SSQA 3 point Attachment Plate

HawkinsHollow · Oct 29, 2021

Anyone have one? I want one to use with my landscape rack as I have numerous applications where I think that would be useful. But I am not sure that is worth $257.

What else do you use yours for? I could see it being useful to gingerly dress the edges of something with the box blade. Not sure what else.

Looking for y'all to talk me into it I guess.

SmallChange · Oct 29, 2021

I have one. I'm a bit dissatisfied with it as the hole clearances are much too big, as well as the clearances between the lower hole subassemblies and the square tube they slide on. When I put my landscape rake on it, there's at least a foot of play in the rake height. Mine was less than $257 and I have already spent more than the savings just thinking and being annoyed about how to improve it (bushings? adding brass shims where the subassemblies slide on the tube?). So it's a point you may want to watch out for.

That said, it is useful. I've used it with the rake, where it's good for reaching into corners and pulling out mud and leaf litter, cleaning clogged ditches, and the like. It's also good for putting my boom pole on. I can reach way out there, and I can also reach over high obstacles, like reaching over a fence. Having two vertical motions from the seat (lift, drop, curl, dump) makes some implements more useful, too. It is nice to be able to see so easily without hurting my neck, and the fact that it's out past the steering wheels rather than the rears means that it is very easy to move the implement sideways. Mine also has a 2" hitch receiver, and I bought a 6' length of 2" square steel tubing to use with it too. These things are cheap and they amplify the attachments you already paid for, so, recommended!

HawkinsHollow · Oct 29, 2021

SO you think the annoying factors come from the cheapness of your plate or do you think all of them are like that?
I like the boom pole option. Would be good for setting trusses.

SmallChange · Oct 29, 2021

HawkinsHollow said:
you think the annoying factors come from the cheapness of your plate

Yes, I do. I'm not sure and haven't actually tried any other plates. But it would have been pretty easy to make my plate better. The holes for the attachment pins appear to have been punched. They are a little cone shaped and measurably out of round. The travel of the lower pin subassemblies would be much more precise if they had just been sized a little different (though I don't know if there happen to be commercially available sizes of square steel tubing that come closer to a telescoping type fit), or if they'd had a couple inserts scabbed on before assembly. Now that they're assembled onto that square tubing, which was then welded in place, they can't come off without destroying something. So, it wouldn't have been difficult to build better, but it'd be much more difficult to retrofit. In retrospect I would gladly have paid 50% more if these two fit issues were substantially fixed. I guess if I knew what exactly to ask for, I'd pay a machine shop $100 to fix these things -- but the things I can think of that would definitely fix it up nice would probably cost $200 to $500, based on my experience with sending jobs to shops. I mean, after the welded final assembly, the easy options are gone.

Picking on a couple other minor points, the hitch receiver, which was just sort of a nice feature they threw in, actually interferes with the bottom frame of my boom pole. I can get it on, but they collide and make the boom pole rock sideways just a little. I mean to take a right angle grinder to its top edge. And, this plate comes with a top link which is just a plate with holes stamped in the ends. On some attachments this top link hits the attachment. If it could have been bent, or even if they could just have located the holes near one edge instead of centered on the plate, this would be better. Where their top link joins their frame with their supplied pin, they had total control over all aspects of fit, but it's still very sloppy. The top link is a funny case because in a sense it shouldn't have one, as it doesn't have bottom "arms", and in any case it doesn't need to be adjustable because you've got the curl-dump motion.

Still, it wouldn't have taken much thought or extra effort or expense to clean these issues up. I don't know that it's worth replacing, but I'd have read more about it and spent a bit more if I had it to do over.

LouNY · Oct 29, 2021

We have one of these at the farm for little things the most common usage is for the post driver,
that way it has much more reach getting into the fence lines then on the 3 point;

it works it is not the tighest construction and does have some play.

Then I have this one which is a quick hitch mounted to an SSQA plate;

I use this mainly for moving things around and getting into places that I can't back into,
it works OK. I should have spaced the bottom out about 3-4 inches as I don't have as much curl back as I would like.

HawkinsHollow · Oct 29, 2021

All very valid points. And an attachment on the FEL is not a place you want things slopping around.

My pallet forks have little pockets that the forks go into. I was thinking about fabricating a mount that would drop in from the top and allow my Quick attach to mount to it, kind of like Lou above but temporary.

Just what I have time for ANOTHER PROJECT!

Xfaxman · Oct 29, 2021

HawkinsHollow said:
Anyone have one? I want one to use with my landscape rack as I have numerous applications where I think that would be useful.

Yep, works good with the landscape rake:

I had to get a heavy duty adapter, 3500 pounds on the ball: Heavy Duty Skidsteer To 3 point Implement

Can't use the box blade without the adapter:

ruffdog · Oct 29, 2021

SmallChange said:
I'm a bit dissatisfied with it as the hole clearances are much too big, as well as the clearances between the lower hole subassemblies and the square tube they slide on. When I put my landscape rake on it, there's at least a foot of play in the rake height. Mine was less than $257 and I have already spent more than the savings just thinking and being annoyed about how to improve it (bushings? adding brass shims where the subassemblies slide on the tube?). So it's a point you may want to watch out for.

I saw how many being sold had way too much slop in the holes and tube-to-tube clearances. Check before you buy. If you want to work on the bottom of a 3pt attachment like a rotary cutter, put it in the air with the adapter.