3pt. Hyd. forklift/bale spear

[DJ54]

I built this forklift from a "Little Joe" hand forklift. I cut the wheel frame from it, and just used the mast. I got the hyd. cylinder from Surplus Center. The 3/4" bore cylinder on it was not large enough to lift what I wanted. I believe it is a 2" X.., I forget..., LOL... A little modification to fasten the chain sprocket over top of the cylinder did the trick.

Just made some brackets to hook the 3 pt., nothing fancy...

It is rated for 1,000 lb., so plenty large enough to lift my round bales that average 580 lbs. I am able to get enough lift to double stack my 4' bales. I just made a bracket to fit over the cross pieces that the forks attach to. Way heavier than needed, but again a scrap yard had this new cutoff material for pennies.

I still have the forks, and use them often. Like having a hired man at times...!! The hydraulic top link makes things so much easier...

I did have to add additional weight to the front, using the Ford inside front wheel weights...

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

That looks real clean, it looks like you'll save a lot of time with that on the back of your tractor. How hard is it to drop off the unit??.

 

[DJ54]

If I lower the spear, or forks all the way down, I just set the unit on the ground. Where the top link bracket is, I left the handles on, that were used to push/pull it, in it's previous life. It will lower far enough that the lift arms will detach, and just pull the top link pin. It will lay back, and rest on the spear.
It would be easy enough to take some short pieces of tubing that would slide in the bottom spaces where I cut the legs off of it. Put the makeshift stand in it, then detach. But works good enough the way it is to suit me. In that position, I can hook the lift arms, and with little effort, rock it up to attach the toplink with the push/pull handle...