Ballast box substitute

[sandman2234]

I was wondering about people who take the time to build ballast boxes and fill them with concrete or dirt or whatever, if a set of rear forks would be a good alternative. I was wondering how many of us live near a forklift junk yard (yes there are such things!) or a shop that works on forklifts to a point that they end up with junkers out back.
For people who actually want to haul something with their tractors, would taking the carriage off of the mast on a forklift and welding tabs to it to allow the 2 lower 3 point pins to be added. A pair of flatbars with holes drilled into them welded to the side of a piece of 2x2 square tubing for the top link and you have a set of rear forks. I have never acquired one that still had the guard in place, but that could be a safety advantage if picking up stuff that might fall over.
This would allow you to haul something on the back of the tractor as well as hauling something on your FEL. It also should have quite a bit more capacity than your FEL does, as most tractors 3 points are rated for quite a bit more than the FEL.
I build one years ago before I ever had a FEL and it worked great for picking up pallets around the yard, as well as pieces of 1" plate that I had acquired. Most anything on my place can be lifted by the 3 point whereas the FEL won't always handle the weight.
David from jax

 

[EddieWalker]

Might be easier to just build a box big enough to haul stuff around and make the floor super heavy with something. I saw one that had dozens and dozens of sticks of rebar for weight.

I like the simplicity of my 1,200 concrete block on the rear of my tractor. I'm going to add a length of PVC to it so I can put a shovel back there. Sometimes I like to clean out the bucket, and a flat shovel would be very handy for that when I'm moving dirt.

 

[sandman2234]

Might be easier to just build a box big enough to haul stuff around and make the floor super heavy with something. I saw one that had dozens and dozens of sticks of rebar for weight.

I like the simplicity of my 1,200 concrete block on the rear of my tractor. I'm going to add a length of PVC to it so I can put a shovel back there. Sometimes I like to clean out the bucket, and a flat shovel would be very handy for that when I'm moving dirt.

I agree that the ballast boxes are great for hauling a chainsaw, oil, fuel, shovels, beer cooler (did I say that?) and other such things, but if you are hauling firewood from a location 2 miles away, using a 3 point set of forks to haul one tote and another on the FEL to haul even more would decrease your trips by half!
For people who just need to go do a simple job, whatever it is, the FEL is usually all we need, but there are cases where it becomes a time and work saver.
As was my case with my first couple of tractors, I didn't have a FEL and bought the tractor to bushhog. When I got tired of trying to rig up the 3 point boom pole to pick up things that were too heavy for it, I went with the 3 point forks and used them a lot until I got my first FEL.
Just trying to open up an alternative for people that don't want to spend a small fortune for a set of 3 point forks and who could use a set.
David from jax

 

[WranglerX]

Ballast box is my main rear implement as I do mostly FEL work.... But when I made ballast box, I put 4 vertical ABS pipe in it to accommodate long handled tools (shovel, rake, hoes) and added scabbard for chainsaw.........Also put heavy angle iron on rear of ballast box with several holes to accommodate hooks for drug things (homemade harrow ) and ball hitch to accommodate things like log splitter and trailer couplers.... Went so far as to add chains so I don't ever have to worry about 3PH creep down when working tractor.... If you make solid fill ballast box, be sure to put a ring or loop on top of box, because if it is off tractor and falls over you need some way to grasp to pull it upright...(Don't ask)....

 

[CalG]

The carry all frame with a platform is a bit bulky on a small tractor, But does a useful job of moving anything on a pallet, and can easily be loaded with (put your options here) when you need stability out back. Call it a minimalist fork setup.

I do have a cat 1 concrete block, it tucks in nicely for it's weight, and chains drape on it OK. But I hardly use it anymore.

 

[RayIN]

Every fork lift I ever saw uses electric motors to raise the mast, and to move it sideways, if equipped. That would be a load for any standard farm tractor electrical system.
We had an off-road fork lift for my hazardous chemical storage yard. It was powered by a Dodge slant-six, and still used electric for the lift. There were 2 alternators on the engine to supply power to the batteries.

 

[WranglerX]

Every fork lift I ever saw uses electric motors to raise the mast, and to move it sideways, if equipped. That would be a load for any standard farm tractor electrical system.
We had an off-road fork lift for my hazardous chemical storage yard. It was powered by a Dodge slant-six, and still used electric for the lift. There were 2 alternators on the engine to supply power to the batteries.

Funny all the ones I have seen/used are full hydraulic.....

 

[Shawn T. W.]

My home built ballast box is very compact and handy ...

Three points forks are also handy, but not compact ... Pick one, or both!

 

[Runner]

I have thought about adding a three-point connection to my Big Joe electro-hydraulic forklift. I think it would be very handy to be able to haul it out to remote locations and use it with a platform to trim trees.

