Clip-on Pallet forks: any good?

[ritcheyvs]

On several occasions I wished I had pallet forks for long loads and other things. Real pallet forks are pricey (for occasional use) and I'd need a place to park them. I see several clip-on style forks that bolt up to the loader bucket and wondered if they were any good. Can anyone recommend for or against these?

 

[grsthegreat]

On several occasions I wished I had pallet forks for long loads and other things. Real pallet forks are pricey (for occasional use) and I'd need a place to park them. I see several clip-on style forks that bolt up to the loader bucket and wondered if they were any good. Can anyone recommend for or against these?

there are quite a few people on the site that use them and swear by them. I myself didn't trust that the bucket wouldn't bend under a heavy load, so i opted for the actual quick attach version . The clip on ones also don't have the guard that the full set like mine does to prevent rollback. I use them alot more than i thought i would.

 

[dusty74]

On several occasions I wished I had pallet forks for long loads and other things. Real pallet forks are pricey (for occasional use) and I'd need a place to park them. I see several clip-on style forks that bolt up to the loader bucket and wondered if they were any good. Can anyone recommend for or against these?

I have a Kubota BX1500 and use the pin on from BXpanded and use them all the time. I think they are reasonable and work great. Check out the web site

 

[blueriver]

Once you have a set of QA forks you will wonder how you did with out them. You will find amazing uses for them. I know budgets and if I was you I would save until I can get the QA's

 

[nikdfish]

I'd like a set of quick attach forks, but it just isn't in the budget for now. I am very glad I went ahead and picked up a set of "chain on" forks for about $150. They aren't the real McCoy, but I've moved a lot of brush, windfalls & logs with them that would have been a real pain otherwise (especially dealing with 3 old apple trees a windstorm shattered at summer's end!).

Nick

 

[blueriver]

I'd like a set of quick attach forks, but it just isn't in the budget for now. I am very glad I went ahead and picked up a set of "chain on" forks for about $150. They aren't the real McCoy, but I've moved a lot of brush, windfalls & logs with them that would have been a real pain otherwise (especially dealing with 3 old apple trees a windstorm shattered at summer's end!).

Nick

Yep understood and as well those Bxpanded are pretty nice ...

 

[Swiftriver]

I have a set of Northstar BF1000 http://www.northstarattachments.com/pdf/NSclampon.pdf that I use on my Kubota B3200. I can see the bucket flex when I use them, so I wouldn't dare pick up a heavy load with them. I use them to move lumber, brush and firewood around and mount them at the outer edges of the bucket. When I need them closer together to lift a pallet, I run a ratchet strap from the top back around the bucket for more support. DON'T use them to pry out rocks or stumps. That much leverage will tear the bucket apart.
Would I buy them again? Probably. They are handy for lighter stuff.

 

[k0ua]

The clamp on or chain on work, but they are a compromise. If you dont have SSQA, then by all means that may be your best choice. I never had any bucket bending with using them, But my max load was about 500 lbs plus the weight of the forks. The big disadvantage is the bucket obscures the pallet, you cannot see the forks very well, and the other big disadvantage is they are way out there in front of the bucket. Reducing load handling ability and increasing the likelyhood of snagging onto something you dont want to snag. But all that said, if you can live with those things, then they are useful. When I got SSQA I got a set of SSQA forks, and I am a bunch happier. If I had to choose between clamp on or chain on I would go with the chain on, as the clamp on things always try to spread out and rotate around the clamp as you try to hook up. and when you reverse if the forks are dragging the ground they tend to come off. At leas that was my experience with my clamp on's so I converted them to chain on. (before I sold them)

James K0UA

James K0UA

 

[Martian]

They work, as long as you don't want to haul a heavy load. Also be sure to remember that with them going on the bucket that is two feet longer off the center of gravity for the balance, a lot easier to pick the back tires off the ground then having ones that mount right to the loader.:thumbsup:

 

[brokenknee]

I plan on building something like this, not with the spear forks but with pallet forks. I would give credit to the member that made this but did not save the name. I did a search but could not find the post again.

I think this would be a good compromise between the clamp or chain on forks and the quick attach. I do not have a quick attach otherwise I would go with that.

Draw back to this design is the additional weight, but I would think this would take some of stress off the bucket.