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Three Point Ball Hitches Notes and Observations

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2004-01-25          75006


I still have the Bad River hitch and use it frequently. It is well made, well engineered and a cost effective tool that I would recommend to anyone.

All three point hitches have certain limitations. I pull up and down hills and I have found that when I am pulling something the same weight as the tractor on downhill turns it will push the tractor into a skid.

Example: My 1800 pound, 16 foot car hauler has very little tongue weight at towing attitude and it will take the 2000 pound tractor for a ride if I am not careful. I think if I were towing a wagon with the same weight it would be more stable due to the steerable front wheels.

On the other hand, my 3800 pound 5th wheel on the same downhill circuit is quite stable and in control. The difference is the 5th wheel has about 700 pounds of tongue weight and is being lifted and towed from the FEL/pallet forks.

The stability is further enhanced because the tractor front wheels are tracking with the skid forces and there is plenty of rear end ballast.

I guess the message is to be careful with any three point ball hitch and heavy loads. The three point ball hitches are really great for dragging chain harrows and pulling wagons and trailers as long as they don't exceed the tractors weight.

I am going to experiment with pulling the car hauler from my newly designed front/FEL hitch to see if it is a safer pull.




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Three Point Ball Hitches Notes and Observations

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-01-25          75010


I've got the I-match version of the Bad River Hitch and I can vouch for it's high quality construction. The company has also given me great support and responds promptly to email questions. ....


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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2004-01-25          75018


Ken, have you got any pictures of your hitch on the I-Match set up you can post? I am curious as to how that configuration looks. I like the draw bar design in this hitch as it allows for other uses attaching log skidder cables in the holes in the draw bar which would allow you to skid more than one log. ....


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-01-25          75019


I'll take a few pictures and post them, but it will probably be tomorrow before I can get to it. I'll let you know when they're up. ....


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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2004-01-25          75063


Besides the easy of mounting, are there any other advantages using the I-Match with the hitch? Did all of the hardware to attach it to the draw bar come with it? ....


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-01-25          75064


I think ease of mounting is the only advantage of the I-Match version. I supplied the drawbar and some bushings and everything else came in the box. I-Match expects Cat-3 pins, or at least I think they're Cat-3, so the bushings are used to bring them up to the required thickness. ....


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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2004-01-26          75085


Mark sometimes it might just be the tandem axles that help push you when coming down a hill that will make the trailer push you straight. ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-01-26          75088


If you don't mind a little scraped paint on the back of trailer the up function on the 3pth usually does a pretty good job of slowing down a trailer.

A little experimenting to learn just how far you can lift before the back touches the ground is handy so that you can add a little more tongue weight to the hitch.

The other option is to merely install an electric brake controller on your CUT, we have several set up that way, connect the wire to the electric brakes on the trailer, then just push the button to stop. Fast.

Best of luck. ....


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yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2004-01-26          75090


Anytime you use a heavy trailer outweighing your tractor or tow vehicle caution should be taken. Substantial weight on the tongue is important. It is also important to have and use a safety chain such that the 3 pt. hitch doesn't push up. I tried to load a picture of an i-match hitch adapter but haven't figured out how to get my pictures up. I've gone through all of the steps and uploaded or atleast thought that I did. I push my triple axle flat bed around with my Bad River hitch adapter all of the time but don't have severe grades, but back through and up a step to get on the barn floor which causes the tongue to rise until the safety chain takes over. ....


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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2004-01-26          75095


It is definitely about grades and tandem axles. I usually only use the tractor to spot the trailer in a tight spot so I can certainly limit the problem.

I would like to pull my 225 gallon water tank around but it has the same problem. I think a set of running gear, like a farm wagon set-up where the front wheels steer, might work a lot better. ....


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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2004-01-26          75097


Mark, I don't think tongue weight is as big an issue as the lack of brakes is.

A $50 brake controller from Northern Tool might be money well spent.

All our heavy wagons and trailers on the farm are equipped with brakes, our bigger tractors even have an air system to power the air brakes on the semi-trailers that we pull on jeep converters, most however are either electric (on the wagons) or hydraulic surge brakes (on the trailers).

Best of luck. ....


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F350Lawman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 411 Goshen, NY
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2004-01-26          75103


Maybe the problem is the distance that a 3point hitch is set back from the tractor's center. I tow a much heavier (than the tracor) trailer with substantial tongue weight from the drawbar and have noticed good handling. The only time I really pushed the envelope was cured with the addition of more weight. I added a scoop of dirt to the FEL to give the front wheel more traction and turning force. Now I simply shift the weight on the trailer to the rear to keep the 4 tractor tires more evenly balanced.

I also have a 3pt hitch tow bar but haven't used it yet because I need another slide and ball for it. I think for the real heavy loads I may stick to the draw bar anyway. I think having the load WAY back with the 3pt setup may multiply the torque on the tractor when going downhill and especially when turning. ....


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2004-01-26          75112


Chief, see my pictures 12-14 for the Bad River I-Match hitch mounted on the 4310. I had the I-Match hitch off the tractor (working on chipper mounting) so I just slapped it together for the pictures. There are no locking pins installed and nothing is tightened up in these pics. ....


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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2004-01-26          75114


Ken, thanks for posting the pics! That is a VERY sharp looking set up and the John Deere Green on the Bad River Hitch is a real nice touch! ;o) Now that you posted the pics, I can better visualize how the hitch mounts to the I-Match using the bushings to fit the draw bar to the I-Match. Did the Bad River Hitch fit the I-Match already or did they size the hitch adaptor to work with the I-Match? ....


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
TractorPoint Premium Member -- 5 Tractors = Very Frequent Poster  View my Photos  Pics

2004-01-26          75117


Although the Bad River web site doesn't show the I-Match hitch they do offer it as a separate model. It is different than their standard model - I think I got the fourth one they made. He did a run of four of them to see how they would sell and he sold all of 'em before they were even manufactured - without any advertising! Anyway, the hitch bolts right up to the drawbar and the top-link mount has a beefy threaded screw and locknut used to fine-tune the vertical height. ....


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