Side-Mounted Mower Telescopes To The Side

Side-Mounted Mower Telescopes To The Side FARM HOME Lawn Mowers (31h,38) 23-5-32 Mowing ditches and the edges of ponds is no longer a problem for Grant Strong, Wabash, Ind., who made a telescoping hitch that mounts on back of his utility tractor. It lets him operate a 21-in. lawn mower 4 ft. out to the side of his tractor. The mower, with its handle removed, swivels on the end of a 7-ft. long, 1 1/2-in. dia. steel pipe that fits inside a 2-in. dia. pipe. The inside pipe is held in place by a pair of set screws. The 2-in. dia. pipe attaches to a hinge on a piece of 3-in. channel iron that's clamped to the back of the tractor. The hinge allows the pipe and mower to flex up or down. The mower is held by a steel frame made out of flat iron and pipe. "I use it to mow along the edge of a pond and also to mow the steep banks along my neighbors' driveways. So far I haven't bent anything and it's worked fine," says Strong. "I use my 35 hp Ford 800 tractor to pull it. By adjusting the upper link on the 3-pt. I can mow up to 3 ft. above or below the level position. I generally rotate the 1 1/2-in. dia. pipe so that the front part of the mower angles upward and is therefore less likely to catch on anything. I push the pipe all the way in for road transport or to go through gates. By using bigger pipes, the same idea could be used to set the mower out farther or to pull a heavier mower." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Grant F. Strong, 4491 W. 100 S., Wabash, Ind. 46992 (ph 219 563-7168).

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