Snap Coupler Better?

Six days ago, I took the post hole digger off the 3 point hitch of a Ford tractor, working by myself instead of waiting for my wife to help.  Mashed the fool out of my finger when I laid the beast on the ground.  I've never owned an AC with snap coupler.  How does it work?  Can it lift implements up/down.  Why did this system loose out to the 3 point hitch?  Just curious.

Snap coupler system you can back up to the implement as any angle, and if the snap coupler eye is at the right height, you can "snap" it in, pull the implement forward to get it square and then hook up the two lift arm latches, and lift up and go.  3 point is much harder to hook up in my opinion then snap coupler. 

This film on the WD45 tractor with a snap coupler hitch will answer your questions best the hitch info will be at the end of film.

Edited by Don(MO) - 28 Mar 2010 at 1:04pm

I used lots of three point equipment in the sixties and seventies and by then it was way too big to 'manhandle' to align.  As the equipment got larger they figured out ways to help align the lift eyes.   The Deere and Case tractors for sure had sliding lift arm ends so it was not too bad.

I seem to recall the snap coupler sickle bar mower we had took it's share of manhandling to get hooked up.  Even that D14 size drawbar was no picnic, we usually left it in the weeds and had several piece of equipment with three point adaptors.

I agree, pulling the drawbar and replacing it was a big pain and maybe that did the SC system in but I suspect the numbers just finally won out.  Once plows got to semi mounted size the three point system (only using the lower two) worked about the same.

I back up to a post that supports the shed roof and tie the post hole digger to it before starting to unhook from the tractor,  I know about mashed fingers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess John(CIL) had a good idea about having the drawbar toss as a sport at AC shows. The only time I had trouble with a drawbar is when I added about 30 lbs to mine with a home made bracket for my JD sickle mower.
 I think Harry Ferguson got a big jump on the Snap couple hitch by having the 3pt in service too many years before SC came out.

The snap coupler was like the Beta video tape of the 80's.  Although the VHS came out first, it became the industry standard (even though Beta was better).   

Also heard that AC kept the snap coupler design and wouldn't let any outside companies use it hoping to sell more implements. Ford let everyone and his brother use the 3 pt, therefore there were more offbrand implements made.

I still prefer the snap coupler hands down.

mojo/Mike

3 point patents went out in 47, that is why alot of little tractor companies sprung up for 3 or 4 years with tractors that had three point hitches.  Ford never acctually held the patent, Harry Ferguson did and they agreed to go into buisness with the ford ferguson 9n, and then the 2n, But when the 8n came out ford dropped fergusons name from the tractor which led to him suing ford.

Edited by Denis in MI - 28 Mar 2010 at 10:15pm

DSeries4 wrote: The snap coupler was like the Beta video tape of the 80's.  Although the VHS came out first, it became the industry standard (even though Beta was better).

off topic --- what made the decision between beta and VHS ??  I have heard one answer to what forced vhs as the format that stayed.

And David Brown was the first tractor with a 3 pt hitch 6 years before Ford.

Ferguson began experimenting with mounted plows while working for the Irish Board of Agriculture. His early work with mounted plows used a modified Ford model T automobile and later a Fordson model F tractor. Ferguson's mounting system evolved from two link arms (one top, one bottom) to three, and from spring-assisted lift to hydraulics. He met with a number of tractor manufacturers and eventually reached a deal with David Brown in 1933, resulting in the production of the Ferguson-Brown model A, with Ferguson's three-point system. By 1937, however, poor sales and disagreements between Ferguson and Brown caused production to stop.

I have a good set up on my D15 series II. I have the snap coupler with a Cross 3pt adapter. The traction booster works with the 3 pt. WORKS GREAT.

The "porn" industry had adopted the VHS and was such a single large user(at last an easy method for distribution), that everyone else followed. They choose it for those popular reasons.

If you are plowing with mounted plow, the snap coupler was the cadilac of them all. Here is the reason why, if you get into tough spots and the traction booster kicksin, it will start raising the plow, and if its really tough going and the front end starts floating up, the front of the plow hitch thats snapped in the coupler is ahead of the rear axels and the bell starts to raise and gives a lift to the plow to reduce the load and sorta prevents further rearing of tractor. Whereas the 3 point plow starts to pull hard and the tractor starts to 'rear up', the 3 point arms go down and farther and the tractor rears more and faster when the lift system might be trying to lift at the same time.