Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made?

   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #1  

Fallon

Super Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2013
Messages
6,852
Location
Parker, CO
Tractor
Kubota L4060hstc, formerly L3200hst
I just picked up a Quick Spade & when I went to test it out I noticed my forks were really loose. When I actually looked, the pins for the SSQA on the tractor had over a half an inch of space between the pins & the holes on the bottom of the fork frame. Are they suppose to be loose so they will self adjust a little when you are grabbing or dropping a pallet, or is an manufacturing problem? I hadn't had any issues with the forks previously. Thinking back they were a bit loose, but I didn't pay any attention. Now that I'm actually looking at things now & I'm thinking that slop will be beating up the SSQA pins or popping loose here sooner than later. The lever on the SSQA is all the way down in this pic & the pin engages tightly on my bucket. The frame on the forks does't look beat up, twisted or tweaked at all, so I'm pretty sure it was made that lose, right or wrong.

IMG_20131218_201454.jpg

They are a set from palletforks.com & I seem to recall some people complaining about some problems with a SSQA on some forks from somewhere a little while back.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #2  
They are supposed to be tight. You need to weld in some shims.. easy peazy fix.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #3  
I have the same set and mine are just like yours. It does seem a little loose to me also but I moved over 1000 4x5 round bales with mine this year and the clearance didn't change from new. Never came loose either. I've thought about welding a tab over the hole to make it fit tighter.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #4  
I have the same set and mine are just like yours. It does seem a little loose to me also but I moved over 1000 4x5 round bales with mine this year and the clearance didn't change from new. Never came loose either. I've thought about welding a tab over the hole to make it fit tighter.

You should repair them. The grapples and forks, that were sloppy, have occasionally come off on one side and they usually twist the SSQA adapter. At least that has been reported here. My EA forks were just a little bit tight, I had to take a file to the hole to make the pins lock in easily. I would get out the welder and fix them.

James K0UA
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #5  
Never thought of it twisting the mount, that would be bad! Looks like a project for this weekend. Thanks for the motivation.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #6  
Never thought of it twisting the mount, that would be bad! Looks like a project for this weekend. Thanks for the motivation.

Yep better safe than sorry, What usually twists is the tube that goes between the two pads, Far easier to fix the holes with a shim than to fix that darn tube. Good luck

James K0UA
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thought so, was looking for confirmation. Will get them sorted out here as soon as I can.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #8  
Thought so, was looking for confirmation. Will get them sorted out here as soon as I can.
I bought a set of forks off of Titan and mine are loose also. I guess I'll fix them this winter when I get around to it. You would think they would address this problem some time.

Jeff
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #9  
For whatever reason SSQA manufacturers don't seem to be able to keep their manufacturing dimensions where these pins lock in within spec. Forks don't need as tight of a fit as say a grapple, but your's look to be quite far off of spec. Titan used to refund a dollar amount for you to get a local welder to fix it. I would contact them.
 
   / Pallet forks suppose to be loose or SSQA bracket improperly made? #10  
For whatever reason SSQA manufacturers don't seem to be able to keep their manufacturing dimensions where these pins lock in within spec. Forks don't need as tight of a fit as say a grapple, but your's look to be quite far off of spec. Titan used to refund a dollar amount for you to get a local welder to fix it. I would contact them.

I don't understand why some of these manufactures cannot seem to keep the spec tighter. My EA manufactured Grapple was perfect. My Construction Attachment Forks which I bought thru EA had to be filed just a tad. It was a 5 minute job so no big deal. The 3rd party SSQA plate I welded onto my old Pin on Kubota bucket, fit my Kubota SSQA adapter perfectly but when I kept it and put in on the Kioti, I had to file it just a little bit also. So it seems there are some differences even in the adapters.

James K0UA
 
 
 
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