3PT/FEL 2" Receiver Hitch

[sldva00]

Here's my version of a 3pt/FEL hitch.

To attach to the FEL, I used 3/8" plate welded to Chris Perry's FEL QA plates.



For the 3pt, I cut out plates from the 3/8" steel I have. The gussets for the lower arm pins were made by cutting a 2"-1/4" square tube at a 45 degree angle. The upper arm plates were reinforced with some 3/16" plates cut out from the 2 1/2" square tubing.



I'll paint later, as I have to rough up the surface. All the steel I had was covered with surface rust. I used a coarse sand wheel attached to my angle grinder to remove it, but the steel came out too smooth for paint to stick IMO.

 

[sldva00]

Finally painted my hitch. Didn't rough up the surface like I wanted to. As soon as I banged it wile bolting on the lower pins, some paint came off. Oh well. Besides that, I'm happy the way it turned out. Not professional, but it does what its suppose to.

 

[Zebrafive]

An etching primer might have helped

 

[rockshaft]

Could you point me toward the FEL QA plates you used? I'd like to buy some.

Here's my version of a 3pt/FEL hitch.

To attach to the FEL, I used 3/8" plate welded to Chris Perry's FEL QA plates.

View attachment 246881

For the 3pt, I cut out plates from the 3/8" steel I have. The gussets for the lower arm pins were made by cutting a 2"-1/4" square tube at a 45 degree angle. The upper arm plates were reinforced with some 3/16" plates cut out from the 2 1/2" square tubing.

View attachment 246880

I'll paint later, as I have to rough up the surface. All the steel I had was covered with surface rust. I used a coarse sand wheel attached to my angle grinder to remove it, but the steel came out too smooth for paint to stick IMO.

 

[unfinished]

A little googling gets this which I believe he is referring to for the QA plates

For Your JDQA Projects

 

[rockshaft]

Quite right. I just ordered a set. Thx.

 

[unfinished]

Looks good. Very handy to have. Is there room to add a top rail and bottom rail for some forks? 18" for top edge to bottom edge for standard rail forks. Wouldnt take much effort. (I know I still need to cut the notches in the top rail!)

 

[sldva00]

Quite right. I just ordered a set. Thx.

Just got back from California (family wedding). These are the plates I got, but the ones I got have square cut-outs on them. They are not a solid plate. I got them when Chris first started making his forks. I welded the solid plates to them for added strength.

An etching primer might have helped.

I'll try the primer on my next project. All the steel tubing I have was free, but it has a lot of surface rust. After grinding off the rust, the steel is just too smooth.

 

[sldva00]

Looks good. Very handy to have. Is there room to add a top rail and bottom rail for some forks? 18" for top edge to bottom edge for standard rail forks. Wouldnt take much effort. (I know I still need to cut the notches in the top rail!)

I don't have the hitch at the house to measure, but I think the top and bottom tubes are less than 18" apart. I do know the top link pin hole and the center of the lower arm pins are 18" apart. I made it a Cat 1 hitch

Your setup looks good. The more uses you have for one attachment the better. If I didn't have my forks, I may have added the fork rails somehow (after seeing your setup).

 

[unfinished]

Thanks. The only other thing about the forks, is you would probably have to kick out the bottom of the frame so you could get enough curl with the forks.

I do like the idea of using it on the 3pt, at some point I should modifiy mine to fit my quick hitch.

Another use for my setup... Made a boom pole so I could pick up and set my 18' posts on my pole barn. Worked great. The straps just keep it from rattling around.

 

[Ken45101]

FYI, SkidSteerExpress sells nice quarter inch and 5/16" solid mounting plates for under $130 including shipping. I got one this week (delivered in two days) and it looks good.

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


Ken

 

[easygo]

Now you need to make custom-shaped concrete weights to hang on there so it can serve as rear ballast holder. A frame like that can be a great starting point for a lot of stuff.

 

[sldva00]

Now you need to make custom-shaped concrete weights to hang on there so it can serve as rear ballast holder. A frame like that can be a great starting point for a lot of stuff.

Now you've done it, you got me thinking. I definitely need some rear ballast when I use my forks. I've been using my cutter, but at times its inconvenient (sticks out too much). I do have an empty 50 gallon drum that I was thinking of making a ballast out of, but making weights would suffice also.