Forks Chain On Pallet Forks Came Today.

[Gale Hawkins]

Loader Forks Bucket Forks Skid Tractor Pallet Fork - eBay (item 390060184854 end time Sep-11-10 13:45:13 PDT)

Well I did not know what to expect from a $135 set of chain of FEL forks when I ordered them on Tue.

At first I was not impressed with the idea of steel pipe forks but after we installed one tonight using the light of a flashlight I warmed to the idea they may actually work out.

The chain design seems to be the key for them to be rated at 3500 pounds for moving pallets. Number one chain hold the knotched catch against the cutting edge of the bucket so it can not slip off and second the chain also keeps some of the load off the lower lip of the the cutting edge.

The piece of 5/16" chain is about 15" too short on each fork but we so happen to have picked up a 10' 5/16" chain so we will just use it to save making the chains longer. Our 310B FEL bucket is 1 cu. yard size.

Now their $49.99 set of binders were impressive and they were a little cheaper through GC Manufacturing it seemed.

Tomorrow I have to move some rock but over the weekend I may have some pallets to unload. If I get them completely installed I will try to post enough shots to how they mount so it is more more clean than in words.

Being fast to install/remove is a strong point. They make some out square/rectangle tubes but claim round tubes are the strongest of the three.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Gale, I've had a set of these for a while now. I think they're a good buy for an occasional fork need. Not heavy duty, (nor is my little Kubota L3400) but then for $135 you don't expect them to be.

After using mine a few days moving logs, I modified mine. The pipe is obviously drill pipe - very heavy wall, and more than strong enough. I kept breaking the wooden 2x4 back stops off, so I cut those sockets off and welded in some heavy wall box tubing identical to the base of the forks, but tall enough for backstops. Then I ground down the base attachment point angle to give more contact surface on my bucket. They come with a 30 degree contact patch and my bucket has a 45 degree edge.

Never had a problem with them bending my bucket, but I'm a 'belt AND suspenders' type person. I had previously added some 3/8" plate to the top of my bucket to add support for my hooks, so that gives a little more support for the top edge; not that I know I needed it, but again 'belt & suspenders'.

I love the little ratchet binders. Light enough to handle with one hand, and more than strong enough to hold the forks in place.

You'll like having those forks around for that occasional need. And you'll find more 'needs' than you ever imagined.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Thanks for your experience with this $135 set of forks.

On our old JD 310B bucket the contact angle is dead on giving me full contact on the lip and bottom. After getting more ran in a day than all summer I need to move some rock dumped for the drive but next week I plan to use them to help the builders get materials closer to the build site so I have only installed one.

The long time heavy equipment guy would brought me a load of dense grade this AM was impressed with the design, look and feel of the one I have installed.

Our binders are the Grip 1/4 - 5/16 2600 lb rated and they are sweet to use for sure. I will watch putting too much pressure on the standard loops because I can see they are very light.

As already posted when I first saw them coming out of the box I was not impressed but after mounting the one it became clear the design is very good. If clamp on types get pushed to the side then you have move them back into place it would seem but with this design with a lot of effor I can force the tip a few inches to the right or left but it centers right back up when the force stops.

I will like that freedom of movement for moving brush etc I expect. Give and help prevent breaking.

The lumber I have to move will be 12-18' so I am thinking of mounting the forks very wide. Do you think that might lead to one fork catching too much of the load and that I should just set them up for a full size pallet.

One thing I hope to use them for is when I am picking up blocks, SAK Crete, etc that I will get that kind of stuff set in the back of my 16' flatbed so I can set them off with the forks when I get home.

 

[Gem99ultra]

re moving 12-18' lumber, I would think moving the forks the the outer extremes would be more stable. And they'd be more in line with your lift arms. But don't mistake me for an experienced operator I'm definitely a newbie.

When moving heavy trees (~30"+ x 5' lenghts) if I tried to pick them up lengthways,the forks would spread apart sometimes making something of a V-shape, letting the log drop out. Tight chains were required to hold them straight. A strap or brace between the forks might be in order if you're going to do much of that kind of work.

