You Haven't seen a Mini Excavator Trailer Hitch Like this (100% custom)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- After much thought and planning I"ve finally put my idea into motion here in the shop today en route to building a trailer hitch for my mini excavator. My goal is to use scrap steel pieces I have on hand and make the hitch able to be removed by removing a few bolts. I'm not looking to weld a hitch onto my blade as I want to continue to use the blade for its primary function of stability and soil moving. This mini excavator is an older style with the blade recessed back under the mini excavator a ways so will be a bit of a challenge to find the right design. Tune in to see what I come up with as I think it's a good one! Thanks for watching everyone, here we go!
Looks good. Should work just fine.
Thanks Gene!
The cows and the pigs recognise the hand that feed them. The tractor re-condition worked out great. Nice video of the final fixes and start up. Rebuilding the heart of the farm and ready for the spring chores. This comment was meant for a farming channel but u-tube and the Universe decided otherwise. Nice build on the attachment.
I'm back in action, ready to go!
Nicely done Sandy. Your right, get out and do it. Have a great day!
Thanks Paul! You Too
Sandy, you never fail to amaze me with your ingenuity! A very nice, well thought out fabrication job. All you need now is a Mig welder and you're set! Great Job!!
Thanks Carl!
Next thing you know the channel name changes to "Sandy's Fabrication Shop". You did a great job with that hitch mount.
hahha I've got a lot to learn still if that's the case. Thanks for the support Wallace!
Well done. Nice finished project. One more off the ever expanding list.
That list will never end I don't think. That's ok though I enjoy most everything on the list (except the really bad jobs)
I like your idea Sandy this is another one of those things that's going to make your life easier. Looks like you did a great job on that. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Jeff
Another design and build on the fly. It pays to keep scrap metal around. I am sure you will be doing a little tweaking as situation dictates. Well done.
Thank you! Yeah these little projects give me a good excuse to keep the scrap around for sure. Plus the price of steel is so expensive I don't like having to buy any
Good morning Sandy
That was a great fabrication job.
That’s going to be a great little add on tool for you.
Thanks for sharing with us.
As always stay safe and always be kind
Cheers
Thanks for coming along for the video today Gus
When you are working on the blade or the back end of your carriage it's much easier to turn the house sideways. It's easy for me to say after 50 yrs. as an equipment mechanic. You're learning and will soon learn the shortcuts. Great videos.
Thanks for that Roger, I was keeping the blade under the carriage to ensure clearance was maintained as I was test fitting
""WOW"" Nicely done Sandy....
Mike M.
Thanks Mike!
Nice welding and fabrication job on the mini x, great Video.
Thanks TJ!
Great job Sandy , very creative.
Thanks Perry
Good afternoon Sandy good job with the hitch that was well thought out and this way you can take the lig splitter with the mini excavator and not have to bring more than one equipment at the fire wood yard and I know you will find other things to pull with that new hitch have a great day
I'd like to give it a try moving around a little utility trailer for hauling some light brush
Great advice and another great invention there mate !!!!!! Awesome job !!!!!
Thanks David!
Awesome build. Now can add a winch and many more option. A Carry all platform would be handy for some uses. Need a quick couple bucket so you could added a grapple .
I like the idea of the quick couple bucket!
Overbuilt for need. I approve. I would use pins and a locking pin to attach it instead of bolts though. Good vid. Thanks.
I like that idea with the Pins Joe
My thought exactly...it all depends if you ever need to use it moving dirt and such with the blade and how often...if often, use pins...even if not, nuts/bolts always seem to rust together eventually and pins would eliminate having to cut the hitch bolts off to remove it when it happens.
Looking good, everything thing is coming together nicely. You are going to have a good organized operation. 👍
Thanks Del!
Fabricating with Sandy! I like it 😜 great video my friend cheers. 👌🏻🔥🇨🇦
hahah a few rough-looking welds but they held
That’s a fabulous job Sandy, it’s fun to fabricate with metal I find it a break from doing wood stuff.
Can’t wait to see it in action.
Nice work
I agree with ya there Russell. I like working with metal whenever I can as well.
You could tow a trailer with your Quad on it for those days you leave the excavator on the job site. You could even tow your log trailer as stout as to built the hitch. Nice job. 😊
Lots of good options now!
MM77 Approved 👍🏻👍🏻…………………………………You can pull your (empty)logging trailer with that. It should come in handy!!
I like that idea!
Nice. Mounting to the side holes on the blade sparks some ideas for a land plane build I am planning on. Thanks.
Right on!
Nice job! McGyver strikes again.
hahah lots of that going on around here
Great job!
Awesome idea !!
You need some gussets on the left and right side…..could even just be 2 pieces of the square tube cut with a 45 on both ends (take a speed square, line it up so the long side (hypotenuse) is along the edge (not the end) of your square tube , with the end of the long side at the end of your tube, trace the short side of your square across the tube face, now you need a matching line matching the other shirt side of your speed squat from the end of the first line back to the reference edge of your tube.
Now you have a 45, 45, 90 triangle dawn on one face of your tube. Cut through on the lines and you have a perfect gusset. Flip your speed square and draw 1 more Line and you have a pair of gussets.
