what should you look out for in a pick up hitch

f140

I have a Ford 5000 with the original pick up hitch and want to give it a bit of an assessment. Basically the Fiats I have have dromone pick up hitches which are fierce tight. On the other hand the pick up hitch on the 5000 could be 40 years old and never touched. (I only own this tractor with 10 years).
I suppose to see how safe it is, in case some day I needed to shift something weighing 10 tonne and don't want to see it taking off behind me? I nearly always use the bigger tractors for these jobs but you never know when you would be caught.


What should I be checking for safety on this/ possibly even replacing on it? What is even a safe weight to pull with these pick up hitches?

mythos110

f140 wrote: »

I have a Ford 5000 with the original pick up hitch and want to give it a bit of an assessment. Basically the Fiats I have have dromone pick up hitches which are fierce tight. On the other hand the pick up hitch on the 5000 could be 40 years old and never touched. (I only own this tractor with 10 years).
I suppose to see how safe it is, in case some day I needed to shift something weighing 10 tonne and don't want to see it taking off behind me? I nearly always use the bigger tractors for these jobs but you never know when you would be caught.


What should I be checking for safety on this/ possibly even replacing on it? What is even a safe weight to pull with these pick up hitches?

Not to be a smart arse, but for 10 tonne, I would be looking to see where I parked the Fiat!

Its a valid question though and I get your point. Is there a bar across the hinge point under the tractor (where the hitch pivots when hooks are open? Step one would be to check for play there and to see if there is any wear/cracks on that hinge point. After that I would check the bar that holds the latching hooks (where they pivot when you pull the lever) that there is not too much play there and lastly where the hooks contact the dropping part of the hitch itself. If these are not snug, a bit of rattling at the wrong moment could cause these to un-latch.

I put a few grease nipples on the latching hooks-bar on the landini a few years ago as they were very tight and wouldn't always close when you raised the hitch. No problems with is since.

Pretty much depends on the type of hitch it is I suppose?

blue5000

Put a dromone hitch on the 5000.

f140

blue5000 wrote: »

Put a dromone hitch on the 5000.

haha would be the job alright except 95% of the time its only the lingage which is used (and 90% of that time on the rauch spreader)