skid steer to ( fast attach) pallet fork conversion

[sd455dan]

Sold my skid steer some time ago- but saved the pallet forks with the hope of eventually setting them up for my Rhino tractor.

Unfortunately the Rhino has a fast attach FEL set up which I guess is similar to some types of pin on styles

Short on extra funds, and have other attachments that are fast attach
so instead of doing the smart thing and setting the FEL up for skid steer style i did the cheap thing again:duh:


the skid steer forks just sitting on the fel arms

Made up a card board mock up for the brackets and dug out the inexpensive Lotos 3 in one plasma cutter

have mig welding with gas experience but really wanted to practice with stick, so some of the welds certainly could be better-


and a test

seems to function fine

some day will break down and spend the money and convert everything to skid steer- but for now have a nice flat set of forks to replace round ones that chain to bucket but they (I) have broken several pallets with them when alignment isn't great.

Sorry about the pictures need to clean the lens or something. oops cracked the lens Oh well- tractor on

 

[Xfaxman]

Whatever works :thumbsup:

 

[sd455dan]

Thanks, Xfaxman- have been cutting more fire wood up and already ( first 1/2 hour) removed the forks and gone back to the grapple:laughing:

The forks will be handy for pallets, and I will probably add a receiver hitch in the middle of the converted fork attachment for moving trailers and such, and paint it.
- the grapple will stay mounted to the tractor more of the time than anything else. Grapples are just so darn handy

 

[CanDo]

I have to agree ... Whatever works and frankly, it looks good to me.

In addition, I like the way you welded on a little angled plate to help guide your loader into to the pocket to be pinned. Gotta love functional! :thumbsup:

 

[sd455dan]

time to add add a receiver hitch in the middle of the converted fork attachment for moving trailers and such, and paint it.



Thanks CanDo

got a little time to work on the hitch
where to start?..? lets see,

... I figured since the receiver had to be flush (or behind) the front of the carriage-
so that the forks can be removed and replaced that it would work just as well to just buy some 2" id seamless tubing for the receiver versus buying a pre-made one with the reinforcing ring on the end.
so this is what I picked up at the local steel shop

Then needed to shorten it and add the pin hole for the stinger


Next cut out space for the receiver in the carriage and test the fit


Cut some support tabs for the backside and test fit them

a little welding ( my stick vertical up is so bad I thought I better just hold off) and weld with my small mig,
will save the stick vertical up welding for another project- after I get some practice time and (hopefully improve) .

Sandblasted the worst rust spots and



Then dug out some old CAT paint that was given to me in 1988? :laughing: wasn't sure if it was any good, but being oil based thought there was a chance- and it actually sprayed ok with a bit of mineral spirits to thin it a bit.
Should know tomorrow if it is going to harden ok
View attachment 484496


Will try and test the hitch soon[/QUOTE] should be a good test to move the boat .

 

[Xfaxman]

Well at least the most important picture posted, looks good :thumbsup:

 

[sd455dan]

Well at least the most important picture posted, looks good :thumbsup:

Thanks,

Oops- Yeah really messed up that posting. Will try and re add the pics

Think they are view-able now

Just had another thought for a mod to this carriage

Wonder how well it would work to modify a hitch stinger to make a vertical mast, add a support that mounts to the uprights that supports the vertical mast and maybe add a winch with a long enough cable and guide to run over the top... kind of a mini crane addition like I have seen posted before on TBN

Mmm may have to think a bit on this- don't even have a job right now that would require it

 

[sd455dan]

Put the forks/ receiver hitch to work,

1st needed to move some timothy and alfalfa bales around

next jacked up the boat to drain some rainwater

moved the log splitter into garage for some maintenance



Pretty happy with the fork/receiver attachment mods and the paint even set up pretty good.

Spent about $35 on steel, paint was free and already had a spare stinger and trailer ball.

Only major disappointment is my stick welding- sure seems easier on a couple test pieces.:laughing:

Before the next project will be practicing and reading up on stick welding... (especially vertical up).

 

[Btown]

Nice work. It's like my Titan pallet forks with bale spear and 2 inch receiver. I've used the receiver to move my 24 foot gooseneck trailer around. Way easier than hooking it up to the truck.

 

[sd455dan]

Thanks, going to winterize the boat soon and moving trailer with the tractor does give some better visibility and the ability to maneuver a bit easier.


Mmm Works with a gooseneck...

Hadn't really thought about moving my 5th wheel with the carriage.
But it does take some time to hook up the truck to move it.

wonder if I could just use a stinger with a piece of round pipe to capture the 5th wheels vertical stub?

but that would not positively retain the 5ver though,

Must be a fairly simple way to do it ..??.

