Lifting 900lb. generators - attachments?

[zapelectric]

Looking for advice on lifting 900lb. generators off trucks, moving them into residential areas (nice yards). Thinking about L3130 HST but not sure about best attachment/forklift scenario.
Greener than your yard, and appreciative of advice,
Cindy

 

[Skidmark25]

Yup. Forks should work well. You could lift from the bottom or with a strap set-up like a sling from the top.

Just check out the FEL capacities and tire sizes. You may want to load the rear tires for ballast when lifting weight like this on someones lawn.

- - - Skid

 

[texbaylea]

My rig, L3130HST with a LA723 loader, Quick Attach adapter and pallet forks from Markham Welding would handle that easily. I have R4 tires but you might want turf tires. Either would be right at 6' wide but would have a broad footprint so to minimize lawn damage. I haven't looked at the specs but a B3030 might handle that weight in a lighter tractor. Get true pallet forks not something stuck on the loader bucket to get the load as close as possible and to give visibility.

Vernon

 

[zapelectric]

Thanks so much Vernon and Skid!
Learning as fast as I can.
Cindy

 

[_RaT_]

Definitely get the quick attach which allows you to quickly remove the bucket and then add forks. Forks on the bucket itself diminish the lift capacity considerably as well as making the tractor far less stable. Filling the rear tires with water will aid in stability as well as a box scraper on the rear. Anything under 1000lbs would be a snap.

 

[Stef]

To give you a good idea of what a B3030 can do I have 3 pics for you. The tractor in the air weighs around 810 lbs and my B3030 couldn't lift it more than that (as you can see on the last pic, the weight is far ahead from the pivot pins).

So... a B3030 couldn't able to do the job. Probably a L3130 with "turf tires". This is very important because of the weight on the front axle. With R1 or R4 you'll damage the lawn for sure.

 

[Stef]

pic #2

 

[Stef]

The last one

 

[AntrimMan]

That's all good advice above. The L3130 , LA723QA, and forks.
Around here when the yard will take a beating some use layered sheets of plywood to travel upon. Just a thought.
All the best,
Martin

 

[beenthere]

With the weight of the generator over the front tires, you may consider getting wider front tires with more flotation to reduce the potential for lawn damage. Just a thought, that I would consider.
Are the generators on pallets on the trucks? Will you remove them from the pallets after getting them off the truck before or after moving them across the lawn? Thinking that a bar that fits across each 'fork' with a centered hook for lifting the generator by the 'eye' for final placement might also be handy to have.

 

[bczoom]

Cindy,

Let me just throw this out since it hasn't been mentioned yet.

Whomever is going to be doing this unloading needs to spend some time getting used to the FEL operation before attempting this. Lifting and lowering isn't too bad but unlike a fork truck, FEL's are made to curl/dump at some pretty decent speeds. With a heavy (and expensive) load out there, you'll need to be very slow when adjusting to keep the load level.

Brian

PS. Welcome to TBN!

 

[zapelectric]

This website is a goldmine and you all are the gold!

Thank you for all the great advice about tires and ways to lift the generators and taking care not to hurt yards.

And Brian... it will be me lifting them, and I intend to do a lot of practicing, so thanks for the heads up about quick curl/dump speeds.

Cindy

 

[v8dave]

I lifted my Kubota GL11000 generator out of my truck and carried it to a concrete pad with my B7610.

The generator only weighs 650 lbs, but it has a lifting attachment on the top. I used the chain hooks welded on my bucket and a chain looped through the lift point on the generator. The generator hung just below the bucket and I placed some wood across the top of the generator and tipped back the bucket so the bottom of the bucket was braced against the wood. This kept the generator from sliding on the chain creating an imbalance.

I have a backhoe on the B7610 and filled tires so I wan't to concerned about tractor balance. I was still careful, but it was less unwieldy than carrying some boulders I've moved. After the lift off the truck, I lowered the bucket/generator to where the generator just cleared the ground. The bucket was still radiator high. What worried most was travelling with the bucket that high. I did travel over some irregular surfaces and had to make a 3-point U-turn on a slope. I went really slow when moving.

 

[AntrimMan]

Ah...Cindy... We need pics of the practice session (with the new Kubota of course)..., who amungst us disagrees?

Martin

 

[zapelectric]

Martin,
I'm thinking a few good I-Love-Lucy reruns might content you all until I get experienced and unbashful.
Dreaming in orange,
Cindy

 

[MarkV]

Cindy,
Welcome to the forum. It seems to me you have gotten some good advice and I would think the tractor size you are looking at would be about right for your lifting needs. Was wondering what other tasks you see the tractor doing. Those can many times influence what you need to look for while buying. For example if you planned on doing a great deal of rough mowing or clearing with a 6’ mower the 3130 could be a little short of PTO horsepower.

I was also wondering if tractor size due to access restrictions, such as gates, is a concern. If most of your work is on larger rural properties it is most likely not a problem but in subdivisions it could get tight with a larger compact tractor.

Just curious about what part of N. Georgia you are in. The wife and I are about 30 miles South of Rome.

MarkV

 

[zapelectric]

Hello Mark,
My husband and I have an electrical contracting business in Watkinsville, Georgia, a few miles south of Athens. Thanks for your reply and your input. Would you have any outstanding Kubota dealers in your neighborhood?

I am also very concerned about access restrictions within family type yards, but not sure about other options. It's my understanding that a forklift would be heck on the lawn.

As far as other jobs the 3130 could do, we have 3 acres and a pond, an old barn we are fixing up, etc. The 3130 would be sweet for chores but not vital to what I really NEED, which is a way to lift and place the generators (and make sure my husband doesn't hurt his back doing it some hard way).

Thanks so much for helping me think this one through.
Cindy

 

[texbaylea]

Cindy

As much as I like Kubotas and my L3130, I think that the best machine for your primary job would be an ASV Posi-Track tracked skid steer. Smaller footprint, with lower ground loading. With a front mounted boom, placing those generators would be a snap.

It will be more expensive than a L3130 but more versatile for your job.

Vernon

 

[texbaylea]

Sorry, the URL is www.asvi.com .

Vernon

 

[zapelectric]

Vernon,
I spent the evening looking at the ASV Posi-Track tracked skid steer with rubber turf track. You're right. It's the ideal machine for the specific job and the light touch on the lawn they proclaim is amazing.

However - $$$. $30k. The model we would need (RC50) is very new and I couldn't find any used ones for sale online. It's really ok though. The more my husband and I talked about it tonight, the more we realize we're in love with the 3130.

Thanks so much,
Cindy