Fit them to your tubes where they from the 90 so that all the open faces of what was tube stock before you cut will be covered and sealed with the welds. You probably have ti grind off the tips of the 90 degree points to fit around your previous weld.
This will make sure that you don’t get fatigue cracks and then rip off the receiver tube halfway between your sheds and the wood pile because that would just be a sad day. And you know it will happen on a chilly muddy day with a good wind going just to put the cherry on top.
Love your solutioning of things.
Thanks for that Greg. Glad you came along for the video
👍👍👍💙💛❤Un lucru bine facut. FELICITARI SANDY.💙💛❤👍👍👍🍀🍀🍀
I appreciate all the support Mircea!
That was a great idea Sandy, I’m sure it’s gonna do the job! Looking forward to seeing it in action! ✌🏼❤️🙏🏼
Thanks Mark!
Nicely done my friend.
Thanks for that Gerry!
Well thought out design made a great time saver with the hitch without compromising the function of the mini excavator great job
Thanks Glen!
That’s a nice setup. Looking forward to seeing it in action.
Thanks Toby!
Sandy.... good job. Regards from JB, from Zeeland, Denmark.
Thanks JB. Great to have ya along for the video
Great job. I been wanting to do something like this with my mini for a while.
If you would take a little advice, you need a welding booth and a steal welding table. One little smoldering spark around all the wood in your shop, and it's gone in the night, hours later.
Cheers !!
That is good advice for sure. I end up having to watch it closely right now but would like a steel table to make things safer
Great looking fab work
😀Good Work Mr. Sandy.
Thanks Ben!
Great Job! High Fives Glad you didn't weld on the blade 🤠
Thanks John!
Just curious what you think you’re capable of pulling around weight wise? Is 2000 pounds out of the question?
Love your vids Sandy. Thanks for sharing your real life experience and tips in a down to earth, human way. Got my first sawmill on order, can't wait to get it!
Sorry if it's already been answered, what gear are you using to shoot your videos? Your video production is great, you're a man of many talents!
Thanks for that Korey! Greta to hear about the sawmill. You’ll really enjoy sawing I bet. I’m using an old GoPro. Can’t quite remember what model but it’s a few years old
@@sawingwithsandy Thanks! Do you use the built in mic?
I do
You did a great job.
Thanks for that!
Hilly Billy Engineering at it's best!!!
Will be testing it out real soon!
Nice job...it's great that you are filming in 4k - good camera angles! Thanks Sandy. I love to figure out things and then build it in my own shop as well. There is nothing more satisfying than a project figured out in your head and then actually built successfully!!
I’m with ya there Lorne. Great to get out and build things for sure
Great stuff Sandy. What about a permanent stud at one end, then a single bolt/locking pin at the other. Easy 1 man operation for assembly then.
I like the idea of the stud. Would be easier for install for sure. Thanks for that!
Very cool project! Well done! I saw another youtuber do something along those lines a couple years back and I've had that rolling in my head for a while. It would be very handy to lug around a dump trailer to move some dirt around without having to do a lot of back and forth with the mini or the tractor. Poor man's dump truck with digger tag along!
That sounds like a good setup to me! Make light work of some heavy chores for sure
Hi Sandy!!😀😀
Nice job!! It should work good.
Take care buddy!!😀😀💚💚
Logger Al
Hi Logger Al! Great to hear from ya and thanks for coming along for the. video
Looks like it should work fine,.....now for the test run.
Thanks John!
Ingenious Sandy! Should work well for you. Say, did you not have room in the shop to rotate the turret 90 degrees to give you room to work?
Hey Doug! I was making sure the hitch wouldn’t hit the carriage above so wanted to keep the blade underneath just in case I misjudged something
nice build. how about building a bunk trailer so you can use it with the mini-ex to load, forward, and deck logs at your log landings. i know it's kinda redundant with the log-loader-trailer, but a good demo project. could use log tongs hung from the back of the bucket in place of a grapple. with this setup the bucket would function as a heal rack. cheers
Sounds like a great idea Rocco!
Good fabrication job. Looks solid. Does the splitter have a swivel hitch such that if the splitter twists 30 degrees relative to the mini-exc it will be able to twist the hitch bar? This will be important since neither vehicle has any suspension to help keep them level, only the tire pressure of the splitter.
There’s no swivel on it. I figure it will be like my small trailer with solid suspension and rely on a bit of movement in the ball connection
Those dings dents and scratches are character/battle scars lol
hahah we think alike Doug!
Maybe weld tabs on the side of the blade to rest the hitch in while your mounting it 👊👍💪It's nice when you have equipment and skills to do stuff like that. 👊
I like that idea there Tim!
During my welding education at the Community College, I used a similar auto-darkening helmet to yours and began my arc with a stabbing motion, which resulted in significant sticking issues. However, everything changed when I accidentally left my helmet at home one day and had to borrow an old, inexpensive one from the tool room. This experience taught me that my auto helmet was fostering poor welding techniques. By switching to a fixed-shade helmet, I had to scratch the rod to initiate the arc and move it quickly to where I intended to begin welding, which was now illuminated. The result was fewer sticking problems. My advice to you: I recommend acquiring a fixed-shade helmet and mastering the scratch-start technique for initiating your arc.
