltage equipment, and ALWAYS appreciated it when someone gave me a reminder that death was waiting with sharp pointy teeth. That was almost a daily conversation. Not because I'd forgotten, but because it kept me from becoming desensitized to the dangers or becoming complacent. I'm damned sure not going to intentionally do something stupid with a tractor at this juncture in life. I'm hoping to live to be 103 and be shot by a jealous boyfriend.

 

[DustyRusty]

And night crawler earthworms that look like snakes. I need to get back into fishing.

Most of the leaves are water oak, and not particularly good mulch because of the very high pH. But I do have a rather large mound of the stuff that I feed into the compost pile along with all the kitchen vegetable waste, and some chips as well to help keep the soil loose. The acids from the decaying vegetable matter and green plants balance out the high pH from the leaves. I've been pushing that stuff into some big washes in my back yard since 2004. Takes a bit to convert it to useful soil, but I'm getting the hang of it. Having the tractor has sped that process up a little, for sure. Still have to wait for stuff to rot, though.

A general rule of thumb is that the more useful or powerful a piece of equipment is, the more dangerous it is. Some folks think me a know-it-all or patronizing when I point out safety things. No, I never have the intent to challenge anyone's intelligence, I'm just giving a gentle nudge that what they're doing can get them killed in the blink of an eye, and a suggestion to be careful. I survived a 40-year Electrical Engineering career working around high voltage equipment, and ALWAYS appreciated it when someone gave me a reminder that death was waiting with sharp pointy teeth. That was almost a daily conversation. Not because I'd forgotten, but because it kept me from becoming desensitized to the dangers or becoming complacent. I'm damned sure not going to intentionally do something stupid with a tractor at this juncture in life. I'm hoping to live to be 103 and be shot by a jealous boyfriend.

High hopes and low morals?

 

[Old_Paint]

High hopes and low morals?

Certainly exaggerated expectations.

 

[ejb11235]

And night crawler earthworms that look like snakes. I need to get back into fishing.

Most of the leaves are water oak, and not particularly good mulch because of the very high pH. But I do have a rather large mound of the stuff that I feed into the compost pile along with all the kitchen vegetable waste, and some chips as well to help keep the soil loose. The acids from the decaying vegetable matter and green plants balance out the high pH from the leaves. I've been pushing that stuff into some big washes in my back yard since 2004. Takes a bit to convert it to useful soil, but I'm getting the hang of it. Having the tractor has sped that process up a little, for sure. Still have to wait for stuff to rot, though.

A general rule of thumb is that the more useful or powerful a piece of equipment is, the more dangerous it is. Some folks think me a know-it-all or patronizing when I point out safety things. No, I never have the intent to challenge anyone's intelligence, I'm just giving a gentle nudge that what they're doing can get them killed in the blink of an eye, and a suggestion to be careful. I survived a 40-year Electrical Engineering career working around high voltage equipment, and ALWAYS appreciated it when someone gave me a reminder that death was waiting with sharp pointy teeth. That was almost a daily conversation. Not because I'd forgotten, but because it kept me from becoming desensitized to the dangers or becoming complacent. I'm damned sure not going to intentionally do something stupid with a tractor at this juncture in life. I'm hoping to live to be 103 and be shot by a jealous boyfriend.

I appreciate what you write about reminders about safety. I had a friend who was a know-it-all, so his comments about things I already knew came across as nagging, but your comments will make me more open about thinking of safety conversations as an ongoing thing to keep it all fresh in our minds.

 

[Old_Paint]

I appreciate what you write about reminders about safety. I had a friend who was a know-it-all, so his comments about things I already knew came across as nagging, but your comments will make me more open about thinking of safety conversations as an ongoing thing to keep it all fresh in our minds.

