#109

Today we test the Harbor Freight Quick Hitch on our Kubota L3901. The first implement I want to try is our 471lb box blade. The quick hitch is a category 1 implement that was on clearance, plus I was able to use a 20% coupon so I got it for just under $88 + tax. The quick hitch has a capacity of 2000 lbs.
~~5 Ways You Can Support Our Journey~~
1) Subscribe & watch our videos! shorturl.at/szFHP
2) Buy shirts, hats and other merch buy.woodstreefarm.com/collect...
3) Buy us a coffee www.buymeacoffee.com/woodstre...
4) Purchase a Sawhaul for yourself or a loved one using our affiliate link www.gearhaul.com/collections/...
5) Share our channel with a friend

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Heads up! We've started a new channel for all things tractors, firewood and other projects. Subscribe here: kzbin.info/door/Pmos-Vu8QFlp3lXkQ38hfQ ... The Woods Tree Farm channel will focus more on christmas tree farming and agribusiness going forward.

[@houndsmanone4563]

Glad you got it on.

[@robertwikeljr-1522]

You need at least 5/8 more distance from top hook holes and corresponding holes top of frame. Take off hook weld 1 inch bar steel to edge of top hook and redrill holes to match. Second will need "sleeves" over your class 1 pins on implement to match "fill" bottom hooks.

[@HamiltonvilleFarm]

Good stuff Phil. You're gonna love it.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Thanks Hank!

[@Bamacountry88]

Yeah i need to get one of these...have a good one bud

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

Good find. Try the bushings that the guys are talking about.

[@imaslowlerner]

I just bought one today 4/7/23 from HF. It was on clearance for $139. I tried several online coupons they didn't work. So I ended up paying the full price plus tax. I'll try hooking it up tomorrow. Thanks.

[@Dan-oz4qb]

My HF QH is almost 20 years old and still going strong. I upgraded the hook to the extended SpeeCo version which was about $40 and modified some of my older implements. It was around $60 with a coupon when I bought it. I later added a hydraulic top link which is an absolute game changer and a worthwhile investment especially since you already have the 3rd function on the rear.

[@stephengraham6355]

I’m so tired of people saying these hitches are $80 they are $139 now.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Dang. I think they go on sale from time-to-time, so keep an eye out for that. I'll sell you mine for $80. I hardly use it anymore. haha!

[@michaelvoorhees5978]

Yep it sucks. I need one. Still the cheapest though

[@GerraldFarms]

Nice find. I picked up a quick hitch to try also. Some 3 pt attachments can be tough to hook up. Our 3 pt disc mower is a pain. Have a good one

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

I'll be trying this with other implements soon. Hope it makes my life easier.

[@kylerayk]

Here are some helpful tips for your HFQH. Keep in mind that it's made in China and also keep in mind that the CAT 1, 2, 3 etc. "standards" allow for a wide variation in implement pin width and centerline height of the third pin. So here is my story with the HFQH. First, the top hook is too close the the QH frame and needs to be extended by 1" to 1-1/4" which is accomplished by welding a block to the back of the hook and redrilling the holes. There are aftermarket ones available for purchase for around $30 if you aren't handy in the fabrication department. Second, the supplied pins that hook the QH to the draft arms are grossly undersized...by 0.100" to be exact. This will cause excessive wear on the swivelly balls of the draft arms and provide a lot of unnecessary slop to the assembly. I bought a set of CAT 1 lower link pins at Farm & Fleet and re-made the lower pins using the purchased ones as a starting point. A little lathe work and fabrication/welding will do the trick. You will also have to drill out the holes in the QH to 57/64" to accommodate the new pins. Third, you need to use bushings on the lower pins of your implement to bring the O.D. of the pins from 7/8" to around 1-7/16" so they fit snugly in the lower hooks of the QH. You have to do this with ANY QH you use, Land Pride, iMatch, SpeeCo, Lee Agra, etc.. I made such modifications to my HFQH and it has served me well for over 3 years with no other issues. Also, in order to keep the "quick" in the QH, you need to adjust your implements to match one setting on the QH...this is only a concern if you use (usually) older implements from a variety of manufacturers as I stated before, the "standards" for 3PH's are very loose at best and allowed manufacturers MUCH leeway in their designs.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Hi! Wow. Excellent writeup here. Thanks for taking the time to put this out there. Have a good one!

