How Can I Hang This Hydraulic Hose?

[Utopia Texas]

I recently installed this fork/pallet/hydraulic arm implement to my tractor in order to pick up the thousands of limbs that are trimmed and fall naturally every year in our Pecan Orchard. The unit works super and I should have bought one years ago. The unit came with short pig tail hydraulic lines and I had to add the rest here at home. When the unit is fully raised and the forks tilted down to dump the limbs on top of a huge pile the hydraulic lines are just long enough but when the unit is lowered with the forks level with the ground the excess lines can drag on the ground. I have them somewhat hanging from the boom with flexible chords but this obviously is not working. Any ideas? Would short weak springs work? Unfortunately the lines run all the way to the rear of the tractor where the remotes are installed. Thanks...

 

[Burtonbr]

Something like this may work good for you. I bought a spring similar but never got around to knocking one together, its $60 at EA. HERE

 

[Coyote machine]

Or just bolt or weld an L bracket to the crossmember between the loader arms and remove the female QD's and attach them to the crossmember L bracket and then reconnect the lines from the grapple to the L bracket female QD's.
Nice looking tractor and grapple- who makes the grapple unit?

 

[kennyd]

The long hoses from the rear are routed incorrectly, they should go up the mast, then down the loader arms to the crossmember where the couplers should me mounted...basically following the lines that are existing.

Thousands of grapple threads here on TBN show this routing.

 

[murphy1244]

Something like this.

 

[Utopia Texas]

Or just bolt or weld an L bracket to the crossmember between the loader arms and remove the female QD's and attach them to the crossmember L bracket and then reconnect the lines from the grapple to the L bracket female QD's.
Nice looking tractor and grapple- who makes the grapple unit?

I bought the unit from Neon Material Handling Equipment. Weighs over 600 pounds and no spot welds, solid full length welds at all joints.
Material Handling / Neon Home - Neon Material Handling, Inc.

 

[Arc weld]

The hoses like they are, are going to get ripped off in about 2 minutes.:thumbdown: They need to have loop to allow for up and down but have to down the full length of the loader boom. Then they need to have enough slack at the grapple end to allow full dumping. Make sure they can't get caught in any of the bucket linkage.

 

[Xfaxman]

I bought the unit from Neon Material Handling Equipment. Weighs over 600 pounds and no spot welds, solid full length welds at all joints...........

What is the reason you chose the forks, over a grapple?

 

[Gary Fowler]

As already mentioned, run them with the other hoses following the FEL arms. If you don't want to weld brackets, you may be able to attach a bracket to the existing hose clamps (assuming there are bolted hose clamps on your FEL arm. Another option would be a temporary solution and involves use of bungee cords. Wrap them around the FEL frame and your hose to secure the hose in position along the FEL.

 

[Utopia Texas]

What is the reason you chose the forks, over a grapple?

View attachment 334675View attachment 334676 View attachment 334677

Grafted Pecans are notorious for dropping whole limbs that split off the trees and 95% of the time I need something for 20'-40' single limbs. This unit has adjustments where the cylinder mounts in the frame where the end of the "arm" can be lowered below the level of the forks thus allowing a tight grip on a single limb. Also this "arm" can be hydraulically raised vertical so one can use the forks with anything on a pallet without any modifications. I store and move a lot of things on wooden pallets between barns and the greenhouse so this set up works the best for my applications.