Front-End Loader Skid steer quick attach adapter

[94BULLITT]

Hey, that's only 1200 miles round trip for me, or $300 of that $4 a gallon gas, that'd still be cheaper than what I've been quoted so far!
I've driven 1100 miles in one stretch a couple of times in the last year, might be worth a road trip!

You could have it shipped. Check with Messicks too.

 

[Alpha Dog]

Piston, I wasn't figuring on changing out all that often, but I can buy SSQA attachments anywhere from $200 to $500 CHEAPER than those with brackets, and that doesn't even take into account me either finding or fabricating brackets for the other attachments, and taking the time and effort to measure, re-measure, double-check and re-double check, then weld on brackets, (then, with my luck, cut them back off and re-re-measure and weld them back on again), but you get the idea. I'm looking for convenience to some extent, (although my second tractor doesn't have a loader), but I think from what I've read here that it's more practical and cost-efficient to put the SSQA on the tractor.

 

[Car Doc]

Well once you chose one you will be happy you have it on your tractor. I put a Koyker ssqa since I have a Koyker loader and bought their pallet forks and a ssqa plate for my bucket and cut the old brackets off and welded it on. Its the best thing Ive done yet to my tractor spent about 1800.

Fact I am putting my firewood for heating my shop on pallets and plastic shrink wrapping it and will bring in 1500# at a time this winter. Did that and all the junk I have laying around is now going on pallets no more handling things 20 times by hand before I figure out what to do with them.

 

[JoeBuyer]

How often do you change FEL attachments?.

On the utility tractor? About every day or every other day I switch attachments. On the duty specific ones, maybe once a week, less in the winter. I'm curious how often others switch.

 

[k0ua]

On the utility tractor? About every day or every other day I switch attachments. On the duty specific ones, maybe once a week, less in the winter. I'm curious how often others switch.

two or three times a day is not uncommon.. sometimes I even switch buckets, I usually use the stock Kioti bucket 66 inches for spreading mulch and dirt, or gravel, and often use the smaller Kubota bucket for digging and general abuse as it is better because it is smaller. Plus I don't care about using it up and wearing it out as much. The forks are a blessing for moving brush, and anything you can put on a pallet.

James K0UA

 

[Piston]

On the utility tractor? About every day or every other day I switch attachments. On the duty specific ones, maybe once a week, less in the winter. I'm curious how often others switch.

Wow, that's a lot more than I was thinking. For that amount I do agree it would be worth having the SS style QA! I barely ever use my bucket and only use the forks once in a blue moon. After getting my grapple I find it can do almost everything I use the tractor for. I went over a year without having the bucket on!

 

[JJZ 109]

I put one of these units from hayspear.com on an LA403 loader that was on a B3030 cabbed model that I just got rid of.
Simple installation and it worked just fine with one exception. The handles would not stay in the up position when moving from one attachment to the other. They would always flop back down, requiring me to leave the tractor to flip them back up so that I could pull into the next attachment. I removed the handle bolts, slid them through a spring and washer to keep tension on them and reinstalled. Problem solved.

 

[pat32rf]

Don't understand why people opt for the ssqa method when changing over ( unless they already have a source of implements using that system). A few people use both my tractor with JD hook and pins and my bil's tractor with ssqa system. They all feel that the JD system is easier to use.
I know I can build forks, etc to fit with just a torch drill press and welder as long as I have a few pieces of rolled steel rods for the pins and some 1/4" plate for the hooks. I even have two pins ready made for the next attachment I decide to build.

 

[dstig1]

Maybe because it is universal, outside of the JDs....? The entire world of attachments is SSQA. That is why...

You can buy SSQA plates for cheap, so it is easy to start making things that fit, if you want/need to.

 

[JoeBuyer]

We decided on SSQA based mostly on the availability of attachments in that configuration.

 

[JJZ 109]

I know I can build forks, etc to fit with just a torch drill press and welder as long as I have a few pieces of rolled steel rods for the pins and some 1/4" plate for the hooks. I even have two pins ready made for the next attachment I decide to build.

Not everyone has the tools or the ability to do that. If they did, we wouldn't need the manufacturers. :laughing:
Add to that the fact that not everyone owns or wants to own JD. It's nice to be able to have stuff that can be swapped back & forth between various machines/makes.

 

[JoeBuyer]

have stuff that can be swapped back & forth between various machines/makes.

Right. And to be able to loan/borrow with your neighbor farmers if it is a special, seldom used attachment is great. Commonality of allows that.

 

[pat32rf]

I can well understand that it would be nice to swap with neighbours if they have stuff. I find that in my case the neighbours with tractors are just too far away.
I thought that I was seeing prices around $200 for the basic "bucket" plates...

