Clamp-on vs QA pallet forks

[shirleyujest]

My SSQA forks have a 2" receiver. That is extremely useful for pushing trailers and header carts into tight position.

 

[ZiggyD]

I’ve been using forks on an order of magnitude more than the bucket. Also to your concern that they’ll pop off, they hang from the top and lock on the bottom with a lever. Very quick and easy. Check marketplace for used ones.

 

[RjCorazza]

When the FEL forks won't lift a heavy pallet, I put the forks on the 3pt hitch with this adapter:
View attachment 4375330

3 Point to Universal Quick Tach Adapter | Titan Attachments

Cat 1 quick hitch adapter for attaching quick tach tractor and skid steer attachments to your tractor.

palletforks.com

The 3pt will lift 1000# more than the FEL on my L6060. Not of any use for stacking pallets, but great for moving them around.

Also makes it easy to add or remove rear ballast when necessary. I leave the forks on the 3pt when not using an implement. That way, I can use it to carry a tote, a portable workbench, or palletized implements like a sprayer or generator.

With my hydraulic top link, I can even carry the FEL bucket on the 3pt and use it as a scoop.

View attachment 4375335

I need to get one of those! I've had a need on a few occasions to lift some heavy stuff with pallet forks, but limited by the fel capacity. It would also be convenient to have other ssqa implements on the rear at times.

 

[LPowell1]

Those forks are rated for 4,000 Lbs, 42" and weigh 347.4 Lbs ... Way over rated for my little SCUT, but all my dealer could source for me back in March of 2022 during the supply chain shortage of stuff ... They are actually a local company that makes them ...

View attachment 4375318

View attachment 4375319

Another thing to keep in mind when using a CUT, and especially SCUT sized tractors and forks, is the farther out on the forks the load is, the less you can pickup! This is where the "pin" is that most manufacturers list as the pickup point ... See how much farther out the load is?

View attachment 4375321

Here I have 15 - 40 Lb bags of wood heating pellets on a roughly 50 Lb wood 40"X48" pallet ... My SCUT has a manufacturer listed lift capacity "at the pins, to full height" of 992 Lbs ... But this is as high as my Little Baby Fergie can lift it! 347+600+50= 997 Lbs ... But it's not "at the pins"!

View attachment 4375320

Next load I stacked it different, and got an additional bag on, but couldn't lift it any higher ...

View attachment 4375322

Here you can see that the forks are tipped back, so the water is closer to the pins, I set a block under the front of the empty 134 Lb tote and put 50-60 gallons of water in it, it wouldn't lift it off the ground if it's flat, but by keeping the water closer to the pins it will lift it!

View attachment 4375324

Since I do have these heavy duty forks, and I recently got a bigger tractor, while it doesn't have a loader on it the three point is rated for almost 3900 Lbs!

I asked my local dealer to see if he can get me either a three point with the SSQA so I can put these forks on it, or get a 3 point fork frame that I can put these forks on the frame, and use my bigger tractor to carry a full tote of water, and reduce the wear and tear on my little SCUT ... He is supposed to call me back on Monday ...

View attachment 4375325

I have a rear remote on this tractor, and a hydraulic top link on the QH, so I should be able to scoop up the tote, and keep it level when I pick it up ...

Look at Good Works Tractor versaframe. I don't have one, but considering as it has 3 point rear and ssqa fel connections to use forks on front or rear.

 

[LPowell1]

Look at Good Works Tractor versaframe. I don't have one, but considering as it has 3 point rear and ssqa fel connections to use forks on front or rear.

 

[kenmbz]

I have these from Titan, they work fine, a little heavy for the SCUT, but they have lifted everything I've put on them.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Look at Good Works Tractor versaframe. I don't have one, but considering as it has 3 point rear and ssqa fel connections to use forks on front or rear.

They are only rated for 2000 Lbs (My tractor can lift almost double that!) , by the time you take there weight of 275 Lbs, and the 134 Lb empty tote, not much room left for water ... And the tines are "imported" ...

Plus, as a long distance OTR truck driver, it is hard for me to order and be home whenever it might be delivered ... I'm hoping my local dealer, and the local manufacturer can get me what I want ...

 

[hslogger]

Clamp onforks are lame.now that you see the light the issue is the headboard. The less expensive ones have marginal headboards..get one that has a real full headboard and you will be glad you spent more

 

[WM75Guy]

I bought the Land Pride PFL 3048 SSQA pallet forks. They are 48" long with a 3000 lb capacity. Does everything I need to do with forks.

