So as stated in this thread I was intrigued by this attachment and had decided to order one.
http://www.greentractortalk.com/foru...-toolrack.html
I was particularly looking for a carryall, some ballast and a trailer hitch. There are some other companies that offer some of these options or even all of them, but this seemed like it was really the fit I was looking for compared to some of the other options. This is almost like adding a pickup bed to the tractor vs. a trailer hitch/ballast option that might include a carryall box. My usage didn't require the concentration being on ballast or trailer hitch, but I wanted to have some of both those options.
The ordering was simple and easy, the owner followed up and communication was great. Everything was timely and as expected.
Here is how it was packaged as delivered to a business I have a relationship with that i usually get my tractor implements delivered to. As most are probably aware shipping is usually easier and less expensive when delivered to a business with a dock and forklift than at home/farm even though most of use have the equivalent of a forklift with our tractors shipping companies don't want to deal with no one at home, tractor not big enough ... for the difference in pricing they offer the vendors.
WP_20140613_001.jpgWP_20140613_002.jpgWP_20140613_003.jpg
Now as it happens on this particular day I did not have access to the pickup I would normally use to transport implements/attachments from the friendly business to my home. The BTR is also designed to attach to a trailer hitch so I figured I'd use the Jeep to bring it home by mounting it on the trailer hitch. This brings to mind that there might be some non tractor uses for this item. I might explore that in the future, it looks like this could be an excellent carry all for camping and I'm sure other uses.
WP_20140613_006.jpg
So I get it home and now need to take it off the trailer hitch on the Jeep. Run into a slight issue here, entirely the fault of the trailer hitch not the BTR. I have an extension on the hitch to clear the spare tire. It works ok, but can end up creating a weird angle and binding the removal of items attached. Have had issues with other hitch mounted items such as my mountain bike rack before. This is clearly not as issue with the BTR itself.
I figure I will use the tractor and forks to put a pallet right underneath the BTR and then use the tractor to pull it out of the hitch. Now as it turns out I'm trying to do this in the middle of a rain storm and minutes away from a thunderstorm and lightning so I'm probably in too much of a hurry. You can see I have a bad angle on the pallet here for example. I end up lifting the forks a little to high and actually lift the rear of the Jeep almost off the ground and also actually pulling my Jeep backwards a couple inches. I'm thinking at this point I probably just messed up my brand new BTR and this really sucks. Well that turned out not to be the case. This did absolutely nothing to the BTR at all. It was still in perfect shape this thing is in fact an incredibly substantial and heavy duty piece of kit!
IMG_1159.jpg
So at this point I actually have some Thunderstorms and it is getting dark. More on this review to continue tomorrow as I attach it to the tractor and start using it
http://www.greentractortalk.com/foru...-toolrack.html
I was particularly looking for a carryall, some ballast and a trailer hitch. There are some other companies that offer some of these options or even all of them, but this seemed like it was really the fit I was looking for compared to some of the other options. This is almost like adding a pickup bed to the tractor vs. a trailer hitch/ballast option that might include a carryall box. My usage didn't require the concentration being on ballast or trailer hitch, but I wanted to have some of both those options.
The ordering was simple and easy, the owner followed up and communication was great. Everything was timely and as expected.
Here is how it was packaged as delivered to a business I have a relationship with that i usually get my tractor implements delivered to. As most are probably aware shipping is usually easier and less expensive when delivered to a business with a dock and forklift than at home/farm even though most of use have the equivalent of a forklift with our tractors shipping companies don't want to deal with no one at home, tractor not big enough ... for the difference in pricing they offer the vendors.
WP_20140613_001.jpgWP_20140613_002.jpgWP_20140613_003.jpg
Now as it happens on this particular day I did not have access to the pickup I would normally use to transport implements/attachments from the friendly business to my home. The BTR is also designed to attach to a trailer hitch so I figured I'd use the Jeep to bring it home by mounting it on the trailer hitch. This brings to mind that there might be some non tractor uses for this item. I might explore that in the future, it looks like this could be an excellent carry all for camping and I'm sure other uses.
WP_20140613_006.jpg
So I get it home and now need to take it off the trailer hitch on the Jeep. Run into a slight issue here, entirely the fault of the trailer hitch not the BTR. I have an extension on the hitch to clear the spare tire. It works ok, but can end up creating a weird angle and binding the removal of items attached. Have had issues with other hitch mounted items such as my mountain bike rack before. This is clearly not as issue with the BTR itself.
I figure I will use the tractor and forks to put a pallet right underneath the BTR and then use the tractor to pull it out of the hitch. Now as it turns out I'm trying to do this in the middle of a rain storm and minutes away from a thunderstorm and lightning so I'm probably in too much of a hurry. You can see I have a bad angle on the pallet here for example. I end up lifting the forks a little to high and actually lift the rear of the Jeep almost off the ground and also actually pulling my Jeep backwards a couple inches. I'm thinking at this point I probably just messed up my brand new BTR and this really sucks. Well that turned out not to be the case. This did absolutely nothing to the BTR at all. It was still in perfect shape this thing is in fact an incredibly substantial and heavy duty piece of kit!
IMG_1159.jpg
So at this point I actually have some Thunderstorms and it is getting dark. More on this review to continue tomorrow as I attach it to the tractor and start using it