 

[sd455dan]

Thread update.


Unfortunately the Rhino has a fast attach FEL set up which I guess is similar to some types of pin on styles



Short on extra funds, and have other attachments that are fast attach
so instead of doing the smart thing and setting the FEL up for skid steer style i did the cheap thing again:duh:

Well It is time to do the smart thing not the cheap thing.




Burned out on trying to get Pins in and out. Time consuming pain in the neck.

Skid steer quick attach would be So much nicer.... and thinking of getting another complementary tractor in the future that will definitely have quick attach.
So to get started on making my FEL all around compatible I am going to start with the bucket and grapple.

Ordered a basic conversion kit which is 1/4" but a bit better quality steel than just mild steel.


May or may not even use the plate, but it gives me a model to work from and a spare plate for anything beyond my grapple, bucket, or pallet forks.


Will get going on the project when I get some measurements and the kit arrives. Yea Haw

 

[sd455dan]

Off to a Rocky start.


They machined the QA spring actuator incorrectly to where the handles cannot be rotated over the break over point to lock them I am machining the shoulder down so it will work.

The actuator part that slides is either mis machined or machined for a bushing that is not included therefore when you push the lever the assembly binds on the threads that are used with a nut to keep the spring compressed.

I am trying to source or will have to machine those parts as well.


More to follow.

The QA mechanism plates are as advertised and well made. Just need to address some issues and move forward.

 

[Xfaxman]

More to follow.

 

[Smokeydog]

What brand qa? Or generic?

 

[sd455dan]

What brand qa? Or generic?

I bought through amazon from Best auto which appears to be identical to Vevor.

If buying again I would get the 3/8 plate for a few bucks more, After contacting seller about the plate being a little thinner they gave a 20% discount so the price was $235 including shipping.

For that price not complaining since the kit has "Grade 50 steel"
" minimum yield strength of 50 ksi and minimum tensile strength of 65 ksi. At least I hope it does

 

[sd455dan]

Made some progress today

Machined the spring shanks down farther so the actuator will actually break over center

Next Machined thin bushings from 1" delrin substitute to cover the actuator threads and let the assembly move smoothly

Tigged some spring cups from a Pontiac V 8 to the spring washers keep the springs centered. just for fun

Now to figuring out compatibility or the standard set of measurements.

Two of my attachments : bucket and grapple were never skid steer QA -they are both one offs.

My Forks NH SS that started this thread I modified to fit the tractor, so I don't have the New Holland SS QA measurements either, and starting to wonder if Bobcat QA was identical to New Holland Skid Steer?

Couple questions I have are the kit angles of the bottom of the plate. It is at a 45 degree to the main plate but the actuator assembly's are angled at 60 degrees.?

Being a kit I have no confidence in the angles either being correct. I can cut and reweld to the correct angle if necessary but in the future would like to be able to buy other attachments and have them go right on without modification.

I have started looking at the SA-2513 Bobcat specs and EA's info since they sell a lot of QA attachments.

 

[Xfaxman]

Couple questions I have are the kit angles of the bottom of the plate. It is at a 45 degree to the main plate but the actuator assembly's are angled at 60 degrees.?

Need pictures. Your 3rd picture is too close up to show the outside edge and angles.

I guess something like this is what you have:

 

[sd455dan]

Yep here is the ad. The 60 degree angle quoted is actually a 120 degrees

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083FCK95B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Specs from the ad I will measure to verify

• Dimensions for the Plate:
• Outside width: 46" ,
• Inside width: 45" ,
• Height: 18.5"
• Top bar: 3/8" thick. Plate: 1/4" thick
• Dimensions for the quick tach adapter latch:
• Height: 17" ,Width: 9.25"

It snowed last night and I don't have enough room to put my forks, grapple, and bucket in my small garage.


I guess the first major hurdle is to see if the tractor side of the QA can be built without a standoff.

Want to preserve as much lifting power and keep the attachments as close to the pins as is possible.

That would seem to come down to the I.D. of main FEL arms spacing.

I need to get the attachments and tractor in the same area and then get out the measuring tape.

 

[Xfaxman]

Want to preserve as much lifting power and keep the attachments as close to the pins as is possible.

That would seem to come down to the I.D. of main FEL arms spacing.

It is the outside width of the FEL arms that matters. What does yours measure?

So you end up with this:

 

[Vigo327]

Either one could screw you up if you're trying NOT to build standoffs into the design.

The way i see it, it's a lot harder to build adapters for small machines with limited lift capacity then it is for larger machines where most conversion adapters you see seem to have 4-6" of 'standoff' from the pins and noone cares.