 

[Baby Grand]

Thanks for starting this thread, Alpha Dog. It sounds like we're in a similar situation. I'm in the process of trying to adapt a set of forks to my LA724 FEL. My plan was to make the forks pin-on and enjoy the money and lift capacity saved. After doing some initial fit-up work with cardboard & hot glue and getting ready to order a 1 3/16" rotabroach to make pivot holes, I spent about an hour putting the bucket & 4 pins back in and aligning the pins with the locking bolt holes and getting the locking bolts installed. This was under ideal conditions on a sunny warm afternoon with no other urgent tasks needing to get done. Can't even imagine trying to pin the dang thing back on in an icy rain with failing daylight. The whole experience of trying to get the bucket back on, just once, has convinced me to avoid going the pin-on route.

So it's either bite the bullet and get an SSQA kit, or maybe knock together a JD style attachment by re-using the brackets that I will have to cut off of the bucket. But Jim KOUA's tale of woe with the cutting torch is making me think twice about that idea. Still, that JD design is real sweet and looks like it would be fairly easy to fabricate from the old brackets & some sheet & strap. Decisions, decisions.

Tell us when you make a decision, and don't forget to post some pictures - good luck!

Jim

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for starting this thread, Alpha Dog. It sounds like we're in a similar situation. I'm in the process of trying to adapt a set of forks to my LA724 FEL. My plan was to make the forks pin-on and enjoy the money and lift capacity saved. After doing some initial fit-up work with cardboard & hot glue and getting ready to order a 1 3/16" rotabroach to make pivot holes, I spent about an hour putting the bucket & 4 pins back in and aligning the pins with the locking bolt holes and getting the locking bolts installed. This was under ideal conditions on a sunny warm afternoon with no other urgent tasks needing to get done. Can't even imagine trying to pin the dang thing back on in an icy rain with failing daylight. The whole experience of trying to get the bucket back on, just once, has convinced me to avoid going the pin-on route.


So it's either bite the bullet and get an SSQA kit, or maybe knock together a JD style attachment by re-using the brackets that I will have to cut off of the bucket. But Jim KOUA's tale of woe with the cutting torch is making me think twice about that idea. Still, that JD design is real sweet and looks like it would be fairly easy to fabricate from the old brackets & some sheet & strap. Decisions, decisions.

Don't let my tale discourage you, I would not hesitate to do it again.. I could do much better now. And much faster too.

 

[k0ua]

I can well understand that it would be nice to swap with neighbours if they have stuff. I find that in my case the neighbours with tractors are just too far away.
I thought that I was seeing prices around $200 for the basic "bucket" plates...

SSQA plates are about $125 for several sources.. here is one.

Skid Steer Attachments Pallet Forks Hay Spears Bobcat Cat John Deere Mount Plate

 

[Baby Grand]

Don't let my tale discourage you, I would not hesitate to do it again.. I could do much better now. And much faster too.

Heh - heh. Thanks for the encouragement. As someone (on here?) used to say "It's easy when you know how or somebody shows you". That's what makes this place great.

 

[JoeBuyer]

SSQA plates are about $125 for several sources.. here is one.

Skid Steer Attachments Pallet Forks Hay Spears Bobcat Cat John Deere Mount Plate

I have this plate and welded it onto my old pin on bucket. The adapter plate has perfect dimensions.

 

[Car Doc]

One more benefit to using ssqa setup is used and some new attachments are cheaper at auctions etc where as JD etc are proprietary and smaller market higher price thats what I have seen anyway. fwtw

 

[Alpha Dog]

Well, thanks to the suggestions here, I searched until I found someone at a Kubota dealership who'd do a little research, and found the OE part for $495. (Also thanks to K0ua for giving me a price to start haggling from). The part should be here Friday, so now all I have to do this week is go out to the farm about 30 miles away, pick up the L2800, take it home to my current house 30 miles in another direction, cut the brackets off my current bucket, weld on the SSQA adapter to that, purchase the root grapple I want, get that delivered, close on another 14 acres adjacent to my farm on Thursday, load the tractor up and carry it back to the farm, install the grapple, start clearing brush around the old trailer house that I have to get removed from the new 14 acres so my son arrange to have someone come get that trailer out so he can start building his "barn-dominium", finish cross fencing the current land, put in a new gate to the new land, haul water for my wife's animals, and, oh yeah, somehow work 40 hours at my "retirement job" that helps pay for all this stuff. As we say where I come from, "ain't no hill for a stepper." By the way, does anyone have any preferences about which way to go in converting the bucket? Should I get a "one-piece" plate type adapter, or the two "pockets" to weld on to a flat backed Kubota bucket?