3 point quick hitch - Harbor freight?
 

i'm looking to get a 3 point quick hitch for my tractor - tired of wrestling with implements!

Harbor Freight sells them for quite a bit less than anyone else around here. What do people know about Harbor Freight - is what they sell good quality or is it poorly made junk?

HF is touch and go, IMO. My dead blow hammer that was a year old just exploded yet the engine lift I've had for about 5 yrs is perfectly fine.

When I consider the stresses that a 3pt hitch is subjected to, I would take a close look at the gauge of steel and quality of the welds on the HF version and compare that to an example from anyone...JD, MB Tractor, Chappell, heck even TSC.

It may be just as robust as any of the others or may end up being scrap metal. For this specific application, I'd likely avoid HF and find either a quality used one or go new and file the purchase under "buy once cry once"

Buy MADE IN USA....Not HF and all its cheap China tools.

Agree with PR. You get what you pay for. A lot of it is junk.

Are you aware that Harbor Freight now has a great big store in Gilford, close to Walmart, that is totally loaded with inventory so's you can probably get a good look at it, there.

Have heard that Harbor Freight takes 75-year old International Farm-All's from a big junk yard in Des Moines, grinds up their excellent tough steel, and redo's it into their Harbor Freight three-point hitch, and for a very low price!

I agree with getting a quality quick hitch. I have a Deere IMatch which is well made. It fits my Land Pride implements as well as my Frontier snow blower. I think that Land Pride also makes a good quick hitch.

In any case make sure it fits your implements. Most modern implements are quick hitch compatible, but some older implements may not be.

BTW, while the Deere iMatch is a cat 1 hitch, it is made to fit cat 2 pins hence bushings are required at least on the lower pins.

Alan

Thanks! I am looking at the Speeco quick hitch (twice the price of the Harbor Freight) which does not require bushings and looking at the measurements, all my implements (box blade, bush hog, plow, and York rake) will fit.

Appreciate all the feedback!

Not everything at Harbor Freight is junk and depending upon how much use something will get an inexpensive item might work for you.

Last month I needed a pipe wrench to flip the ball on a trailer hitch and change it from a 2 inch drop to a 2 inch rise. $13.95 for the wrench, a little WD40, and it worked.

I got tired of hand cranking docks up with a trailer winch attached to a tree. A 5,000 pound Harbor Freight 12 volt electric winch bolted to a tree makes that easy. I only wish I had thought of it 10 years ago!

If I were a mechanic or a carpenter, who was depending on my tools every day, it might not be the right choice. But for a few projects it seems like they are OK.

Their KH gets good reviews on the tractor forums I am on. I went with Pat's quick hitches on my Kubota.

I ended up going with Pat's Quick hitch. Many of my implements are older and I think it will end up being more work to make the SpeeCo hitch work. Once I get it installed and start using it I'll share my thoughts.

Appreciate the input.