The only other problem that I had was when I'd pick up larger logs (>5', about 800 lbs.) and tilt the load back it would hit the 2x4 backstops that I had added. Those would break off like toothpicks. Now that I've added 1/4" 2x4 steel backstops, problem solved.

oh - I forgot to mention another super use for them. In clearing extremely heavy underbrush and vines, I raised the bucket and forks high, drove into to wall of underbrush and tilted the forks down. Then just backed out dragging huge piles debris out of the trees, fence lines, etc. Not as good as a good grapple, but then, I don't have a grapple

Sounds like you have a great number of chores already lined up for your new forks. They'll pay for themselves in short order.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135001.jpg
A full view shot of one of the two forks that come in the $135 set of chain on forks. You may have to scroll to see the full picture.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135002.jpg
A close up of the mounting system.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135003.jpg
The underside shot showing were the chain is welded to the pipe and its path up the back side.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135004.jpg
Shows the chain coming up the back and over the top back to the fork. The Grip 1/1-5/16 ratchet binder rated at 2600 pounds is high quality too. They are $25 each from GC Manufacturing which is one of the best prices for the Grip brand that i could find.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135005.jpg
A shot of the unattached fork from the back end of the 2 3/8" pipe with a 3/16" wall thickness. This is one heavy piece of pipe.

http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad119/GaleHawkins/PalletForks135006.jpg
Open view of the unmounted fork turned upside down showing the front edge connection point and the stake older.

While I have not used them yet I had a heavy equipment operator stop by today and he was impressed with the design at the $135 price for the pair. At some point I may mount them touching and hose clamp the electric pole saw between the two poles and try to do some limb trimming using the forks in this manner.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Just got back from Lowes with 40 blocks on one pallet and 20 bags of cement on another so now I have a reason to get the new forks chained on and put to use tomorrow.

 

[myyaz33]

I have had mine for a few months and find them very useful. I now look for things to throw on a pallet and be moved around. One thing I do quite often is just put on one of them and use the fork to move equipment around when things need mowed.

I would have loved to have a quick attach pair, but they cost too much for my limited needs. These forks do have their quirks, but are absolutely worth the $135. The only thing that I really don't like is that you can't see the forks due to the bucket.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Tomorrow I am going to finish up digging trenches and filling them with rock for the new storage building/shop foundation blocks to set on that is going up on Wed. I will use them to move the building materials right up to the building site.

GC called today to insure I got them OK. As was posted they are made from OK drill pipe. End to end ours are about 5 foot and weight 30 pounds each.

Have you had any bending/breakage issues?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

The forks got a workout today moving most all of the materias for the 18x28 two story building with a 12x28 lean to. I think getting the 3/4 plywood flooring up to the second story late in the day impressed Juan and his crew the most. There was not one at the house with me today to snap some photos of the action.

I spread open a chain hook on a cheap China log chain that I was using to extend the chains by 15 inches when grossly over doing it. I sounded aweful but did not hurt the fork. After that I made them break the double bundles.

The $135 forks are keepers. Even it I broke one I could order another set. The bucket blocking the the view of the forks makes a spotter come in handy.

 

[Delaware Devil]

I also bought a set of these forks from E-Bay. Check your welds, lots of slag and aplatter on the pipes and the beads leave a lot to be desired. I was really pissed when I opened the box and found a pair of 3 inch OD pipes. I told the vendor that these were not pallet forks,as to industry standards forks have to fit the lower holes in 4 way pallets. These pipes won't even go under my mower deck without me raising it first (Kubota 60" MMM). I would return them and want to, but it would cost a small fortune. This vendor ought to specify that these are pipes and state their size. This is not truth in advertising.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I agree to a point because I know my initial response two weeks ago. :thumbsup:

With at being said I still knew $135 for the forks and shipping indicated they were not $1000 set of forks.

I have a 1983 60 HP JD 310B backhoe (full size of that era) and the forks will hold up with loads that cause bypassing on lifting and curling at max RPM without bending or breaking any welds from my personal use of them last week moving building materials for Juan's crew who builds the CMB billdings like Lowes/Home Depot sell to be site built.

