# Looking for a way to hook a trailer hitch to my Garden Tractor



## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

Hi does anyone have a link or know of a site that would sell 
a Trailer Ball setup that would connect to my Garden tractor? 
Im looking for something that would fit into the reciever hitch but would allow me to put a 2" ball on it.. preferably something that would raise the height of the ball too.. 
I want it so i can move a trailer or small boat around 
Im looking to attach something like this.. to my tractor.. of course it would be the other way around so it would be higher not lower 



<img src=http://www.truckaddons.com/images02/exterior/hidden_hitch/ballmount04.jpg>


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## farmallmaniac (Feb 16, 2004)

Do you have weights for the front of the lawn tractor?
Ryan


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

no, this was posted at another site which would be a viable solution.. but its a little low as the back end of the GT is pretty low to be pulling around a bigger sized trailer I was hoping to find something that would elevate the ball by 6-8"

<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=33916>


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

I was thinking about having a ball shank milled down and tapped so I could move my utility trailer around. That way I wouldn't have to drill out the hole on the back of the tractor It is much easier than doing it by hand or hooking it up to the SUV. If I did that I was going to put a hitch on the tongue of my agrifab trailer. I thought it would improve the hitching system a lot. I just havn't looked into it yet. Good idea???????


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

i was wondering if using the hieght extending hitch (like in the 1st pic) would cause stress on the reciever plate...


BTW: can all this be done with a cat 0 3 point hitch? like this?



<img src=http://www.simplicitymfg.com/atthitch.jpg>

from simplicity
"Category "0", 3-point hitch allows operation of heavy rear attachments such as a tiller. "


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## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

I never did like adding any extensions or any heavy weight to the flange type rear trailer mounts on a GT. It does not take much to starat bending or flexing this so called hitch mount, and I would have to believe that that extension as in the first image would put a ot of stress on the hitch. 

One time I was dead set on converting ll my hitches to ball type, but the biggest obstacle I ran into was getting the coupler portions in sizes that would fit various towed items tongue widths, without having to drastically modify the tongues with shims etc to fit the couplers. Its also easy to overload them instead of just having the hitch pin type tongue top section start to bend a bit when overloaded, you have a tendancy to not take notice sometimes. Yo know how it is, just a few more shovel fulls or a few more rocks should be OK, and thats all it takes to reach or exceed that max limit.

A coupler is overkill for most items normally towed with a L & G tractor, and for easier manuvering towing items with a light tongue weight that just needs moving or repositioning I found a ball adapted to my front bumper was the best solution.

Its not hard to raise a ball up to sufficient height. All kinds of methods can be used. I have an adapter made out of a regular automotive type tube hitch that fastens to the bottom of the rear pin type hitch using existing tractor frameholes and allows me to use a hi lift ball on a high lift receiver tube. Its attached using a welded on stud on the receiver tube that utilizes the hole that you would normally put the typical L & G tractors hitch pin into. It also picks up additonal mount holes on the tractors frame. Takes about 5 minutes to install or remove if needed.


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## Stewart (Sep 17, 2003)

I don't care for the hitch pin setup on my agrifab. It is sloppy and scratches the back of my tractor. I am really carefull about how much I put in the trailer. I bought the bigger trailer for volume rather than weight, leaves and limbs mainly. I do put more than my wheelbarow but load it over the axel of the trailer. My utility tralier is a 5'x10' single axel with an expanded metal gate. I tis balanced pretty well and I don't use the 130 if it is loaded. A boat would be out of the question, a little too much of a tongue load and way too much weight to try and stop!!!:nerd:


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## guest (Sep 16, 2003)

cabelas also sells this..
but i think id be in the same boat if i put a raised extender (like 1st pic) into this.. too much stress on the hitch plate.


<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=33956>


plus for the money.. maybe the simplicity 3 point hitch thing is safer to use...


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

SJ, I think that might bend the hitch mount on your tractor if you have much trailer tongue weight.


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## leolav (Sep 16, 2003)

I have the one in the third post on the thread to haul my boat and mow n vac. Works great on both. The boat tongue does angle pretty low, but as long as you don't go over the crest of a sharp hill, you should be OK. It is very dangerous if the tongue bottoms out on something. It will stop dead in its tracks propel the rear wheels out from under you. Scares the crap out of you when it happens for a split sceond. I go really slow and avoid all hills.


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## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Stewart _
> *I don't care for the hitch pin setup on my agrifab. It is sloppy and scratches the back of my tractor. I am really carefull about how much I put in the trailer. snip
> *


I have the same feelings aabout the typical hitchpin hookups commonly found on most L & G towed equipment. I used to stack a few washers under the tongue to keep it from scaring up and ruining the paint but that got old and it was a pain fiddling with washers all the time. 

What I made is a large thick washer from a piece of cold rolled steel round stock. Its shaped like a top hat 
Turn the "top hat washer" upside down and place the smaller diam in the hole the tracotr hitch plate has. The larger diameter will keep it from falling through and also space the towed equipments tongue up and away from the hitchplate and all wear is now on that top hat washer. I guess you could actually call it a stepped washer.

Mine is perhaps 2 1/2" in diam at the large diameter and perhaps 5/16 to 3/8" thick. The small diameter was made to fit ther existing hole in the hitchplate and is as thick as the hitchplate is, plus sufficient room to install a roll pin to retain it. The roll pin is inserted in the bottom portions side just to keep it in place when no towed equipment is hooked up. The thicker section of the wider upper washer part also takes a lot of the up and down slop out between the hitch plate and various toewed equipment tongue setups. I drilled it for the most commonly found towed equipment hitchpins used which was 1/2". Now the majority of the slop and play is reduced, no marring up of the painted surface on the hitch plate, and no more individual washers to fool around with.


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## cousy51 (Sep 16, 2003)

SJ, I wanted to do the same thing. What I did was take a 1 7/8" ball; cut off the shank. Then took it to the shop and welded a 6" piece of steel to it. Then we heated it and bent it so I could put it in the hydraulic sleeve on the back and it would sit up proper. Then you drill a small hole for a pin to hold it in the sleeve. Works great for me pulling my 30 ton log splitter and small utility trailer around the property.


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## mustang4life (Sep 13, 2011)

cousy51 said:


> SJ, I wanted to do the same thing. What I did was take a 1 7/8" ball; cut off the shank. Then took it to the shop and welded a 6" piece of steel to it. Then we heated it and bent it so I could put it in the hydraulic sleeve on the back and it would sit up proper. Then you drill a small hole for a pin to hold it in the sleeve. Works great for me pulling my 30 ton log splitter and small utility trailer around the property.


do you have a picture of this 
i am looking to do this to haul my pop up camper around yard


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