 

[sreeb]

This is what I mean by the cheapest of the cheap, that i would avoid. Maybe they are better than clamp ons, but they arent real forksView attachment 4341467

Right, avoid any where you can't adjust the fork width.

 

[TORQUIN]

I have clamp-on forks. Used them on my WR Long 4n1 bucket. Had to modify them because of the angled plates in the bucket(for strength). Once I modified them, they would no longer pull off the bucket at any time, as they would when I first got them, but they would still easily push from side to side. Sometimes that was useful, but it was mostly a pain.
I finally took the plunge and converted my loader to SSQA and bought some hydraulic-width-control forks at auction. I am extremely happy with those SSQA forks. Since I have a 4N1 bucket, I use the same hoses and controls for the width of my forks. It's wonderful!
I drilled a 1" hole in the end of one of the forks to mount a screw pin shackle for connecting lift chains/straps. I am very happy with this setup and wouldn't think of going back to clamp-on forks.
My set is a Wolverine brand, rated at 3500 lbs. That's way more than my tractor can actually lift, so they are perfect.

Regarding getting some forks. It looks like you are in MD, and it might not be unreasonable to come to Richmond, Va., to get some forks. Motley's auction, in Richmond, is where I found mine. They were brand new. Check out their industrial/construction auctions. They seem to have a lot of new stuff that is considered surplus by the state of Va.

Chris

 

[ktm250]

Don't even think twice about getting a set of QA forks. You'll be wonder why you didn't get them a long time ago.

Just for the visibility alone, it's well worth it. Yes, most forks do lock in place. It will have just a little bit of play which is there to allow you to slide them but not an issue during use.

The one I use on my tractor, uses the forks from my forklift. When I built the frame, I didn't even bothered with putting the notches so the forks can lock. It really doesn't slide around.

Totally agree, I use my forks more than the bucket. Cutting big trees by myself, into 12'-16' lengths and load in dump trailer, unload trucks a couple time a week. In the summer I have the mower out back for weight, winter I leave the snow blower on. Best attachment I ever bought.

 

[CompShooter]

I have the clamp on forks. Initially I was disappointed they would slide around while using them no matter how tight I put them on with my hands. Then I learned this...

1) Always use the slip on cross bar that ties the two together. Be sure to tighten the locking nuts on it. It helps a lot more than you'd think.
2) Instead of tightening the forks with my hands I use a 3 lb sledge hammer to bang the handle around. You can get quite a bit more tight with it.
3). While banging the handles tighter use your left hand to lift the fork up and down. You'll find you can get it even tighter.

Using that method my forks stay together and don't slip side to side unless I'm trying to poke something sideways with them. Then all bets are off.

Good luck!

 

[CliffordK]

I bolted used forklift forks to my bucket. And I'm not doing a lot of scraping, so they've stayed on the bucket for quite some time.

Pros and cons of that. The forklift forks are heavy, and add that to the bucket weight. A tubular steel fork may be much better matched to the capacity of my tractor.

It is nearly impossible to see the fork tips when lining up a pallet.

I have a fixed width. I set them narrow for a project I was working on at the time. I didn't make sure all my holes were precise enough to move them 6" to the side and reuse the holes from the opposite side of the forks. I'm not too worried about the holes I've drilled.

Attaching the forks at the top and bottom gives generally good stability to them.

Ultimately my tractor isn't an all terrain forklift.

 

[Jaygyver]

Me too on QA forks. I lucked out on mine, I only needed the base as I was parting out my old fork lift at the time and just used the forks. I ended up using it more on my tree cuttings then my 4 in 1 bucket. The one draw back on the 4-1 bucket is it can only lift what it can clamp on. My trees were too large. I wasn't using them for fire wood so I just had to get them to the burn pile. The more I could carry the least trips I had to make.

I ended up ordering a bunch of landscaping bricks so that worked out great. I did have to drop a layer and a half to lift them completely but way better than hand loading them in the bucket or onto a trailer.

I also use them for my attachments that will fit on a pallet. So much easier to move around.

 

[nepa]

From the OP - great tips and advice from all. I just bought and mounted 4000 lb capacity QA forks that I purchased from Oedro. Perfect fit on my TYM T574 which the bucket is slightly bent from the clamp ons. Tines lock in place and a release button must be lifted to move them closer/farther apart. Backstop seems a little light but strong enough and gives good visibility of the load. With the cash back credit card it only put me back $540 delivered and for some reason there was no sales tax. Listed my clamp ons on Craigslist for $60 and sold them in 12 hours with 3 interested people. Thanks to all for writing.