As another noted the only really downside I found was the concept of putting forks on a bucket because you can not the forks as you get under a load.

I never plan to be without a set of these $135 forks unless someone gives me a better solution. I know it will take REAL abuse to break these forks because I did and they did not. :thumbsup:

 

[Gem99ultra]

I agree Del. Devil - they are not true pallet forks. The pipe isn't ordinary run of the mill water pipe though. I think you'll find that it's drill stem, which is heavy wall. They're way more strong than my L3400 FEL can use.

The welding splatter didn't bother me either, since I chopped them apart and rebuilt them with heavy wall box tubing for backstops. Yeah, I know - whey didn't I simply make my own? Any good welder (which I'm not) could have done just that.

But, if you do decide that you simply don't want them around, send me a note. I'll pay the freight to take 'em. They'll be plenty for my son's B2410.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Pallet Forks -- Bucket Attachments

Nice looking tube forks at twice the weight and price.

 

[Delaware Devil]

Hi guys, me again. I'm still disappointed with the dealers advertising. I bought these forks for only 2 purposes, one was to lift the mower deck to clean it after use, and to lift it onto it's rack for winter storage.With these forks (pipes) I have to wrestle the deck up on a 4X4 then slip the forks under. Not easy for an older fellow with R.A. The deck weighs about 250#.
The second use was to move and lift firewood racks up on to the landing at the top of my ramp. My racks hold a sixth of a cord apiece, but the bottoms were only 2 inches off the ground. I'll have to modify all of the racks to accept these forks. I'm retired now, but for years I drove a fork truck for a major food manufacturer. I at least thought these things would be flat on top. Now I'm retired (drive a school bus) so have plenty of time. I contacted my states (Delaware) Attorney Generals office, and have an appointment with them. Something about truth in advertising? If only the vendor had discribed his wares accurately. There was one reason I went with these over the cheaper pair, he expressly advertised Quality made in America. People like this is why our auto industry is going down the tubes, and Japan is going ahead.

 

[jinman]

I bought my chain-on forks many years ago from my NH dealer for $250. They are plenty strong and I have just three complaints about them. The first complaint is probably not the fault of my forks, but rather the binders.

1. The over-center binders are either too tight or too loose. If I get one tight and then put the other one on, the first one loosens because the bucket lip will flex up a fraction of an inch. I need rachet binders; not the fault of the forks.

2. The forks need a wide piece where they attach to the bucket lip so they do not move side-to-side. Even when tight, if the tips get a side load, they move. An adjustable "stay" between the forks right in front of the bucket lip would be ideal, but = more cost.

3. That darn bucket is smack dab in your needed field of view. It also extends the tips out where the rotational radius is multiplied to the point that the tips move several inches for a tiny movement of the bucket curl. So you are working in the blind and fine control is almost impossible. I recently unloaded several pallets off a truck and could bend down and see below the bucket as I forked the pallets. But even at that, I didn't like the lack of fine control or my view from the tractor seat.

All chain-on or clamp on forks are better than nothing, but I think I've become frustrated enough with these to just pop for a $700 set of quick-attach pallet forks and be done with it.

 

[Gem99ultra]

D-D, I surely understand your disappointment. It's clear that the forks DO NOT serve your needs at all. Although they do serve my needs okay, I'm thinking that QA forks like jinman is talking about is exactly what you need.

I would have hoped that the seller would have understood that as well, and given you a full refund including return freight. If he isn't interested in making you happy, I support your actions completely. After all, it is your hard earned money, and he did not fully describe the forks.

jinman, I have exactly the same problem that you except I don't have bucket flex. And that's because I added a 3/8" flat bar all the way across mine when I added hooks. Nothing looks worse than a warped up bucket.
I love the little ratchet binders though. They're light enough to handle with one hand, and strong enough to do the job. But, at $25/each, they're no bargain for sure.

I'd love to have a set of 48" flat forks with a QA, but these do fine for what I use them for, and at a decen't price. And, I do have available some drill stem pipe and 2 x 4 heavy wall steel tubing. If I need another set, I can make them for next to nothing.

The seller needs to make it right with you D-D.