420 John Deere 3 point hitch

[Gregory M]

here are some pictures of the 3 point hitch i made for my 1990 420 garden tractor. i have abou $200 into it.

 

[5lima30]

Nice job! I love those 300 & 400 series JD's! Hard to find a decent one at a reasonable price around here. Now you're ready to fab some Cat 0 implements for that hitch!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I might have to steal your design. I like it, and do need to move a trailier once and a while, and it would be nice to be able to use my tractor...

 

[DekeT]

That is seriously nice work. 420 and 318 are the best ever from Deere. Can we see a closer pic of how you connected to the rockshaft.

 

[bad_idea]

being from suburbia and clueless about tractors, could you explain why the hitch is mounted at 3 moveable points on the tractor?

 

[5lima30]

The 3 point hitch is moveable because the lift arms are hooked to hydraulics that can be controlled from the seat. You can back up to a trailer with your hitch in the lowered position and raise it up engaging the trailer coupler without leaving the seat of the tractor and w/o any back strain!

 

[DekeT]

being from suburbia and clueless about tractors, could you explain why the hitch is mounted at 3 moveable points on the tractor?

That is a good question. The simplest answer is that you must be able to lift and lower the implements so the points must be able to rotate. There is more.

With a 3 point hitch the implement behind the tractor can be adjusted to engage the ground at the most optimum angle, pitch, or height. The hitch will hold the implement at the position the operator drops or adjusts it to. Each arm can be adjusted to get the best use of each of the 3 pt tools. There are literally dozens(hundreds) of different kinds of 3 pt implements. Your hitch needs to be able to be easily use all kinds and that is why the points are moveable.

3 pt hitches were way more easy and versatile to use than a simple hitch or two point connection from several decades ago. It became the industry standard for tractors and universality of implements. To the unpracticed it is still a difficult and injurious way to attach tractor implements. 3 pt hitches are PITA, but changing the industry standard now is cost prohibitive. Several new items are on the market that make it easier to attach an implement to the hitch.

 

[helstar]

going to start mine. great job and im sure the picks help me out. how did you decide the length on the lower bars and uppers. did you have a print to go off of?

 

[98ramtough]

Sweet garden tractor! Love all the heavy duty old ones. Especially the 140, 318 and 420. Myself I have a 455 that I hold real dear to my heart.