What can $320 and about 10 hours of time get you?

bikerdib · Mar 7, 2011

I know, there are a lot of answers here (some could probably get you arrested). :laughing:

But in my case, over the last weekend it got me an almost complete pallet fork set up for my B3300. I ordered the forks and slide rails from Skid Steer Express and then went to a nearby steel warehouse and purchased the other steel (3 X 5 X 1/4 inch angle, 3/16 X 2 inch flat, 2,1/4 X 2,1/4 X 1/4 inch square tubing, 1 inch, schedule 80 tubing and 2 X 2 X 3/16 angle). Included in that $320 cost are the 7018 welding rods and the paint.

I had recently added a Kubota Quick Coupler to my LA504 loader so I decided I could save lots of cash by building the fork carrier myself. Quotes for a carrier and forks set up to match the Kubota Quick Coupler ranged from $800 to over $1000 and that didn't even include the shipping cost.

I say it's almost complete because I sprayed it with primer on Sunday but I need to spray the Kubota orange (the forks are black) sometime in the next couple of days. I spray something this large under my carport so the wind is going to be the determining factor.

Gordon Gould · Mar 7, 2011

Sounds like well spent time and money. :thumbsup:
Show us a picture if you can. That way we can steal some of your good ideas on how to build stuff.

gg

bikerdib · Mar 7, 2011

I'll get some pics up after I get the pretty Kubota orange on it.

grsthegreat · Mar 7, 2011

ohh, i was thinking about laying out 800 for a set of QA forks. im interested. what is the weight rating on the forks you purchased??

crash325 · Mar 7, 2011

grsthegreat said:
ohh, i was thinking about laying out 800 for a set of QA forks. im interested. what is the weight rating on the forks you purchased??

About $50 worth of scrap iron, some welding rod and maybe 12 hours and you got it done. No UPS or extras.

My forks go on and off, including dropping the bucket in less than 3 minuets. Unlatch the bucket, back out, drive into forks, and latch them on. If the job is very far way, pick up the bucket and drive away.

I have picked up 2,000 pounds with these. Load has to be all the back at that weight or the tractor will not lift it.

bikerdib · Mar 7, 2011

crash325, you are lucky; it appears you have the skidsteer type setup. I have the Kubota proprietary Quick Coupler and finding matching implements is not easy and when you do, they are usually more expensive.

It took a lot of measuring and re-measuring to make sure the 4 pins lined up on my fabrication.

grsthegrate, the forks I got are 36" and are rated for 2300 lbs. They sell the forks plus top and bottom slider rail or they will sell just the forks for around $150. To me, it was worth an extra $60 to get the two rails because they are hardened steel. Plus they already have the notches precut.

The website doesn't give a phone number but if you email them they respond very quickly. For the three emails I sent, I got a response in less than 30 minutes. They also shipped my order the same day; and for free.

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

TDVT · Mar 7, 2011

Thanks for the info. The kit you got is really reasonably priced, wish I had found that set-up a while back.

While looking at their other stuff I found this:

3PT RECEIVER HITCH

I don't think I could build that for $88, & that price includes shipping.

grsthegreat · Mar 7, 2011

skid steer express has a nice loader mount receiver bracket....kind of like the one i was planning on making myself. i haven't priced out the steel on my design yet, but if this one is close to the cost , i may buy it.

i made one for my last tractor, and it worked great. i need to make one for my new tractor to house a 2" and a 2-5/16" ball so i can move my trailers and my 5th wheel trailer with the front loader.

my 5th wheel horse trailer has a tongue weight of 1500#, so my loader can move it without an issue.

way easier than the 3 point receivers.

bikerdib · Mar 8, 2011

Right now it's hanging on my shop hoist in my garage, painted primer red. The lighting in the garage is not that good and it's rainy and windy today. I hope the weather improves so I can paint the finish coat Wednesday or Thursday. I'll take some pics then.

tratliff · Mar 8, 2011

This is what $240 and about 20 hours got me last weekend. I am always struggling with having the right tool with me when I take off across the land with my tractor and also looking for a way to water tree transplants that are not close enough to my water supplies. This should be able to do both and helps me get some welding experience. As you can tell this is still a work in progress but you get the basic idea. It attaches to my iMatch and also has a 2 " receiver on the back.

bikerdib · Mar 9, 2011

Nice setup! I like the legs on your carryall; makes it functional on or off the tractor. I just finished reading about your tree scoop in that thread. That might be my next project. I've been thinking about trying to make a scoop that would slide onto the slider rails on my pallet fork carrier but haven't' come up with a solution yet. Probably just have to build the scoop and frame together. I don't foresee needing to transplant a lot of trees but the scoop can also be used as a "poor man's backhoe" for trenching and such.

tratliff · Mar 9, 2011

Yes the legs are very functional but I am concerned with how far they hang down. I tried my best to make them as short as possible but still be able to connect with my iMatch. Next weekend I'll paint it JD green and post some new pictures. After the build I have determined that this carry all fits in my garage and I can leave my tools loaded for the next time I need to use them. Almost like a tool box for my landscaping tools. No more loading and unloading. It also is about the height of a workbench. I may try to design a top that I can use as a workbench while in the field or in the garage.

