Buying Advice Pallet fork recommendations?

[IslandTractor]

I am still undecided about how stout/heavy a set of qa pallet forks I should buy for my soon to have l5260 with an la1055 FEL.

2000 lbs might work and would be lighter (250lbs), but since I will probably sometimes max with FEL with logs, etc I am wondering if I should step up to something more in the #3500 range (#400).

I just don't how much weight the la1055 can lift in the ideal case. Also my concern if I weight the forks unevenly, a set rated at 2000 might fail even when lifting say #1500 which I would expect the la1055 is capable of.

I'd say forks are conservatively rated for OHSA and liability purposes. A LA1055 would not lift a load greater than 2000lbs to full height given the weight of the forks so I would think 2000 lb forks would be fine for general duty lifting. If you intend to use the forks to dig out stumps and big rocks then you might, with proper ballast exceed 2000lbs of breakout force so that would be the area of concern to me.

 

[BGigHarbor]

I can't swear I'll never try to pry anything with the forks.......Ideally I'd find something between the ETA 240 and 400 lb forks.

In terms of rating, what comes to my mind is how badly overrated equipment like hand trucks generally are. Have broken many a cart (typically wheel bearings or axle), including some pretty big ones lifting less than max rated loads.

Hopefully for machine equipment they can't get away with those optimistic ratings.

 

[IslandTractor]

I can't swear I'll never try to pry anything with the forks.......Ideally I'd find something between the ETA 240 and 400 lb forks.

In terms of rating, what comes to my mind is how badly overrated equipment like hand trucks generally are. Have broken many a cart (typically wheel bearings or axle), including some pretty big ones lifting less than max rated loads.

Hopefully for machine equipment they can't get away with those optimistic ratings.

I understand. Given your situation, if I were you I would just decide whether max lift with the lighter forks was more important than ultimate durability. If you don't lift 2000lb items to full height, then you can probably get away with the heavier duty forks which will still allow you to lift about a ton to pickup bed height and would never be a concern when being abused digging stumps etc. If you ever want to sell the forks I would imagine it would be easier to sell the heavy duty version as skid steer owners would be looking for those.

 

[BGigHarbor]

Seems like the CA forks are pretty nice.

Have my eye on this one right now, 3000 rating at #324 for a 42 inch and #388 for a 48.

X-TREME DUTY PALLET FORK-Standard Frame Regular Lift Pallet Fork

The similar sized Bradco looked nice too, but pricier and the upper grating might be hard to see through.

EA makes a somewhat similar sized Korean one, but I like the first two as they are established brands. I think whatever forks I buy might have a harder than average life.

 

[powerscol]

Check out your local AGG dealer for used ones or sales. For my CT235 I got a set of TERRAFORCE, made by Ansung. They are the sliding bar style/quick attach set up with locking points. Best investment I have made. Capacity is 2500 - more than enough for our units.

When you look over what you may get, check the welds and construction quality. Cost new was cheaper than any I found online too.