i've seen those agri-fab kits, and i don't really like the setup. you would need alot of weight like Reb said.

i'm not going to be using this on any other machines(i only have one) so i'm just making it to work with my machine right now, i can modify it later if i need to use it on some other machine.

 

just got the cycle country 3 point hitch, CC moldboard plow and CC disc. Assembly was required, now I'm waiting for the ATV mount for my Foreman to come Fri so it can be tested. Will post once I've used it.

 

The CC is like the Koplin... will be interested in seeing your pics and hearing your opinion of it.

 

well....we're pretty happy with the equipment from cycle country. The plot that we did is a grass field that was never tilled. I was told to disc it first, pick up rocks, disc again, then rocks and then plow it, pick up rocks and finally disc it again. ALOT of time was spent picking up ALOT of ROCKS. To make life easier I am going to spray the grass with Round Up just to make life easier the next time we disc.

We made a couple of mistakes. First, the grass should have been killed. The root system of the grass was almost 3 inches thick! If the grass was dead it would have been 100x easier. Next, the wieght of the quad and the implement is not enough. CC should have developed their implements with trays so more weight could be placed on the implement. We wound up strapping 3 bags of portland cement on the back rack of the foreman. That was enough weight to do the trick. When we disked with the added weight the implement worked like a charm. But the down links bent as a result of all the down pressure. So we fabbed the link arms out of thicker steel. Did the trick.

Just remember when making a food plot..if the land has never been tilled get ready to pick up alot of rocks before you can the soil how you like it. I got a deal of the century on the hitch and implements....if I had to pay full price I would advise you not to buy. For that amount of money buy yourself a tractor.

 

NY450ES, take a look at my pictures. Last fall I had to dig a trench for a new water line which exposed a lot of rocks, some up to 30" in diameter. I have kind of a before and after picture showing the rocks before I cleared any. I just used the rake on my ag. system to wind row the rocks and then scooped them up with my small tractor. It still isn't finished but over the summer I will finish it up.

Putting the weight on the back rack is a lot better than putting it on the implement from my experience. When the weight is on the implement once it is on the ground that weight is working against the ATV. On everything I have tried my Traxtor has worked well without extra weight but the option is still there to add weight if I ever need it.

 

Reb2,
I wish we had a tractor to scoop the rocks up. Why do you think placing weight on the implement would work against ATV? I figured it would push the implement in the ground and there would be LESS strain on the link arms. I bent one side pretty bad because the disc would forcibly be pushed up off of the ground and the link arms would get the full brunt of that force when I had all that weight on the back rack. I think if the weight was on the implement those link arms would not have had the pressure exerted on it....the disc would have taken the brunt and might have broke instead too. Who knows whats better. I appreciate your info....if you have any more tips, please respond. I am willing to try different ways to come up with the best way of using these implements. By the way are you using the CC 3 point hitch?
-John

 

It is a lot easier for the ATV to haul the weight than to drag the weight. With the weight is on the implement, once the implement is on the ground you are dragging it along with the extra weight. If the weight is on the back rack it is helping you traction wise but you aren't dragging the extra weight. I did some expermenting on this with the trailer type ag. systems which your three point system wouldn't be as bad as the trailer type system but would still have some of the same effect. I suspect the reason the link arms bent isn't because you did anything wrong, just the system is built too light and the design is unforgiving.

The system I have is one I designed and built because I couldn't find a system that would do what I wanted to do and hold up. If you look at my system you will see that I apply a forgiving down pressure which means if I hit something while plowing the implement can raise without lifting the back of the ATV. Once the implement gets over the object then it automatically goes back down. My system also doesn't lift the back of the ATV when down pressure is applied like your CC system does so traction issues are miminized. Just click on the camera below my name and you will see what I am talking about.

 

yup I see your point. The CC hitch has the ability to float if I take a pin out. When I let it float the disc doesn't work as well, only because of all the rocks. If there wasn't that many rocks...it would be better to use the float system. I wish I had known about your product sooner!

 

Wow, that looks like a very good setup for your 3 point hitch. Do you make them for anyone or are you waiting until you patent is done before that happens? I've looked at the CC, Koplin and a couple of others but none look as good as your setup does. Is the setup the same for the front to apply the down pressure?

 

I am working with a fab company to build the first production model which will prove out my prints. Once that is done I will build a small batch, 3 or 4, which are presold. That will get a few other people using them so I can see what kind of problems they may have in operating them. From there I will start offering them for sale.

The snowplow system uses the same principles. Last fall I sold several so people could start using them and I could get the feed back. The end result was there wasn't a single problem with any of them. We get a fair amount of snow here so each of these systems received a good work out. I expect this fall I will start offering the snowplow system to the general market.

These systems have been developed over an 8 year period so you can see I haven't pushed it. I want to make sure they serve a purpose.