I have a John Deere X304 lawn tractor. The 'hitch' is really just a little bracket in back with a 3/4" hole. That's fine until I want to turn. This tractor has 4 wheel turning with a radius of about 15" and whatever I'm towing tends to run into the rear tires. I have to be careful with my little lawn cart but it's not too bad. It got really bad with a dethatcher last weekend. that has a sort of V shaped attachment. So I looked around on the internet for some sort of extension to the hitch that would extend the attachment point back past the rear wheels. I found one product but the reviews weren't very good and I could see why.
I guess I'm spoiled. Here I am with my wallet out and I can't find something that I want that, "surely, other people would also want". We tend to think of our universe of available goods and services as nearly unlimited but it's really not.
I couldn't find what I needed. So, like any good Creeker, I made one.
You can see in the photo below a 2" piece of square tubing bolted to my tractor. A 3" piece of bar at right angles keeps it from shifting right and left. The turnbuckle keeps the whole thing from bending down. You can see my lawn cart attached to another piece of plate. A smaller piece of tubing would have sufficed but I did it all with scrap on hand.
This project is sort of emblematic of the answer I give to people when they ask what I make in my shop. I tell them that I make "Precisely what I want". Back in Kansas City, my old doctor has a wood shop and he makes rocking horses. Somebody has a baby, they get a rocking horse. Charity auction? Rocking horse. This weekend it was a hitch extension. Next weekend, I will be laser engraving 200 Christmas ornaments.
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