My John Deere Worksite Pro to SSQA Project

[freudianfloyd]

I started this topic on a different forum but figured it's a better fit on here.

I have a new project on the farm.

The problem, I have a 2011 John Deere 410J backhoe and need attachments. This backhoe has the quick change bucket on the front that John Deere calls "Worksite Pro". Well finding anything that adapts to this is hard enough, finding any attachments that I can afford is another story.

I have found sets of forks for $4k and up, used, and that is more than I can justify. On top of that, if i want to use any other attachment, like a post hole digger, or hay spear, I will have to pay thousands for each of those attachments as well.

So I decided, i'm going to make a Worksite Pro to SSQA (skid steer quick attach) adapter. Here was my inspiration. Yeah look at that price.


I'm going with a design similar but heavier everywhere I can. The one pictured is rated for 7,500 lbs so mine should be plenty strong enough for what I am doing.

Yes I know the backhoe is way oversized for skid steer attachments, but I only use this around the farm, so it isn't going to get full time use, and skid steer attachments are cheap and easy to come by. Also, my dad lives next door and has a wide variety of attachments I can borrow.

First, I had to figure out how to make the plates that fit my backhoe. I found some that were close to the same pattern online for $950 and up but out of stock and not exactly what I needed, and would need modified. And thanks to this forum I found a few drawings for adapters that were close and had a machine shop I use for work take that drawing and convert it to a .dxf file. After reviewing it and making a few changes and measuring about 30 times, I pulled the trigger on having them laser cut. Oh, did i mention the plates are 1" thick? The price they quoted me was around $300 for each plate.

However, the shop had some 1" scrap and wanted to dial in their laser, and since labor was low, and the owner is awesome, he gave them to me for free!


Each plate is roughly 3 feet long and 2 feet wide, and HEAVY. But I wanted to match what the bucket on my backhoe already uses, and the adapters Ive seen online also use 1" thick steel, so thats what I went with. They fit great!


Anyway, I did some digging online and found some ssqa latch boxes from Bell Precision. I upgraded to the heavy duty boxes and they weren't lying, these things are 3/8" thick and weigh a ton. They are also rated for 7,500 lbs.

 

[freudianfloyd]

I was originally planning on just using my dad's forks, but since I saved the cost of the plates, I used those funds to buy a set of forks.

So I ordered a fork attachment with 60" forks. This attachment also doubles as a hay spear, which I have been needing and is rated for 4,000 lbs. Which is probably heavier than anything I will need to lift anytime soon.

The crazy part is, the forklift was delivered FedEx, and the bracket by itself weighs 148 lbs. The forks are double that and will be arriving by FedEx tomorrow. The driver will probably be pretty upset with me after that.


And here are the latch boxes in the fork lift attachment on my weld table. I will be welding 2x2x1/4"" square tubing between boxes once I get the spacing set just right (latch box manufacturer suggested 1/8" wall tubing, but you could upgrade to 3/16". I decided to go bigger still. Those tubes will then be welded to the large plates on my backhoe. Of course that seems a little weak to me, so I will be adding braces/gussets/and crossmembers where needed to add some strength.



After unloading all this stuff, and test fitting and moving them around the garage, I called it a night. I will probably get back on it tomorrow.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Made some good progress the next day after work. I have a bad patience problem and usually rush through everything, but this time I took my time on literally every weld, making sure I clamp things down so they dont move, make sure everything is square etc. That's why it has been taking so long, but it will be worth it.

Started by cutting the square tubing and welding it to the latch boxes.





I made sure to weld fully around everything that I could. I dont want this thing breaking off.

Next, I got my plates installed on the backhoe and lined them up so the pins would pass through the holes to lock on.
It was a pain in the butt by myself, but used a little ingenuity and got them locked on. Then I welded on the stops so I wont have this problem again.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Then I set about putting in a crossmember on the plates to give them some rigidity, and maintain spacing. I used a 4" X 3/16" thick pipe.

The hoe wasn't level so I zeroed on the top of the hitch and set my pipe accordingly.



And here is where I made a rookie mistake and called it quits for the night. When I started welding these, they were locked in tight on the backhoe with nowhere to go. I made the mistake of running a bead instead of tacking the backside of the pipe first. Needless to say, my bracket went from two perfectly perpendicular sides horizontally and vertically to pulling about 1/4" from front to back. I still haven't figured out what I am going to do to remedy this, short of grinding the weld and redoing it, but I called it a night and went inside before I got too upset about it.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Made some more progress yesterday. The two parts are married together and have a few welds holding them where they should be. I got a late start so I didnt make much progress unfortunately.

*Ignore the ugly weld on the end of the 2x2 tube in the bottom picture. I missed my joint completely because my helmet was acting up.*



I was pretty happy with it, tested it several times and it worked great. Called my wife out to see how handy I am, and she asked "how hard is it to switch back to your bucket?" To which i confidently said "watch this". To which my backhoe said "no" and proceeded to bind and refuse to let go of the bracket I built. After putting my tail between my legs, I proceeded to beating the pin back in, and was able to get it to let go. I guess tomorrow I will be reading the holes out. I think the problem is the forks were pulling down on it in a way to make it bind. Opening the holes should do wonders.

