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Telescoping Hitch
"We move 4-WD 500-gal. fuel wagons around quite often to service our Deutz diesel irrigation engines. It's difficult to hitch a heavy fixed wagon tongue to your pickup when you're alone so about three years ago, we developed a telescoping hitch that makes it easy for one person to hook up," says Jeff Merwin, S.H. Merwi
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Telescoping Hitch HITCHES Hitches 19-5-9 "We move 4-WD 500-gal. fuel wagons around quite often to service our Deutz diesel irrigation engines. It's difficult to hitch a heavy fixed wagon tongue to your pickup when you're alone so about three years ago, we developed a telescoping hitch that makes it easy for one person to hook up," says Jeff Merwin, S.H. Merwin & Sons, Inc., Clarksburg, Calif.
"All you have to do is back within 8 in. of the tongue, telescope the tongue to hook up, secure the safety chain, then back up to latch the telescoping portion into transport position and drive away.
"I first saw the idea on an old wagon running gear, and adapted it with for my purposes, adding a spring to prevent accidental telescoping due to bouncing in transit.
"The telescoping tongue consists of a 22-in. length of 2 1/2-in. dia. pipe nested inside a 48-in. long piece of 3-in. dia. pipe. There's a 3/4-in. wide by 9-in. long slot cut in each side of the outer pipe, starting 4 in. back from the end of it. The slots accommodate a 6-in. long by 11/16-in. dia. pin which sticks through the in-side pipe and extends out either side. The pin is 1/2 in. from the back of the inside pipe, and allows the inside pipe to slide in and out the length of the slot.
"The spring-loaded mechanism that holds the sliding pin in place consists of two 6-in. long hooks cut out of 1/2 in. thick flat steel. They mount on either side of the outer pipe and automatically latch onto the pin when the tongue is retracted. The two hooks pivot on a 5/8 by 6-in. bolt with locknut. A 2 1/2 in. coil spring holds the hooks down.
"The tongue is 5 1/2 ft. long in the trans-port and telescopes out to just over 6 ft."
Merwin also made a telescoping draw-bar for the back of a 24-ft. Krause disk that he says makes it easy for one man to hitch a 26-ft. roller behind the disk.
"It's made of a piece of 4-in. sq. tubing slipped over 3-in. tubing. We fashioned 2-in. wedges which allow up to a foot of side sway when the drawbar is telescoped. Once you've hooked onto the roller and you back up the disk, the wedges center the drawbar into position. The drawbar is held in working position with pins on both the roller and the disk. A trailer jack mounted on the roller holds the tongue up while hitching.
"The drawbar extends about 6 ft. beyond the back of the disc which enables tight turns on headlands without binding roller and disc."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Merwin, S.H. Merwin & Sons Inc., 38065 Z Line Rd., Clarksburg, Calif. 95612 (ph 916 775-1698 or 775-1653).
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