# Ball hitch for lawn tractor, need help...



## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 4, 2014)

Hi all, I just got a new wood hauler and I'm looking to put a 2" ball on the back so I can tow my husky 22 around the yard. Please direct me to the easiest and cheapest way to get this done, thanks so much.....


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## Big papa (Jul 4, 2014)

I've seen them at tractor supply with a bolt on bottom appears as if u can just bolt it through the hole u have ur wagon hooked up to in pic


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## TreePointer (Jul 4, 2014)

I use the HITCHIN' POST / GOOD VIBRATIONS 3-Way Hitch Plate on our lawn tractor.  Works great.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 4, 2014)

Big papa said:


> I've seen them at tractor supply with a bolt on bottom appears as if u can just bolt it through the hole u have ur wagon hooked up to in pic


It's a pretty thin hole, but thanks....


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## Beer Belly (Jul 4, 2014)

Right behind the drivers seat.....drill a hole and mount the ball....or, can anything be done with the bagger mount (if you have one)


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## Big papa (Jul 4, 2014)

I have a similar tractor all the metal is the same thickness so not sure what would b sturdier to hook to unless u were to build something


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 4, 2014)

If I put a ball in the hole that the cart is connected to, would that be too low for the splitter? It is probably 6" off the ground... Thanks...


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 4, 2014)

Big papa said:


> I have a similar tractor all the metal is the same thickness so not sure what would b sturdier to hook to unless u were to build something


Oh, I was referring to the size hole that the cart pin hoes in, it is not wide, definitely less than 1 ".....


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## BrotherBart (Jul 4, 2014)

I pulled my splitter around with a 1 7/8" ball through the hole like that for years through three garden tractors. I recently bought a two inch hitch receiver for the current one but the ball through the hole works just fine.


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## Beer Belly (Jul 4, 2014)

Beer Belly said:


> Right behind the drivers seat.....drill a hole and mount the ball....or, can anything be done with the bagger mount (if you have one)


 What I mean, was thru the body


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## 2biker (Jul 4, 2014)

Like Bart, I drilled out the existing hole on a Craftsman tractor to accommodate a       1 7/8" ball and pulled my 20 ton splitter with no problem. No need to get fancy or spend any more money.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 4, 2014)

Thanks guys, the hole is 1/2 in, I found a 2" ball with a 3/4 in shank for $16.99.....
So far this the way I'm leaning, thanks for helping....


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## bobdog2o02 (Jul 4, 2014)

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:


> Thanks guys, the hole is 1/2 in, I found a 2" ball with a 3/4 in shank for $16.99.....
> So far this the way I'm leaning, thanks for helping....



Do it, i drilled another hole offset from the original, this way my lawn cart doesnt bang around as much, works fine on my Husqvara GT48xls


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## TreePointer (Jul 5, 2014)

That HITCHIN' POST I linked to above does it all with no modifications to the lawn tractor.  It's a direct bolt on to the pin hole of the tractor's tow plate and is stable because of it's anti-rotation plate..  I bolted a 2" ball to the top of it for my Huskee splitter, yet there is also a pin hole for the other equipment I tow behind (cart, lawn sweeper, spreader).   It has built in hooks to attach the safety chains of the splitter/trailer/etc.  I highly recommend it.

Lawn tractor is a 2009 Husqvarna 2354GXLS.


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## Big papa (Jul 5, 2014)

Just depends on how fancy u wanna go and what is safe don't think u have to worry about high rates of speed and breaking but what do I know


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## TreePointer (Jul 5, 2014)

Yeah, that tractor doesn't have "high speed" even without a load.  The thing I like best about the HITCHIN' POST is that I don't have to bolt, unbolt, or change anything when I switch from towing a the cart (pin) to the log splitter (ball).  

Another thing the HITCHIN' POST does is raise the ball a bit higher above simply attaching the ball directly to the tractor's pin hole.  The higher position keeps the splitter's tow bar closer to horizontal.

I'll try to get some pictures with the splitter and the cart tomorrow.


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## Big papa (Jul 5, 2014)

I don't think u can go wrong with tree pointers idea seems pretty practical but I sometimes just look at quickest way to go. So $19 for hitchen post $16 for ball =$35for a do all hitch sounds reasonable to me


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 5, 2014)

I found the same type of ball for 6bucks, the shipping costs more than the ball at HF and FindAHitch.....