[@kaseycasece1340]

all u need is : PAT'S EZ CHANGE HITCH , WILL FIT ANY IMPLEMENT BUT IF U NEED TO LINE UP IMPLEMENT ALL U NEED IS : LIGHT 6 FT .CHEAPER PIPE , THIS WILL SAVE YOUR BACK SIDE

[@AJmx2702001]

Interesting to see how that worked for you and makes me glad I went with a Landpride QH 15 it works on cat 1-2 just with certain adjustments for tools that are not true cat 1

[@GeneralAlex4]

I went with QH-15 too. Glad I did. Harbor Freight is crap!! Did you see those kindergarten welds on it?

[@dankrzeminski6370]

Must use bushings

[@altonhenderson4120]

I recently purchased the harbor freight quick hitch and I got what I paid for . All connection points use metric pins and bolts and are a very sloppy fit when connected to the three point hitch . I had to re drill all connection point to standard size , 7/8” on bottom and 3/4” on top . Then the top hook would not connect to the pin on my back blade because it did not stick out far enough . So I had to add 1/2 “ to the front of the hook and then recut the slot , it also had to be cut 1/4” deeper . Good thing I have 45 years welding experience . Later I found out that the correct hook can be purchased for $40 on line . It seems to work great now but time will tell if it holds up .

[@FromSteelToWood]

This QH is very nice to have when the implements cooperate! Or let say, be compatible! I've found using some grease on the top hook helps the implement top link to slide into the top hook. I hope you find a way to adjust the top link of that implement so it sits in the bottom hooks. Thanks!

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

I'll be getting some bushing to see if that helps. Grease is an obvious solution. Haha. I should have thought of that. Thanks!

[@ritterjon]

💥 I've got to get one of those. I don't think it will work with my flail mower however. Keep on tractoring!

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

I'll be curious to see if I need a longer PTO shaft when I go hook up my tiller the first time.

[@dehavenfamilyfarm]

That was a great deal! The problem with any of those quick hitches, doesn't matter what brand, is they rarely fit all implements without some sort of modification. I have found out that this is due to a lack of an industry standard in the spacing of the pins on three point implements. I think Messicks did a video a while back mentioning this issue. You may want to change the bolt on the top of the box blade you connected to, to a grade 8 because I don't believe that area is designed to be hooked to. Still can't believe all that nice weather you are having!

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

It's been a really mild winter here, that's for sure. I'm going to get bushings for the BB and see if it fits better

[@jimmccullough1051]

I have the same Quick Hitch, though mine came from Rural King. If you haven't added bushings to the lower pins they might help. Normally my top hook is in the highest position, of course for just one attachment i have to drop it to the lowest holes. The bolts came out and found their way to the bolt bucket, I replaced them with pins & clips so no more carrying wrenches. And one attachment is made so I have to remove the top hook, slip it into the attachment, then reinstall the pins, so the top link gets a good workout twisting in and out. All that said, it is so much easier than the old way!

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Great info. Thanks for sharing

[@hermancain2866]

I bought one from Harbor Freight -it would not fit on ANY of my class 1 3 poing hitch implements I had to return it -but I give them a thumbs up for taking it back with no questions ask

[@Skyhawk945]

I purchased and returned the HF Quick Hitch because it is not Category 1 compliant. The smaller lift pins make it a Category 0 Quick Hitch suitable for tractors up to 20 horsepower. The smaller lift pins made the fitment sloppy and unacceptable for my application. I was really disappointed being it was advertised as Category 1.

[@imperfectfarm3436]

i'm picking up an older Case 380 that has several implments, I also wonder if this would work.

[@davidmacintyre3705]

Need to put bushings in your pins bottom pins

[@bryansloesshillshomestead4523]

I think you got a good deal. I hope it holds up for you.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Thanks!

