I have a quick hitch, and I will say without reservation, I feel like it was a mistake. Not so much because I bought a cheap one, but more so because of how difficult it makes connecting a driveshaft on anything that requires one and the complete lack of compliance to standards to make "QH Compatible" actually mean something. Especially my chipper which is HEAVY and very uncooperative about the shaft anyway. I have to be a contortionist to connect the driveshaft after connecting it to the lift. HOWEVER, I did find that it's much easier (but not easy) to connect the shaft to the PTO before I get too close to the chipper. The frame for the three-point connection on the WC68 combined with a quick hitch leaves all but NO room to access the PTO shaft because the hitch and the top link. I can only imagine it would be doubly worse because of the cylinders and hoses if you have a hydraulic top & tilt setup to go with the grader blade.
You're on the right track to put a prop on the blade, but I'd probably do something a little less expensive even than a jack. Personally, I'd just cut a 4x4 the right size to hold up the blade 3-point frame up or even build a wooden prop frame for it that I could lift the blade over and drive away. That's the cheapest solution I can come up with, and I'm as stingy as they come.
If I had it to do again, I'd probably go with the Pat's Hooks instead of the QH. I do like the convenience of the QH for things with no drive shaft or tool props, absolutely. But my chipper is a bear to connect with it on, and I find myself still getting off the tractor to stow the props on anything that uses the QH and has to be propped up. I can't use it with the hole digger because the boom replaces the top link anyway. And again, no way would that driveshaft even think about working with the QH. On the other hand, it would be a lot easier to attach the PHD with the Pat's Hooks (than having to insert the pins in the lift arms), and not much more trouble (getting off to connect the top link and/or driveshaft) on other attachments. In addition, the QH really doesn't help unless you take the time to park the attachments on reasonably level ground and all of them have approximately the same requirement for top link length. A Top and Tilt Kit can help with that issue considerably though.
I'm not telling you that it's a bad idea to switch to a QH, I'm just relating my own experience with Quick Hitch Compatibility, especially a Cat I QH that someone got very confused about when they designed it. I got a Cat II QH because I have the LX2610SU because the geometry of the 3 point hitch on the LX is Cat II. Personally, I'd advise against the QH and put the Pat's hooks back on. The HF cheapo (like I have) has Cat III hooks on the bottom pins, and a Cat 2 top hook. The Speeco has Cat I toplink, and Cat II bottom hooks. It's anyone's guess what category pins will be put on an attachment. It isn't a single attachment that would make me decide that, but more the extra work and modifications I had to do to make them all fit the same hitch. I also had to modify my QH to make it connect gracefully to my attachments, because it just seemed to be more aggravating than manually connecting each point. The bottom hooks were really bad to hang on framework at the lower pins, or even on the pins themselves because of the flat tops and sharp corners. So I tapered the top inch and trailing edges of them which didn't harm the load capacity at all, but made the QH center itself better and the attachment pins slide into the bottom hooks much better. I have some photos posted in my gallery if you want to look. It took a few cut-off disks to hog off the corners, and then some work with a flapper wheel to round the remaining corners, but it made a world of difference in that QH. At the time, all I had was the BB, and a sub-soiler. Turns out the subsoiler wasn't QH compatible at all because the top link pin hole was about 3 inches too low for standard Cat I spacing, and the top of the frame had a piece welded in it that interfered with the QH top hook. That meant I had to take the QH off to use it. What's the point in having a QH if it won't work with ALL of the attachments? So I looked up the geometry for Cat II spacing and did quite a bit of work to the subsoiler so I could use it on the QH. I also had to modify my tow bar because it was a Cat 1 bar, and wasn't near wide or tall enough to fit on the QH. None of these issues would have been a problem if I'd got Pat's Hooks to begin with. The only attachments that I have that don't require I get back off the seat at least once are the subsoiler (sitting in a homemade wooden perch) and box blade, both of which I modified based on compatibility with the QH and Cat I/II specifications.
Bottom line, I think you'll regret taking the Pat's Hooks off. I don't know how many attachments you have, but you'll learn very quickly that "QH Compatible" means different things to different manufacturers and you'll miss those Pat's Hooks when something has even a half inch of difference in spacing. Don't even get me started on some attachments having Cat I pins and others having Cat II pins and the bottom hooks on the QH having Cat III hooks. I have a pretty good assortment of bushings for all the different combinations now. I have most of my attachments adjusted for QH compatibility now, but it took some work and some hardware to make that happen. Even some welding on my subsoiler and tow bar. It's quite frustrating to have to remove the QH for some things, and then put it back on for others. If I were a younger stronger man, yep, I'd do without and just manhandle the pins in place. But I like the ends of my fingers right where they are and I can't count the times I've been pinched attaching something to a tractor.
Just be ready for the normal headaches that come with "QH Compatible" claims. If I lived about 600 miles closer, I'd be knocking on your door to buy those off ya, but I can get them (or equivalents) with no shipping cost by ordering online with a 15% discount and having my wife pick them up when she leaves work. Wouldn't make sense to even try to negotiate a price with you.
. But regardless I’m excited to use it more, just gonna have to put a ski mask and goggles on.