I like the rear fork idea, but you need a hydraulic top link for best results.

I think a real, live, extendable hydraulic forklift on the three-point like this would be neat to have.

Hard to beat a ballast box as a counterweight for tight spaces though.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I like the rear fork idea, but you need a hydraulic top link for best results.

Yup makes it very handy, for other things too!

Because of the geometry of the 3pt, it swings in an arc, the hydraulic top link allows you to keep adjusting the fork to be level to slide into a pallet ...

 

[90cummins]

I was wondering about people who take the time to build ballast boxes and fill them with concrete or dirt or whatever, if a set of rear forks would be a good alternative. I was wondering how many of us live near a forklift junk yard (yes there are such things!) or a shop that works on forklifts to a point that they end up with junkers out back.
For people who actually want to haul something with their tractors, would taking the carriage off of the mast on a forklift and welding tabs to it to allow the 2 lower 3 point pins to be added. A pair of flatbars with holes drilled into them welded to the side of a piece of 2x2 square tubing for the top link and you have a set of rear forks. I have never acquired one that still had the guard in place, but that could be a safety advantage if picking up stuff that might fall over.
This would allow you to haul something on the back of the tractor as well as hauling something on your FEL. It also should have quite a bit more capacity than your FEL does, as most tractors 3 points are rated for quite a bit more than the FEL.
I build one years ago before I ever had a FEL and it worked great for picking up pallets around the yard, as well as pieces of 1" plate that I had acquired. Most anything on my place can be lifted by the 3 point whereas the FEL won't always handle the weight.
David from jax

I made a very heavy set of 3pt hitch forks that are on my tractor 90% of the time so I placed a 2x2x2 concrete block on a pallet that I can slide my 3pt hitch forks into when needed for loader work.
Having ballast mounted directly on 3pt would be a major pain to remove & reinstall.
I also made a cross bar that pins across the end of forks so I can add a trailer hitch in minutes to pull my 2200lb roller.
90cummins

 

[sdef]

An old 3pt carryall with a Home Depot job box welded to it with concrete added. 1235# as it sits with room for additional weight or tool storage inside the box.

 

[LouNY]

I used a forklift mast to 3 point before i got my loader pallet forks. I still use them at times,

 

[ptsg]

I typically use my brush cutter as counter weight when doing loader work. If I'm doing any heavier lifting I throw a bunch of rocks at the very end of the brush counter to increase the weight back there. Works pretty good.

Last fall I had to spread about 16 ton of gravel at home, so I just towed the tractor home and used the carry all box/transport box I keep at home to use with the Agria tractor. I filled it with gravel and ended up being right at 1600 lbs including the weight of the box. This worked beautifully as with a full bucket of gravel, the front tires didn't even tried to squat the slightest.

I can not stress this enough. Always use counter weight when doing loader work. Not only it makes it a lot safer, it also prolong the lift of the front axle bearings and seals by a lot.

You really want to keep at very least 20 to 25% of the weight in the rear axle when doing heavy lifting and doing the math, that often requires to have as much weight in counter weight as whatever being lifted weights.

Straight from a very well known loader manufacturer:

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Rotary cutter is my ballast box. Don't complicate things.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I think it is a decent idea. I have a carry all for the 3 point but haven't used it in years because anything I would need to carry with it would be too heavy for it. The only reason I would use forks on the 3 point is to lift something heavier than my FEL could lift, 2500-3000 lb range and that would be too heavy for this cheap carry all. So I could see a puirpose for a strong cabable set of forks back there. But their length could be a hinderance in a lot of cases. I also think it would be difficult to get enough weight on it to be useful.

I too have a 55 gallon drum filled 3/4 with concrete. I left a little space empty in the top so I could carry stuff like a jacket and chains, etc. I also put 2 pvc tubes in it for shovels or rakes. It has a trailer hitch receiver on it.

 

[Joe Batt]

I wouldn't plan on using forks for ballast. When I use the FEL, I tend to forget about what's hanging off the back. It needs to be very secure. Once in a while I use the brushhog, but too often I hit things with it. I filled my tires with beet juice. I highly recommend it. The weight is low and off the axle.

That said, I really like my forks. I made them to fit in the bucket or on the 3 point:

 

[Fxfymn413]

I adapted the front pallet forks to fit the 3ph by simply adding pins for the lift arms and a welded on mount for the top link because I wanted to use my BX2660 to lift the rear duals of my antique fire truck when I did a brake job on it. The BX was small enough to maneuver around inside the garage.

Now I just put a piece of sheet metal on the floor, grease it up with cooking spray, and slide the duals off. Much easier!