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## mustash29 (Jul 5, 2014)

I have the 3 nib grass bagger, which has a larger mount than the one you have.  I had a buddy add some beef & a hitch plate to it that will accept the ball.  It works great when you can keep the splitter tongue level.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/woody-mustash.110700/  (pics in post #15)


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 5, 2014)

mustash29 said:


> I have the 3 nib grass bagger, which has a larger mount than the one you have.  I had a buddy add some beef & a hitch plate to it that will accept the ball.  It works great when you can keep the splitter tongue level.
> 
> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/woody-mustash.110700/  (pics in post #15)


I like it thanks, I'm going to try BB's way first but if I don't like it, I'm going that way........I'm not hauling very far, just along the driveway, but I really like what you did.....thanks....


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## mustash29 (Jul 5, 2014)

In the beginning, I had drilled out the regular hitch hole to accept the 3/4" shank on the ball.  That worked but connecting & dis-connecting the splitter was a HUGH PITA because the tongue was at such an angle, the hitch coupler did not like to release.

The 3 bin grass bagger mount hangs on a shoulder bolt on each side of the tractor frame & attaches to the hitch hole with a pin & cotter pin.  The whole mess comes off in 30 seconds.  The only drawback is that I have the fat 22 x 11 tires, so I have to remove the shoulder bolts (and loose the bagger mount / ball hitch option) when I want to run tire chains.

I works great, beats the heck out of manually lugging a 700 lb splitter around my hilly yard.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 5, 2014)

Great advice and thanks for sharing the experience, your tractor looks like mine but is much more cleaner, I found out mine was sold in 99 after I bought it, the guy told me it was about 8 years old, I got fooled but I never had a tractor before so in the end I'm happy.... I lug my huskee 22 slowly up my rock driveway, sometimes I get my son to help so it is easier, but I think im going to see a big difference when I get it hooked up to the tractor......


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## BrotherBart (Jul 6, 2014)

Yeah. Three minutes to screw the nut on the hitch ball, doesn't have to be nailed down for a road trip, and three minutes to take it back off. 

Lug that sucker.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 6, 2014)

Like my neighbor says."If you have 'chinery. Use 'chinery."


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## gzecc (Jul 6, 2014)

Bolt this on, up side down. Little pricey, but looks right.
http://prohitches.com/117242


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## gzecc (Jul 6, 2014)

Here's the ticket! http://www.mowersdirect.com/Great-Day-LNPHH650/p3446.html


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 8, 2014)

gzecc said:


> Here's the ticket! http://www.mowersdirect.com/Great-Day-LNPHH650/p3446.html


I was looking at that......thanks....
My buddy made me a simple little plate, I got a ball at pep boys for 11.99. Didn't want to drive a half hour or wait 4 days to get to HF store, they had it for $6.84, now that's cheap.....
I will send pics tomorrow, it isn't pretty but it does the trick and it was free, I don't even have to waste 3 min changing things around, I still got the trailer hole freed up.... Thanks all for your help.....but I think BEERBELLY wins this one for the best answer..... Will send pics tomorrow, stay tuned........but really, thank you all...... No more lugging that sucker...


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 8, 2014)

P.s. Where the hell has Dennis been? He ok?.....


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 9, 2014)

Simple piece of metal with three holes does the trick just fine, I don't even have to lift the front stand, it's a few inches off the ground, works like a charm.....thanks again all.....


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## prezes13 (Jul 10, 2014)

I did the same thing that brother Bart did.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 10, 2014)

prezes13 said:


> I did the same thing that brother Bart did.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That looks good too....


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## Adios Pantalones (Jul 14, 2014)

I cut the threaded part off a ball hitch and welded it to the bracket that I have to attach for my bagger. Works great, and easy to convert back.


