B2320 with L304 FEL needs quick change adapter on FEL

[TerryMcQ]

Does anyone know where I can get a REASONABLY priced adapter for the L304 so I can use other attachments like tree scoop which is what I need to use ASAP on my land to move a couple dozen trees I planted from bare root 5 years ago? None are too large for the tree scoop. I have found adapters for larger FELs but nothing specifically for the L304. I also want to use forks, grappler, a few other attachments as the need arises. I know I have a small tractor but it will do most of what I need doing and it has exceeded its specified capabilities on numerous occasions. I don't want to pay the big bucks for what I've seen so far for other loaders but I have seen some adapters as low as approximately $150, just not right for mine. I want this front loader to operate like the Bobcats. I'd appreciate any help ASAP because I want to move these trees yesterday. Anyone on here now with any info? Also, it would be a bonus if I can find this near Indianapolis, preferably west of it but within a hundred miles would be ok.

 

[TerryMcQ]

Hasn't anyone come across a front end loader converter for Kubota L304 FEL? Is there such a product or do I have to have it fabricated? I'm not that much of a DIYer, no welding skills. HELP!

 

[Burtonbr]

If you want to bolt on adapter with no modification I think you have 2 options. Kubota has a pin type quick attach from the b3200 that fits, I have it on my b2620. It will work without modifying your bucket and I'm sure they sell a set of forks that will fit but I bet they are pricy. I bought a less expensive set of SSQA forks and made pin mounts for them, it works well for me. I think it was $279



When the 2650 models came out they offered a SSQA type for them and o believe the loader arms are the same width on that loader as is ours, but you should check that to be sure, but I think I remember others bout them for the b2x20 series when they first came out, you can search and find those threads. You would have to adapt or buy a new bucket to use this style tough. Anything can be done with enough to money. I think these are $ 429


Titan attachments, may also have one available that could fit or be made to fit, you can check them out here Titan Attachments - PalletForks.com - 8-65-8241

Good luck

 

[newbury]

Hasn't anyone come across a front end loader converter for Kubota L304 FEL? Is there such a product or do I have to have it fabricated? I'm not that much of a DIYer, no welding skills. HELP!

Many threads on the subject here. The good 3rd party prebuilt ones run about $800 plus.

You can buy a "kit" from several places and get your own made up. And with welders charging $50 to $100/ hour expect to pay a up to a few hundred for fab work.

One of the "stumbling blocks" is that the addition of the SSQA is usually an 80lb plus addition (or more) and also some loss in lift capacity because you are putting the "lifting" point further out.

Another thing that may come into play is that there is not that much market demand. On our smaller tractors moving a 4' or 5' bucket around by hand is manageable, compared to a 7' bucket on a bigger tractor.

Have you TRIED to remove your bucket manually? I had to replace a cylinder on my M4700 and was surprised ho easy it was to get the pins out and back in.

Like xfaxman wrote in a thread I started about swapping implements on the FEL:

If you haven't decided on a SSQA yet, take your bucket off drive the tractor around, and put the bucket back on, then you will know.

In that thread several "small tractor" owners indicated it wasn't much of a problem for small buckets.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I want this front loader to operate like the Bobcats.

If you mean "Bobcat style quick attach" which most of us refer to as "Skid Steer quick attach or SSQA for short" as all manufactures of them use the same style, then you shouldn't expect it to happen quickly without spending some cash to do it. If you want it cheap, it's going to cost you having to build it yourself. Sorry, but there isn't much way around it.

Considering you only have 660 lbs of lift on your loader giving up nearly 100 of that to a SSQA is a tough nut to chew for most. I'd look at the QA Burtonbr linked in his first pic. I have it on my 504 loader and the dimensions match your 304. Most SSQA attachments are built for machines with far more lifting capacity than you have and in turn, many actually weigh close to your max lift on their own.

As newbury suggests, the cheapest option is to just pull the pins to swap the buckets considering how light they need to be on your 304 loader. Perhaps switch the pins for draw pins that have a bigger handle to grab. You aren't going to get much cheaper than that.

 

[TerryMcQ]

I prefer a pin on adapter/converter (ssqa) with the latch locks. Your first picture I don't think that unit would work. I plant to rent a tree spade which normally connects to what a lot of other tractors besides mine have: the quick attach set up. I have to call rental place later today to get weight spec of the tree spade they have for rent. If I can't let ft it, I will either have to buy a 3-point adapter ( don't want to, I want to watch my work in front of me) or I will have to rent a matching that can handle the load for another $400 or more.

