3 point hitch with fork lift mass

Chances R · Feb 15, 2008

Hi folks.
Kicking around building a 3 point hitch fork lift out of a 2500 lbs. electric crown fork lift mass. Any one else try doing such a thing? Any pictures? Any tips? I think I can get the fork lift for close to nothing the battery is shot.
I will be using this on the back of a 3020 John Deere gas.

GaryBDavis · Feb 15, 2008

I built one out of an old forklift carriage. Make some measurements of your 3pt in the lowest position before you weld on the attachment points. You want the forks to hit the ground just before your 3pt goes down to it's lowest point. This will give you the most lifting height while insuring you can get the forks on the ground.

I built a set of forks for the FEL at the same time. I have to say I never use the 3pt forks. (the FEL forks are just too darn handy). The 3pt forks just sit in the barn. Anyone want to buy them? Since the photos, they have been sandblasted and painted JD green. They have 36" forks on them (48" in the picture). The pins are cat-II but could be switched out for cat-I. Make a decent offer. I'm in Central Texas.

Chances R · Feb 15, 2008

Thanks for posting and nice job. I was needing the entire mass though so I could lift a pallet in the air about 10 feet. Thanks again.

Wildcat Ranch · Feb 15, 2008

I have been thinking about doing to the same thing. My only concern has been the lifting capacity. My tractor is rated at #3900lbs but how would it be able to lift before the front started coming off the ground?

I called a forklift junk yard in my area and over the phone, he said that the mast would be probably about $400 and the forks, $200 but when I came out we could negotiate.

If you do end up building it, please post pictures.

Wayne County Hose · Feb 15, 2008

Search back a little as there was a guy that just did this with a whole mast and he did a real nice job. He used the valve and tilt from the forklift also. It's a pretty easy, straight forward type of thing, just tales some time. If you are using the Crown mast I think you are, it's a good choice. I think it's off of a walkie stacker if it's 2500 lbs. Take pics, and ask any questions, there are a couple of forklift mechanics lurking around here.

LoganWildman · Feb 15, 2008

A friend of mine did what your thinking about, but he doesn't use it any more. He now has a forklift so he don't need the other. The main problem is the mast is very heavy, so that weight has to be factored into anything your moving. Also, if your concerned about tipping, you can always put some ballast in the loader bucket.

Another though is making steel rollers for the bottom of the mast so that when you get to the destination, you could set the mast on the ground and still be able to move, but yet the weight is on the ground and not on the tractor which should reduce the likelyhood of tipping. (I'd still put ballast in the bucket for insurance)

One final thought that just hit me is would the tractor have enough oil reserve to push a 2 or 3 stage mast out all the way?

Alan

jimmer2880 · Feb 15, 2008

I did something very similiar, but put it on the back of an old Chevy C50.

It's kind of hard to see, but here is a pic of it. I got the mast assembly from a friend of mine who had a forklift that burnt up. I bought the pump/hydraulic Tank/Valve Spool from a local junk auction for ~$25.00. Then, I just power the pump off of the truck's PTO. You can see the pump/tank/valve spool just in front of the rear wheel in the picture, under the tool box.

I will say that the mast is very heavy. I don't know exactly how heavy, but I'd bet it's between 500 & 1,000 lbs.

Because the cylinder is a single acting cylinder, you will need to worry about enough hydraulic fluid. However, this is easily negated by running the pump and tank off of the tractor's PTO.

We use this truck to move mobile homes (14x75') at the club we belong to, into and out of the flood plain. But, it is so handy, it ends up getting used for many many other tasks (in this case, picking up my boat dock to put the trailer under it).

hdbikercouple · Feb 15, 2008

I did just that. used the whole mass and forks,put it on a farmall 560 diesel. when loaded you needed more air in the rear tires and weight on the front end. it got the job done. just be carefull, as on a hill with a big tractor it don,t seem bad till you raise the forks.

MikeD74T · Feb 16, 2008

hdbikercouple said:
I did just that. used the whole mass and forks,put it on a farmall 560 diesel. when loaded you needed more air in the rear tires and weight on the front end. it got the job done. just be carefull, as on a hill with a big tractor it don,t seem bad till you raise the forks.

Two weeks ago I helped a friend pick up a mast/carrige that had been converted to 3pt. Just had tabs & pins welded directly onto the mast frame Single hydraulic hose to lift cylinder. Will lift 1/2 cord of firewood on a pallet enough to transport with 200lbs of suitcase weights on the front. Mid 70's Ford about 40 HP??? Sketchy to lift higher though. I tried to get him to make shorter draft arms/ toplink to move the mast in to just clear of the tires from out about 8" now. He's going to get more weights & keep the load low except when real close to the stack of pallets then back up slowly to the stack.

He's welded 3 sided crates from Kioti shipping frames & bolted to heavy duty pallets. Loads the pallets directly from the splitter, stacks them 3 high in the wood shed, & moves as needed into shop & drive in basement, right next to the furnace in both locations. Before this forklift attachment he moved the pallets with Case 580 & bucket forks but couldn't get beyond the basement overhead door. MikeD74T

dogbreath108 · Mar 2, 2008

I've been working on building a front quick attach set of forks and also a set for the rear 3ph.

I grabbed 4 sets of forks and mounts from a company that was going out of business. They cut up 7 perfectly good fork trucks and threw them in the metal dumpster. Yep, hard to believe... You wouldn.t believe what else was in there.. They were under a everything must go right now order.

After looking at it many ways, I think I am going to build the set for the front loader and also configure it with pins and a top link mount for use on the 3ph. (also make an attachment that would allow a 3ph item to mount to the fork frame and be used on the front of the tractor). Then probably give the other 3 sets away. Sort of the swiss army knife attachment frame. What do you think... I also don't think I will need one set for both the front and rear of the tractor. The best use for them on the back of the tractor I think is for a dump carrier mount that connect to the tips of the forks. It provides a perfect frame for this purpose. And any time you can load up the raer of the tractor verses the front, you should... I'm thinking moving fairly large amounts of cord wood than what would fit in one bucket load, on one run of the tractor.

There were also the complete working masts from the fork trucks in the dumpsters, but I could in no way lift them out to take. Just too heavy.

Joe