Curious what everyone else does.

When I was a kid.....each tractor came with and had it's own hydraulic cylinder. Same one was used for any pull type implement. Disk, planter, shredder. It stayed with the tractor. As implements got larger......they each had their own. You just connected the hoses. That was way easier.

The D15 has it's own AC cylinder. It is one way.....and has hose for the higher PSI.

Have only one for the Ford 5610, but am needed to get another. The 5610 pulled up lame with hay down in the field, so job was finished using a neighbor's small Kubota.......which had no rear remotes, so was forced to tap into the loader bucket ports. I have hoses made for the quick disconnect bucket fittings on their Kubotas. Have concluded we are going to leave that cylinder setup for use with a Kubota......as there are several in the neighborhood and now and then they use my haybine to cut their hay.

So what is a good brand of hydraulic cylinder to buy? Ford / New Holland dealer sells a Cross.......which for the 3" x 8" stroke I need was quoted $300. Farm and Home sells a Delavan of same size for $100. Is there a difference?

Is there an alternative source? Good source of used?

(Cheapest source I know of is after hours shopping on somebody's barn yard, but we don't do that!)

Two old bachelors here had disconnect fitting on the cylinders and would take hoses from one piece of equipment to another. Left a big chunk of the money they saved to the Salvation Army,  and the rest to distant family. But don't know of anybody that moved cylinders. About 99% of tillage and planting equipment never sees a shed. Our planting time is the wet time and ever since the first tractors being 10 to 30 miles from home was normal. So once you where done for the season planting just leave it where you finished.

I buy from Surplus Center if have lead time to wait for it.

There is another in north central IA, can't think of name that builds cylinders. 

To close the loop on this, checked with the old AC shop that helps me wrench on tractors and they had a decent looking used Cross cylinder that had been pulled from a sickle mower. Exact size I needed. The hoses on it were shot, butt I have good hoses that will fit it. $75  I needed one......they wanted to get rid of one......problem solved!!!

BTW.....about 10 years ago, my dad went through an ordeal with a single action lift cylinder on a 20 foot land pride mower. The seals gave out and it was squirting oil out the vent. He went to Land Pride dealer.....who apparently knew nothing of fixing leaky cylinders.......and acted like the cylinder was a one-of part off the space shuttle. They couldn't help him. Found another place that after a long search.....decided they could order a replacement. Don't remember what it cost, but was not cheap. I swapped the hose for him and has been running ever since.

All that for a 10 minute job swapping some O rings? Don't know why my dad didn't know that (he was 93 and failing fast.....died a year later).....or why two farm equipment dealers didn't know that......but such was the case.