 

[TerryMcQ]

I may be teaching myself how to stick weld VERY soon. eBay has some latch plater to weld the pin hole flanges/tabs from bucket which wouldn't add much weight nor put the attachments out any further. Loss of spec lift won't be bad. I just hope the tree spade I need to rent is only about 450-550 pounds. That and the small trees I need to transplant plus the plug of dirt around root ball hopefully will not exceed capacity. I have a DIY 3-point attached crane I built that I can lean against the ROPs and use the chain winch I attached to top of crane to give the front a lot of lift assistance.

 

[TerryMcQ]

Here is my crane attachment I built
multiple photos in on reply or is there a way to email through the site without you giving up your private email?pickup mounted crane-img_0353-1-jpg pickup mounted crane-img_0354-1-2-jpg pickup mounted crane-img_5912-jpgpickup mounted crane-img_0635_2-jpg

 

[TerryMcQ]

This crane I designed and built should help if tree spade weighs too much.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...459644623-pickup-mounted-crane-img_0635_2-jpg.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...d1459643647-pickup-mounted-crane-img_5912-jpg
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...9643418-pickup-mounted-crane-img_0354-1-2-jpg
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...459643112-pickup-mounted-crane-img_0353-1-jpg
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ade-crane-erecting-timberframe-img_0610_2-jpg

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I prefer a pin on adapter/converter (ssqa) with the latch locks. Your first picture I don't think that unit would work. I plant to rent a tree spade which normally connects to what a lot of other tractors besides mine have: the quick attach set up. I have to call rental place later today to get weight spec of the tree spade they have for rent. If I can't let ft it, I will either have to buy a 3-point adapter ( don't want to, I want to watch my work in front of me) or I will have to rent a matching that can handle the load for another $400 or more.

That first pic IS a pin-on QA adapter. Pin-on is not the same thing as SSQA. The second pic is SSQA. All adapters use pins to secure them to the loader arms/cyl but that's not how they are described. A pin-on adapter gets its name from the fact that you have to install 2 pins at the bottom to attach the implement.

I may be teaching myself how to stick weld VERY soon. eBay has some latch plater to weld the pin hole flanges/tabs from bucket which wouldn't add much weight nor put the attachments out any further. Loss of spec lift won't be bad. I just hope the tree spade I need to rent is only about 450-550 pounds. That and the small trees I need to transplant plus the plug of dirt around root ball hopefully will not exceed capacity. I have a DIY 3-point attached crane I built that I can lean against the ROPs and use the chain winch I attached to top of crane to give the front a lot of lift assistance.

You may want to rethink you math on the weights. You have a 304 loader. Kubota didn't use and fancy names or pull the loader model numbers from a hat. The 304 roughly means you have 304 kgs of lift at the pins. Ok, not exactly but it's a quick guide. Manual says 772 lbs at the pins and only 545 lbs @ 500mm forward. Add 80 (ish) lbs of adapter and 500 ish of bucket and unless your trees are planted in mulch rather than dirt, there's not much chance of being able to dig them with that heavy of a bucket. Every little bit of extra weight of adapter/bucket weight or forward movement from the pins is crucial on these smaller machines. Sometimes it's tough to accept that simply installing a SSQA on the front of a tractor doesn't mean that every SSQA compatible attachment will work when the vast majority of them are built for much bigger machines.

I've got a B3300 with the 504 loader. My capacities aren't much more than what you have.

 

[TerryMcQ]

Swap to what bucket? Sorry for nor understanding difference with ssqa. I though it was pinned on loader arms and had the latch locks for the skid steer

 

[TerryMcQ]

I though it was pinned on loader arms and had the latch locks for the skid steer. I'm not worried about lifting capacity for the small evergreens and their root balls plus dirt I will be transplanting. I know my FEL has exceeded its rated capacity by lifting and carrying slabs of concrete 12 inches thick by 4 foot by 4 foot, concrete weighing approximately 150 pounds per square foot which I am reasonable sure is correct having worked with it, broken it, carried it, moved it with bobcat (I think it was a 753L, etc. I am waiting to hear back from Kubota, local guy is checking with corporate to see if there is something they make that will work on my FEL because as far as he knows kubota doesn't make one, didn't untin 2015 and for what he called the 01 series which replaced the B2320 and others. I can't believe they don't make one for users like me who don't need to lift more than 400-500 pounds for what I need it for to transplant small evergreen trees no larger than 8 feet tall and 24 inch wide spread.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Terry, I bought an SSQA adapter and fabbed it up for my B2620. It did take several hours(15 I think) to do it and you need to weld to get it done. If you want to do it, there are some challenges because our loader arms are set closer together than the big tractors. But because I figured it out, it might go quicker for you. I'll post a link to my build thread.

