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Comment by h2odragon | Hacker News Reader

The forces that go through that coupling are immense. The tool free, one person (with luck) stuff we have now is a triumph of engineering compared to some of the methods tried before then, I'm sure.

Questions: How often have you done this before? Have you gone and asked someone with more experience for tips and ideas on how to make it easier? Have you trawled the tractor forums looking for advice? Or are you a new user of a developed technology with 50+ years of service who has immediately decided it sucks and needs rethinking?

I personally agree with you that PTO couplings suck; hydraulic drive is a lot easier from a user perspective, but there are a number of tricks to make handling the job easier. Grease the pins, never drop an implement on the ground but leave it on a pallet you can move, etc. A winch on the tractor can be very useful, especially with a pulley or two on the ROPS.

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Thanks for the ideas.

I am not entirely a newbie. I have operated tractors before but I have always preferred (sexism alert)a big strong male around to do it.

I was messing around with a new implement I got from Italy and wasn’t easily compatible with the Kubota quick hitch ..Altho it is technically supposed to be compatible.

I don’t know if it’s smoke filled air or the 95+ degree heat but it was incredibly disheartening.

Straight talk: this is NOT meant for female muscles. Lack of easy sophistication excludes women from working with machinery like this. It’s really heavy. Tractor is about a ton(doesn’t matter anyways) and try reciprocating spader is about 266 kilos. The drive train is already heavier than the Kubota approved land pride implements. What’s the point of third party implements if it doesn’t fit like a glove?

Having said that Kubota and land pride come together like a dream and I bought a special quick hitch for that. Smooth as butter. But I really want to try new implements and re fabricate parts of existing work. Even if I can design and visualize it..I literally can’t heave and ho ridiculous tonnage like this. I am not built for power lifting. I almost broke down and cried today.

I have a theory that for women, it's really the middle ground that is hardest; small light things are easy enough for anyone, and very heavy things level the playing field also; nobody, man or woman is going to lift something that weighs 500 lbs., so you use pulleys and winches and hydraulics to make life easier. But the middle ground is tough because you might have to lift something 150-200+ pounds which will exclude most women and a number of men, but may still be light enough to not normally demand assistive machinery.

In any case, I've had my challenges with PTO shafts on a Kubota + Land Pride mower. The other comment about greasing the PTO shaft & coupler is probably a good start.

I found the biggest challenge to be holding down the retaining ring(?) while simultaneously rotating and pushing the PTO shaft onto the PTO. I don't know about the layout of your spader, but anything to help take the weight off so you can just worry about the alignment part will probably help.

I had land pride as well third party implements. Land pride was easy only because the Kubota dealer person was there to help me. He came down as a favour on a Saturday. And he did it easily only because he was stronger than I.

Re: landpride: The pin to get the shaft to the spline is done blind and with strength. The quick hitch makes it easier to align it while reversing. It’s smarter and still very impractical.

The spader was tricker. I had to remove the quick hitch and tried to keep guessing the right alignment by playing around with the turnbuckle. (Also made me realize what a great investment the quick hitch was..)

And finally after I got it done, I couldn’t get it running even though the PTO was rotating. And I couldn’t figure out how get to the spader gearbox. And I gave up at that point.

Good point wrt taking the weight off the shaft..a height adjustable weight bearing device would do the trick. So simple but it didn’t strike me! Thanks!

You’re welcome! It sounds like you had a frustrating day. I’ve definitely been there and have the stories also. I hope your next attempt goes more smoothly.

I just got a quick hitch myself recently and it’s like magic! The only downside is that I couldn’t find one that worked with my mower as well as the other implements. I think I can fabricate a mount for the mower to work.

Good luck!

ok. so i did some shopping. a truck mounted winch..i might probably return this. block and tackle with brake + 2 slings. its like petzl mountaineering gear but i guess you can also get it at fishing places and for heaving heavy stuff. i might also pick up some kind of a jack. i am going to try different options and see what works out.

i am disappointed that i cant play with magnets. i love magnets. but i dont think its suitable for this. i will have to find another problem to use them magnets as a solution.

It would be challenging to adapt in current circumstances with diesel-powered tractors, but electrically-powered tractors might be able to make use of electromagnetic couplings (at least to get the process initiated). You might be on to something for future use.

Good luck with the new attempt. It seems like you're well-armored for the task. Go forth and conquer!

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