Hope so.Good Afternoon Lou,
I think you may have saved a few people an un pleasant experience !!
I'm sure that you can get an actual drawbar for that tractor, rather than the 3 point version. I'd be surprised if it doesn't already have one. Have you looked underneath to check? Sometimes they'll be slid in and pinned out of the way. That'd be the safest option and would be fine for the loads you describe. You should definitely weld a receiver to your pallet forks as well too though. That's real handy.
Where would you weld a receiver to pallet forks that wouldn’t compromise their use to slide the forks into pallets and under other items?
Weld it on so the front of the receiver is flush with the frame. The forks can just slide past it. Where exactly it goes is going to depend on the design of the frame and how much modification you want to do. A lot of them have a support in the center. Often, that support can be cut and the receiver welded in the center. In some cases, the receiver can just be welded off center. I built my fork frame from scratch and integrated the receiver into the frame, but I've added receivers to half a dozen or so factory frames, using a few different methods.
I see what you’re doing. But it seems like you would have to remove the forks to use the receiver? Mine slide along a rail to adjust but aren’t easily removable.
Yes, in most cases you would need to remove the forks. Some judicious grinding and/or grease on the rails that your forks slide on will make them less difficult to remove. Doing it the way I do would not work for someone with mobility and/or fitness issues. I use the receiver on mine regularly. If you don't have the strength or mobility to slide the forks off, you may be better off with a dedicated SSQA hitch plate.
I’m going to have to take a closer look. I was under the impression that mine aren’t removable, just adjustable on a sliding bar. This is the unit I have:
www.virnigmfg.com
Nice. Can you buy a bale spear designed to fit in a receiver hitch or did you fabricate that?