Many people will advise you about reducing lifting capacity because of the extra weight. I have had no problem lifting a full bucket of crushed limestone.

If you only need to change from the bucket to one other attachment, it might make sense to just use the pins rather than SSQA, depending on how often you swap. But I'm glad I did the conversion.

Here's my thread: I had $315 into it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/349748-another-pin-ssqa-conversion.html

 

[TerryMcQ]

I don't need a bigger bucket or more lifting capacity for what I want to do. I am moving small thuja evergreens which weigh at the most about 100 pounds and the dirt that will be scooped with it will only be about 400-500 depending on how wet it is when I move them. I know my loader will handle it frol lifting 12 inch by 4 foot by 4 foot (I just double checked, sorry, slabs are 3 foot square by 8 inches thick) concrete slabs, concrete weighing approximately 150 pounds per cubic foot equals 900 pounds. I was trying to find a 2 foot wide bucket that has pin holes in same location which I would buy 1inch steel rods to pin onto front loader. Then I could trench the trees out as they are all in a row right now and about 4 feet apart on center. I don't want to rent a 3-point back hoe nor a front mount hoe because the arms would likely screw the trees. I'm open tp suggestions and I have some ideas for fabrication something that would work with the long pins I mentioned. I could extend out from these pins away from the loader and rig up another pinning point for the 2 foot bucket. Projecting out from the solid steel rods and angling down a bit would allow me a better attack at the digging I think. And I would put pipes fitted over exposed solid rods to lessen the chance of bowing the rods. Digging from the end of the tree row will allow me to straddle the trench. At the weight I would be picking, I don't see a problem. Let me know if you think this is feasible and if you have any tweaks to my tentative design. I'll take all the knowledge you're willing to share. =

 

[TerryMcQ]

I'm waiting to hear from kubota. They are double checking but the local guy says he doesn't think there is one for my L304. I heard about what you are saying regarding same dimensions as other loaders and I have the dimensions to give when and if they need them. The 2-lever quick coupler is exactly what I need!!! Thanks for the picture. If dimensions are right, I FINALLY know there is the right converter/adapteor out there. I hope Kubota makes the right sized one as I need to fiance through them if the price is at or above their finance level. Do yoy know if there is a Kubota tech phone number I can call?

 

[GPintheMitten]

Have you looked at Rip and Dig? I have one that I bought before I bought my backhoe. I have a thread about it somewhere, you could search for.

Here's the link to their page:

Rip and Dig

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

. I'll take all the knowledge you're willing to share. =

It seems like you are only interested in the answers you want to hear or already think you have.

The math is simple 500 ish lbs of bucket + 80 ish lbs of adapter + 100 lbs of tree + 450 ish lbs of dirt = 1130 ish lbs. (your numbers, not mine) which is all applied FORWARD of the pins. Specs say your tractor has 772 lbs at the pins. That's pushing 50% over spec at the pins and double the 500mm spec. It's just not going to happen.

You seem to be stuck on wanting/needing a Kubota brand adapter. Have you bothered to look into any of the dozens of aftermarket brands of buckets & adapters? I had SSQA on my NH TC23 a decade ago which is about the same size as your 2320

 

[GPintheMitten]

I don't know. You don't weld. You need this yesterday. It will likely cost over $800 to buy a pin on ssqa adapter .

I don't see a cheap way to do this.

 

[TerryMcQ]

I've got it all sorted out. Kubota has ssqa for different tractor that will fit mine and I found an American made by Amish tree scoop for $341! Thanks to all who tried to help.

 

[Avery11]

I've got it all sorted out. Kubota has ssqa for different tractor that will fit mine and I found an American made by Amish tree scoop for $341! Thanks to all who tried to help.

Terry,

I just bought a 2320 and am very interested in your solution. I plan to buy a grapple and forks down the road and want to be able to switch them out. Thank you.