FEL Work Platform

[downsizingnow48]

I am replacing all the windows and siding on the Mendocino place. Three buildings and a lot of work. Rather than ladders or scaffold I decided to make a work platform for the tractor. I have seen two or three TBN folk use IBC Totes, which looked like a good idea. So I did the same.

I will be spending quite a bit of time in, it so added a few things to make it worker-friendly. Plastic caps are on the cut tubes so I can't gouge myself. Safety chain so I can't step off by accident. Racks to hold a tool bucket, a tool belt, and a trash bucket. And bumpers made out of 4x4 redwood, so if I nudge the siding it won't immediately make a big scratch. The top bumper extends out 24" on the entrance side, so I have a place to lean a ladder other than the side of the buildings.

 

[npalen]

Looks good! I use a 2x4 framed sheet of 1/2" plywood with 2x4 railing. A pair of the IBC tote frames end to end would make a nice railing instead of the 2x4's.

 

[dalola]

Great idea! What does that weigh? Where would one find such a thing (the tote)? Cost?

 

[downsizingnow48]

The IBC tote (frame plus 275 gal plastic container) weighs 135 lbs. I guess the frame weighs about 90 lbs. Here in Sacramento they are in Craigslist all the time. Used. For food grade, $100 - $125. For non food grade, $50 - $75.

 

[AchingBack]

The IBC tote (frame plus 275 gal plastic container) weighs 135 lbs. I guess the frame weighs about 90 lbs. Here in Sacramento they are in Craigslist all the time. Used. For food grade, $100 - $125. For non food grade, $50 - $75.

Very good job.
Is it mounted to forks? If so, what keeps it in place? To prevent it from creeping down, do you leave your engine running while working? I know I would have to.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Yes the tote is made to be carried on pallet forks and that is what I use. I turn the engine off. With that weight, which is not very much, the loader drifts down maybe an inch in an hour. I would not be in one position for that long anyway.

 

[Gem99ultra]

A couple of suggestions to consider...
The bumpers extending out 24" might be too much. Maybe 6 inches - just enough to keep your ladder from sliding off.
Put the gate on the side, not on the front side.
I added D-rings and light weight straps fastening the platform to the tractor, just as an insurance factor.
Keep the floor rough.
I simply mounted mine on a pallet, put down a 3/4 inch floor, and added castors to the pallet. It sure is handy for tree-trimming, etc..

I like the end caps idea. I just used aluminum tape like the use for a/c ductwork.

 

[mikester]

Looks good, you read my mind! Do you chain it to the forks?

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks for the suggestions. I had not thought of strapping or chaining it to the forks but will do that. Using plywood for a flat slip resistant floor is also a good idea.

Here is another photo that clarifies how the gate, bumper, and ladder work. I have several step ladders that will work at the heights I need for the siding and window work.

 

[woody]

I don't see using the ladder prop if you have the platform to work off of, I left the top bar on mine and put the safety chain about mid way. the plastic caps are a good idea I just cut mine flush and sanded smooth. they are fifty dollars at the local feed and seed store.

 

[flyerdan]

One thing I would do is include a toe board, not so much for OSHA compliance, but to keep small dropped items from going overboard. A roll of 4" sheetmetal would work great; there are enough verticals to tack to that will give it rigidity and it would follow the curve around the corners.

 

[FTG-05]

Looks good, you read my mind! Do you chain it to the forks?

I use 1 1/2" ratchet strap and strap it to my FEL/forks. Prevents accidents like iinadvertently tipping the platform towards the house or other structure you don't want hit. Plus it makes me feel safer.

Another safety tip: Make and use some sort of mechanical lock in the unlikely, but still possible, case of hydraulic failure. I use a 2x6 with 2x4 "captures".

I used an old rubber mat for the floor. MUCH more safer feeling working at height vs. using a ladder!

 

[downsizingnow48]

Toe board another idea I need to use. Many thanks for various suggestions. It will be a week or so before I can make the additions, will post again then.

 

[mikester]

I use 1 1/2" ratchet strap and strap it to my FEL/forks. Prevents accidents like iinadvertently tipping the platform towards the house or other structure you don't want hit. Plus it makes me feel safer.

Another safety tip: Make and use some sort of mechanical lock in the unlikely, but still possible, case of hydraulic failure. I use a 2x6 with 2x4 "captures".

I used an old rubber mat for the floor. MUCH more safer feeling working at height vs. using a ladder!


View attachment 571773

Now I have to figure out how to operate the loader controls from the basket!

 

[Gem99ultra]

Wow! You got the 'Cadillac' of frames. After your original post mentioning the end caps I started looking for some for my frame. Nope - turns out I have the Cheapo of Cheapo's with weird looking rails. None to be had, so I'll just have to live with my raggedly looking aluminum tape over the ends of mine.

I see that you already placed your entrance on the side. Better idea than mine on the front. I did put on two safety chains with latches to help prevent a fall-out.

I did add a 3/4" plywood floor, unfinished for safer footing. I like the idea of adding something to hang a ladder on for those 99.9% times that I'm working by myself with no-one to operate my controls. I won't be lugging around a ladder though unless absolutely necessary, but the ladder brace is a good idea.

You've done a very nice job of getting yours set up. Congratulations on a job well done.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Gem thx for the note.

My tubes are not round either. They start off round, then are heavily creased making a crescent. To make the round caps fit had to squeeze the "horns" of the crescent together with a big pair of channel locks. Then use a belt sander to bevel the ends. Still not round but closer. Then, McMaster Carr has a gazillion types and sizes of plastic caps. The ones I got are a bit flexible/expandable so can be stretched over the odd shape tube end.

 

[npalen]

Not familiar with the various types of IBC totes but spray-on bed liner would seem to be a possibility for a non-slip floor.

 

[RSKY]

We painted my youngest daughter's 100-year old three story house last year. They rented a lift that ran off batteries that you charged every night. The cost here in KY was $1780/month. That lift would extend high enough the floor was 42' off the ground. It had two arms and could have the bottom one fully raised and the extendable top arm ran out about twenty feet. So I could paint the dormer twenty feet high and ten feet back from the roof edge. The best thing about it was that THE CONTROLS WERE IN THE BASKET.

Much cheaper to rent than a single Emergency Room visit.

RSKY

 

[Diggin It]

So, what are we doing .... lifting to position then using a ladder to get in the bucket?

For the side entrance, what about using the cut out piece as a gate? Weld or U-bolt some hinges in place.

Could this be done safely with a loader bucket instead of pallet forks?

 

[flyerdan]

I put a door on mine, cut a regular door hinge in half and trimmed it to fit so it swings both ways. The whole thing was made from free scrap that I'd accumulated; even the paint on the welds were drabs left over in rattle cans from other projects so the only direct cost was the shielding gas and wire. My toe boards are trim from some siding material, probably about 20 or 22 gauge, but it is remarkably rigid being tacked in like it is.