Sometimes a knowledgeable person may have a lotta book sense, but little experience. They "KNOW" what to do in theory and get defensive if someone reminds them of it. This applies to newly graduated engineers and first-time tractor owners alike. I've seen extremely intelligent people do extremely stupid things. Mostly because they didn't listen to kindly intended safety reminders. That's usually when they figure out the hard way that they're NOT the smartest person in the room. Intelligent doesn't always mean smart.

 

[DustyRusty]

Thank you for defining one of our finer and frequently posting members...

 

[ejb11235]

Sometimes a knowledgeable person may have a lotta book sense, but little experience. They "KNOW" what to do in theory and get defensive if someone reminds them of it. This applies to newly graduated engineers and first-time tractor owners alike. I've seen extremely intelligent people do extremely stupid things. Mostly because they didn't listen to kindly intended safety reminders. That's usually when they figure out the hard way that they're NOT the smartest person in the room. Intelligent doesn't always mean smart.

My know-it-all ex-friend actually had a ton of real-world experience, and I spent years trying to make the friendship work because he was so knowledgeable. But his entire construct of personal interaction was built around telling other people what to do, coupled with a victim complex. I finally ended the friendship when he gave away something of mine that had a lot of sentimental value, without asking. The dam burst in me and I experienced intense and debilitating anger for over two years. I should have gone to a psychiatrist and probably gotten put on medications. But I worked my process and finally got through it. I learned a valuable lesson, but boy did I pay a price.

Intelligence of course is expressed in many different ways ... book smarts, experience smarts, emotional intelligence, knowing how to say things, compassion, letting people save face, etc. I aspire to excel at all of them.

 

[58Ford]

It sounds like you have a great outlook on life ejb. One that isn't always gained by years or experience. Some are just better at being human. You come across that way.

Don’t feel bad about not talking to a therapist. Particularly don’t feel bad about not being medicated. I just dallied in that arena myself and I really appreciated my GPs information about how many people actually come off those medications later. Not many apparently. Pain is a great teacher and it’s not always physical!

Back OT though. I have BXpandeds hitch on my BX. Just got it. Very happy with it. I use one of those back trays you see on peoples cars when they need to lug extra luggage or totes. I use it for carrying tools, saws etc on the property. Once the shop is finished I will get the BH dolly. Good investment methinks.

 

[ejb11235]

It sounds like you have a great outlook on life ejb. One that isn't always gained by years or experience. Some are just better at being human. You come across that way.

Don’t feel bad about not talking to a therapist. Particularly don’t feel bad about not being medicated. I just dallied in that arena myself and I really appreciated my GPs information about how many people actually come off those medications later. Not many apparently. Pain is a great teacher and it’s not always physical!

Back OT though. I have BXpandeds hitch on my BX. Just got it. Very happy with it. I use one of those back trays you see on peoples cars when they need to lug extra luggage or totes. I use it for carrying tools, saws etc on the property. Once the shop is finished I will get the BH dolly. Good investment methinks.

Hey thanks! Your words mean a lot to me. I had a little trepidation about sharing something quite that personal but I figured that maybe one person might benefit from seeing it. I did my therapy work years ago and that changed my daily life. Then I ended up mentoring a bunch of teenagers so I could share what I had learned, and 15 years later we're still in each others' lives. It completely changed the arc of my life. Interesting to hear about getting off meds ... I was not aware of that.

So the BXpanded hitch you got is this one: https://www.bxpanded.com/BX-hitch ?

If so, is it just held on by one pin? And it doesn't move around? I just looked more closely at the picture and I think I have a better idea how it works ... there's actually a plate that goes underneath the stock bracket, so the pin is in double-shear...and the chain hook plate goes in front of the stock bracket and thus keeps the hitch from pivoting. Is that right? Looks pretty nice.

For my needs, I'm not sure the quick-on provides any benefit to me, and I prefer the receiver designs like the Ai2 that provide anchoring points for trailoring. I can't remember if there are already anchor points on the tractor. Is there something about the quick-on feature you particularly like?