Leejohn · Mar 9, 2011

crash325 sure like the picture in your profile!!!!

bikerdib · Mar 10, 2011

The wind finally calmed down (well sort of) so I put some topcoat on. Sorry about the phone camera quality but I don't even have a good quality camera. Gave my SLR and about $2000 worth of lenses to my buddy to use. You'll notice the bottom slider rail had a wide notch for removing the forks. You could put both of them on or off at the same time. The disadvantage was you couldn't slide them all the way together and lock them in that position. Instead, I cut two extra lock notches in the top rail and a narrow notch in the bottom rail then welded the bottom rail on upside down to the way it was originally intended. Now I can slide the forks together until they almost touch and use them in that position. I also ordered an extra fork so I can have 3 on for brush hauling so I needed to be able to put one close to the middle. I also plan on making some fork extensions out of channel for hauling light brush and such, maybe 6 feet long.

TDVT · Mar 10, 2011

Looks very nice!

The multi-fork set-up works great for brush & the high back works well to keep things from spilling over the top. I built a similar set-up with bale spears.

Did you fabricate the pin brackets on the frame? I need to make some for my frame as I'd like to use the frame without the bucket.

My L3400 does not have a QA & I saw the ATI pin-on adapter in another thread but have yet to hear back from ATI, so I may build some myself.

bikerdib · Mar 10, 2011

TDVT said:
Looks very nice!

The multi-fork set-up works great for brush & the high back works well to keep things from spilling over the top. I built a similar set-up with bale spears.

Did you fabricate the pin brackets on the frame? I need to make some for my frame as I'd like to use the frame without the bucket.

My L3400 does not have a QA & I saw the ATI pin-on adapter in another thread but have yet to hear back from ATI, so I may build some myself.

Yep, I used 3 X 5 X 1/4 inch angle. Did lots of measuring and laying out to make sure the holes lined up as close as possible. Center punched the marks, then used a small drill bit in my drill press for a pilot hole to make sure everything stayed lined up. I drilled the holes to 1" then used a die grinder and a 3/4" drum sanding attachment to get the holes to 1 & 1/32" because that's what I measured the pin holes to be on the Kubota bucket. I then cut 8 pieces of 1 inch schedule 80 pipe to 3/4" long. I had to drill the pieces with the 1" drill bit and again use the 3/4" drum sanding attachment in the die grinder. Since I have the Kubota Quick Coupler, I removed it from the FEL and put the pins in place through the 4 pieces of angle before tacking them to the rest of the frame. Then I removed the pins, placed the short pieces of tubing in place and once again pined everything in place before tacking the pieces of tubing to the angle.

I think if I had to do it over again I'd buy a 1 & 1/8" bit to avoid having to enlarge the holes and tubes. I really don't think that extra slack would hurt anything. Then again, it wasn't really that big a deal to enlarge them with the die grinder. I kinda like my fabrications to fit very tightly.

BTW, I'm not sure if you know this or not but the Kubota proprietary Quick Coupler uses the same pins as the pin on mounting. That kept me from having to cut off the ears on the bucket to weld on a Skid Steer type attachment. I assume the ATI adapter does also?

TDVT · Mar 10, 2011

Thanks for the info. They really look nicely fabricated. I'm not familiar with the Kubota QA but from what you say, I'm thinking it's very much like the ATI one I saw pics of.

The adapter I'm thinking of making is not a full-on skid-steer, universal style but, like yours, also uses regular the pin brackets on the bucket. Removing those brackets sounds like a nightmare.

It attaches to the loader arms & cylinders on one side, then the outer side hooks the top pin of the bucket & pins in on the bottom. Is yours something similar?

Seems like a good compromise between weight, cost & still being able to drop the bucket for more fork capacity since I don't have the current QA set-up.

bikerdib · Mar 10, 2011

I'm not sure about the ATI type you are talking about, the only one I've seen is the Skid Steer type.

Here are some pics I found when I did a search for the Kubota Quick Coupler (not my pics but it will give you an idea of how it works).

The top of the coupler has a saddle that cradles the top pin that stays in the attachment and you put the two bottom pins in to lock it in place.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/150891-pics-my-la504-loader-quick.html