I used to use one of the fixed shields as well. Still have it actually as a backup. Just found it wasn't as nice for my welding as the auto-darkening.
Awesome fabricating skills bro...That little cleat on the bottom of the support to keep it from rising up was great thinking! So satisfying to make stuff work the way you want it to! 👍
Thanks! Think it's going to work out well!
I am thinking one of your next projects should be an addition to your work building, looking crowded.
It sure is Brian. I need a shop about 100x100 for all the stuff I've got going on
Hi Sandy. The hitch looks great. It appears that you put some thought into it before you began the build. Would you by chance have a piece off all thread around the shop? I think it is the first time for me seeing how large the shop really is. Have good days!
I don't have a piece around but could grab one next time I'm in tow. Would be a good addition I think
If you bolt the side plates on first, then tac-weld the bar in between, you’ll be guaranteed a perfect fit. Not a big deal on this project but a tip for future ones. Great job nonetheless!
For sure. That would do the trick! Thanks Travis
good video and job. as good or better than i would have done. take care, be safe and well.
Thanks John!
Portland cement will white the oil stains on your shop floor when weather warms up
Thanks Vernon
Nice work with there of been any way to put a plate and the receiver up on the bottom of the counterweight? Just a thought
Hi Ed. I think that would be possible for sure. I just wanted to have the ability to swing the machine while towing something
@@sawingwithsandy yes, it would be tough to remember to lower the blade every time before you swing all the way around
Good morning, Sandy! It is a better idea for attaching the hitch, I like it. It is supposed to be 14C today, or is it just an April Fools day prank? Greetings from Peterborough.
I sure hope it's no April fools., I wouldn't mind those temperatures hanging around
Good job ☺☺ I thought when you went to mount it after the primer that it shrunk or the paint was too thick 😁😁
Remember the Red Green motto if the women don't find you handsome hope they find you handy 😆😆
hahaha I bet I"ve seen every episode of that old show.
That’s cool but I have mine on the back of the bucket so I move it with the swigging I don’t have to mass up the grass much but I’m down south where we don’t get the snow fall if it snows here we don’t work till it’s gone is not long most of the time .God Bless y’all and stay warm 😅
That would be a good spot for it as well I'd imagine Gene. Hope all is well with you down south. I'm hoping we get up to your temperatures around here before too long (wishful thinking I know haha)
How much power do you have at the shop? Being a electrician I always ask when folks have shops in what looks like the middle of no where.
I’ve got 100amps coming into the shop. Cost a pretty penny to run the underground wire that’s for sure. I’ve got two 220v outlets and the rest are standard outlets for my tools. Layout and wiring done by local electrician
Sounds good, it's a shame how much they charge for drops. It's like that here in my state, they get ya coming and going. Thanks for the video I enjoyed a lot. I like how you do a good bit of everything and they way you spread them out among the different stuff that has to be done.
Thanks Mike. I do dabble in a bunch of things around here. Maintenance things are sometimes out of necessity and others because I enjoy it
I was just tinkering with da same idea
I'm thinking it's going to get a lot of use.
I was kind of thing of a drop hitch where the hitch would hook over blade and hang down or possibly slide on with top and bottom clips ( c ) the wood splitter technically not all that heavy
Hi Robert thanks for coming along for this video. The space between the top of the blade and undercarriage was so close I wasn't able to fit any substantial steel piece over the top of the blade unfortunately
What you come up with looks like it should work well
why not attach it to the other end and leave the blade end alone?
Maybe something to improve your design! Where your putting your bolts threw on the outside of each end of your trailer hitch Weld on nuts and I would only put a quarter inch weld on both sides of the nut as if it ever gets damaged then you could take a zip cut and cut it off and replace it! then put your bolt thew in the inside of your blade and tighten it up a ratchet would be the best tool I would go bigger with your bolts and you may have to use a washer so the bolt doesn't pass threw the hole in the blade when you take it apart just screw your bolts threw the hitch! They will always be their! This way your not fumbling with two wrenches to assemble the hitch to the frame. Looks like from the video you could go with a one inch bolt? When it is assembled cut off both ends of the bolts sticking threw the welded nuts so that your not having excess bolt sticking threw. Would make for a quicker assemble time putting on the hitch!
Great ideas there Marc! Thanks for sharing that
Nice project.
I do have to correct you on your comment about nobody being born knowing everything. I have a cousin who has an engineering degree. 1 of his fellow engineers once said about him, 5 minutes after he saw something for the first time, he was the world's greatest expert.
But I am sure that you never knew him, so it probably doesn't count. LOL
hahahah
If you had spun the ex around it would have given you better access to the blade.
Hey Russ! Thanks for watching. I ended up keeping the blade in this position so I could ensure the clearance worked out since there wasn't much room between the blade and the engine above
Not just a pretty face!
hahah I'm not sure about that one
they are not pretty lol
There’s good and there’s good enough haha
@@sawingwithsandy looks like mine in fact better than mine lol
Haha as long as they hold you’re doing well