I also have several welds left to do, add some gussets and im probably going to put a second crossmember pipe near the top, there is too much open area for my liking.

I also picked up a couple chain hooks Im going to weld on the tops of the 1" plate uprights for strapping needs.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Today's update. Nothing! My wife tricked me into hanging out with her on the couch and I never made it to the garage. Tomorrow I have all day to get this thing finished up.

I still need to finish welding the 2x2 tubes to the 1" plates. I am then going to add another pipe crossmember towards the top of the 1" plates for more strength. And I plan to add triangular gussets on the inside of each 2x2 tube where it meets up to the 1" plates. This should give it plenty of strength.

And then to paint it and put it to work.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Chain hooks have been welded on....


And finished with some gussets to add a bit of strength to the SSQA latch boxes tubing.
And with that, the welding/fabrication is complete!

Now to paint it.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Well its painted. Couldn't find any brushes for the grey so I went with the black in one of those turbo cans. It makes a mess but goes on quick.

The latch box handles will be red so when Im on the backhoe telling my wife or kids to pull the lever I can say "pull the red lever".

 

[freudianfloyd]

Its finished. Painted and reassembled. And lifted the heaviest thing nearby to make sure it didnt flex or bend or break. I also added a camera because you cannot see the forks at all from the drivers seat.

i see this getting a lot of use in the future.

 

[Mr. Wrench]

Nice work!

 

[freudianfloyd]

Nice work!

Thank you

 

[freudianfloyd]

Put the forks to use yesterday. My wife wanted to use some of those 275 gallon tanks for a raised garden bed (cut the tops off and fill with soil). We put some rocks in the bottom, and then filled them the rest of the way with topsoil. Then I had to move them to the garden. My dad tried to use his skid steer since my backhoe was leaving ruts in the yard, but his skid steer (New Holland LX665) couldn't budge them. So, I had to use my backhoe. According to a quick calculation by ChatGPT, a 275 gallon tote full of damp soil weighs roughly 3,700 lbs. My forks lifted them without any issue.

The adapter held up great, no bending, flexing, creaking or popping, etc. Worked like it should.

I did order a set of cameras to replace the single camera system I have. You cannot see any bit of the forks when in the seat, which makes lifting pallets from the ground a 2 person job. You also cannot see the adapter at all when trying to line up with a much narrower skid steer attachment. With 3 cameras, I should be able to see everything.

 

[MG84]

Your work looks nice, just be very careful. First off a 410J lifts way way more than most skid steer attachments are designed to lift and even worse when you starting pushing around on them with a 18,000lb+ machine. Second I think you'll find the machine to be very off balance with an attachment as light as a set of skid steer forks or a bale spear. Be especially careful trying to go up hills or up trailer ramps.

As for the cameras, that's just an expensive/delicate solution to a simple problem. We've been running loader tractors, backhoes, and crawler loaders with forks for years when you can't see them. After a little seat time you'll get a knack for it. To pick up pallets on the ground you set the forks flat, put them down till they touch the ground, then lift them up about 2" and drive forward to slide them in the pallet. Things at truck/dock height are easy to see.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Your work looks nice but just be very careful. First off a 410J lifts way way more than most skid steer attachments are designed to lift and even worse when you starting pushing around on them with a 18,000lb+ machine. Second I think you'll find the machine to be very off balance with an attachment as light as a set of skid steer forks or a bale spear. Be especially careful trying to go up hills or up trailer ramps.

As for the cameras, that's just an expensive/delicate solution to a simple problem. We've been running loader tractors, backhoes, and crawler loaders with forks for years when you can't see them. After a little seat time you'll get a knack for it. To pick up pallets on the ground you set the forks flat, put them down till they touch the ground, then lift them up about 2" and drive forward to slide them in the pallet. Things at truck/dock height are easy to see.

I truly appreciate the worry, I worry myself so much about everything I do, I rarely try anything new, but I live on boring flat farm land and it doesn't get transported anywhere. It also seems pretty balanced with the forks, I have been carrying loads and driving all over the yard and haven't noticed anything that seemed out of balance.

Also, i am aware of the lifting capacity of skid steer components, but this is a hobby farm backhoe and cannot afford $4000 for some 410 forks or a seperate skid steer and Im lifting things like fence posts and some dirt filled tubs. Not lifting things exceeding the ratings of the skid steer components. At mist I may run a skid steer post hole digger or post pounder with it besides the forks.

As far as learning without the camera, that may be possible, but I dont run this thing everyday so I will take any help I can get. You guys that can run these things blind are amazing. I am not, but hopefully I will be one day.

 

[HarleyHappy]

When I built my log home in TN the guy that unloaded the trailers, used a TD7 with pallet forks on it. First glance, we all we thinking of calling someone else. 2 hours later I was handing over a couple of hundred dollars for a tip and we were all glomming over the guy.