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## velvetfoot (Jul 14, 2014)

I have a Harbor Freight 30 ton splitter that is a simple I beam with a trailer hitch mounted on that I beam;  it's pretty heavy for me to lift up to vertical and I think too much weight for the weak metal on my lawn tractor-there doesn't seem to be any metal that won't bend back there, and I don't thing the lawn tractor body would take it either, for long.  Anyway, I just have to haul it out to the end of the driveway, so my needs aren't that great.  I took the stands off my Harbor Freight trailer dolly, hook that up to the splitter and tie the handle to the hitch hole with a rope.  The angle is extreme, but it hasn't come off yet, and then I can use the dolly to move it into position.  Ideally, it should be modified or a custom one fabricated so the angles are right, but I have no skills.  I haven't found anything like that on the web, except for one student who did it as a welding project.


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## Ashful (Jul 14, 2014)

Big papa said:


> I don't think u can go wrong with tree pointers idea seems pretty practical but I sometimes just look at quickest way to go. So $19 for hitchen post $16 for ball =$25 for a do all hitch sounds reasonable to me


No opinions / skin in this game... but I did pass 2nd grade arithmetic.  :lol
19 + 16 = 35


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## Big papa (Jul 14, 2014)

Joful said:


> No opinions / skin in this game... but I did pass 2nd grade arithmetic.  :lol
> 19 + 16 = 35


Hope I never see u post a mistake. I'm watching u lol


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## Ashful (Jul 14, 2014)

Big papa said:


> Hope I never see u post a mistake. I'm watching u lol


Oh geez... I post so much mis-information here, you're going to get bored with that in no time flat!


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jul 14, 2014)

velvetfoot said:


> I have a Harbor Freight 30 ton splitter that is a simple I beam with a trailer hitch mounted on that I beam;  it's pretty heavy for me to lift up to vertical and I think too much weight for the weak metal on my lawn tractor-there doesn't seem to be any metal that won't bend back there, and I don't thing the lawn tractor body would take it either, for long.  Anyway, I just have to haul it out to the end of the driveway, so my needs aren't that great.  I took the stands off my Harbor Freight trailer dolly, hook that up to the splitter and tie the handle to the hitch hole with a rope.  The angle is extreme, but it hasn't come off yet, and then I can use the dolly to move it into position.  Ideally, it should be modified or a custom one fabricated so the angles are right, but I have no skills.  I haven't found anything like that on the web, except for one student who did it as a welding project.


Got a pic, would be great......


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## velvetfoot (Jul 14, 2014)

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:


> Got a pic, would be great......


This is what I had read in the past:
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=144834


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## TreePointer (Jul 16, 2014)

Here are the Hitchin' Post pictures I promised.  35-ton Huskee is not perfectly level but it tows fine.  You'll also notice that its hitch pin hole is only a little higher than the tractor's hitch pin hole.  This means that carts and other towables designed for lawn tractors will remain fairly level.

If you decide to use this product, remember to get a ball with a shorter shank.


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## velvetfoot (Jul 16, 2014)

That tractor seems a lot beefier than the one I have.  I tried that hitching post, I believe, but I returned it because it seemed to be bending the thin metal it was mounted on.


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## Jags (Jul 16, 2014)

Many of the lighter stamped bodies can pull fine (think cart), but can't handle much for tongue weight.  It can bend or start to fatigue the metal pretty quick.  About the only solution to that is to add some beef to it.

ETA - keep in mind folks, if the back end connection is of light duty that should tell you that its towing capacity is light duty as well.  Keep the loads reasonable.  There are lots of the "shift on the fly" type transmissions out there that simply aren't designed to be a pulling tractor.


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## TreePointer (Jul 16, 2014)

Our Husqvarna lawn tractor pictured above is a 2009 model, and regrettably, doesn't have the beefy rear plate plate our venerable Wheel Horse had. 

When I was looking for a solution for mounting a 2" ball for the splitter, I came to the conclusion that a device which mounts in multiple points (many examples in this thread) would be better than simply mounting a ball directly or mounting one to a Hitchin' Post.  I even came across a multi-point mount that had a lower part supported in the bend of the real plate and not at the hitch pin hole.

In the end, I decided to save some money and use that Hitchin' Post.  When I tow the splitter with that tractor, it's only around the driveway and not more than 50 yards onto mowed lawn.  Even though I haven't noticed any deformation or other issues, I am keeping an eye out for issues.  Time will tell if that rear plate holds (fingers crossed).


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