[@ralphblanda661]

Watch videos of the quick hitch alterations, to fix your problem

[@thecountrylivingproject3263]

There are two issues with the Harbor Freight QH, and you experienced them both: 1.) Top hook doesn't extend far enough from the frame and you get the interference from the bolts just like you showed. 2.) Top hook won't adjust down far enough so bottom pins don't fully seat, also just like you showed. At least that's with Land Pride implements. Other manufacturers may have different spacing top-to-bottom that eliminates that issue but that's just a guess. I fixed mine by getting a different top hook that extends about an inch further back than the one that comes with the QH so no more interference with the bolts. Also, I milled out the inside radius of the top hook about 1/8" so the implement seats further down and with the addition of bushings on bottom pins all three now seat fully which means the top hook isn't carrying all the weight, and also the implement won't tilt side-to-side because before it was essentially balancing on the top pin. There's a video showing those mods on my channel if you're interested in more details. Hope that helps.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Very helpful info. Wish I had seen this before I fiddled with mine for 30 minutes. LOL. Good video and thanks for stopping by the channel and leaving your comment. Dropping a link to your video here for others to see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKC4ZKhqoNB3d7s

[@jnichols3]

Mine worked fine for my LP box blade. Does not work with my LP 2060 cutter due to the top hook bolt issue. Also with the hitch all the way up, I hit some bumps and the hitch started bouncing resulting in the busting out of both taillights. If I bought another quick hitch it would be one with the sloped sides. BTW, my tractor is also an L3901.

[@kaseycasece1340]

YOP LINK BAR MIGHT BE TO SHORT , TRY TO ADJUST THE LINK / MOST OF THE TIME HAVE TO PLAY WITH ANY INPLEMENT UNTIL U GET IT RIGHT

[@jimfritz8983]

I grew up driving row crop tractors on our cotton farm in Missouri and we used quick hitches a lot. I do remember having to get on the implements and jump and shake them to get them to seat. Keep in mind this was 40 years ago. I’m thinking adjusting your top link might help.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Apparently these Harbor Freight are known for having a top hook that doesn't stick out far enough. There's an aftermarket option available for $40 to address that issue. With the current top hook, the implement almost always hits the QH frame, so that's when shaking the implement is really necessary. Thanks for watching!

[@bongomakers]

Here's hoping yours is better than mine was. The welds kept breaking and the arms kept bending. I eventually gave it away. That was several years ago so maybe you got a good one.

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

sorry to hear that. Mine has been fine so far, but I'm not real hard on it. There are just two implements I use it for: my carry-all, and my box blade, and its a breeze to use for both of those.

[@OShackHennessy]

I was thinking the welds on that looked really sloppy then saw your comment

[@dmalloy96]

You probably should get the bottom all the way down in there move the top back up and use the top pin on the box blade you’ll just have to pull the top pin and put it back in when you get the bottom hooked up just my opinion

[@richysoutdoors2591]

David Malloy If his bottom lock latches close fully is that seated enough in the bottom? not real familiar with that. Just asking

[@dmalloy96]

Richy's Outdoors all the weight should sit on the bottom two I’ve seen the top can be a little loose the bottom latches just keep it from bouncing up off...we have a couple of them

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

I'm going to look into getting bushings and see if that changes the way it seats.

[@markheintz1878]

@@dmalloy96 that's why you need to use the bushings that slip over the pins on the attached implement to make up some of that slop and so they rest on more area of the curve. I had to get alot of bushings since I have both cat 1 and 2 kwik hitches for my tractors. The one problem I ran into on my cat 1 hitch is that the spacing for the lift arm ball to slip in is not wide enough to allow a cat 2 ball and bushing in between. It was aggravating since I use the cat 2 tractor more.

[@flyfisher301]

Should have bought a Pats quick hitch. Made in USA. heavy duty, will work with ANY implement. Good luck

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows with Pat's is it? Still need to get off the tractor to hook up top link. Pto implements may need longer pto shaft. There are always pros and cons, but thanks for your input!

[@GeneralAlex4]

Land Pride is USA made. At least mine is.

[@michaelkestrel8363]

Did this work with your rotary cutter? Thanks

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

No, unfortunately.

[@WorldsOkayestFarmer]

*If it only worked like supposed to* #WorldsOkayestFarmer

[@WoodsTreeFarm]

Nothing is ever as easy as it seems it should be, is it?