Snowplow? &/or Forks? for Branson FEL

[DickThomas]

Anyone have any comments about the quick change showplow blade and/or forks for the Branson FELs? I'm thinking about both, but would like to hear from someone who has used them. The forks would be for misc 'stuff' including felled trees and firewood. The plow will be a necessity once I get into the new home we plan - 3/4 mile of driveway from the pavement in Colorado mountains - NOWAY am I interested in a rear mount, drive backwards, neck wrencher!
Thanx,
Dick Thomas

 

[Buckeye_Jim]

I purchased the quick change forks from Branson and have found them very useful. Moving firewood, bales, and of course pallets. Another use has been as scaffolding.

Jim

 

[wallace]

We do have the quick attach forks available for the branson style system, There is also plates that you can purchase thru anyone of us Branson dealers that will allow you to fab anything you want on.

 

[BobQ]

Wallace,

What do you mean by plates? And what do the Fel forks go for? I was thinking of making three point hitch forks, but maybe the fel forks would be the ticket!

Bob

 

[Buckeye_Jim]

I think I paid $ 775 for PF1 pallet forks.

Jim Slouber

 

[mudcat]

Bob Q, fel forks are the ticket.
Wallace, Ballpark $ on the plates?

 

[DavesTractor]

We have sold some Curtis plows for the Bransons. Even as heavy as the Branson is, we are told the plow works much better with chains at least on the front tires. It keeps the tractor from wanting to push sideways. There is a fellow on this site that lives in far northern California, he gets lots of snow and he has a plow on his Branson. He checks in occasionally, perhaps he will comment.

 

[BobQ]

So I am going to make the fel forks, I am going to do it as a quick change. In order to save wieght and money, I am going to make it as a fixed setup, like the ones for the 3pt. So the question, what should the spacing of the forks be?

Thanks, Bob

 

[Jeff M]

My 1 ton fork truck has 4" x 1 1/4" forks adjustable to 30" outside to outside. My 8000# fork truck has 5" x 2" forks adjustable to 42" outside to outside. Both can touch when pushed to the narrowest width.

Hope this helps.

 

[Strongman]

I was thinking about making my own forks, similar to someone who made his own at work. I believe the plates were about $100, and the steel came to $400. New forks would cost me $700 (for BL20A). I finally decided that my time was worth something and the purchased forks would be better at taking side loads than my design. I ended up buying the new forks and am VERY happy I did. I have moved hundreds of rocks by just tipping the forks down and popping them up with ease - much better than what I had thought of designing. Remember, the extra cost over a lifetime will probably be worth it. The forks themselves are expensive because of the liability insurance the companies must pay because of being sued. That is why pound for pound they are 3 times more expensive than box scrapers.

I also didn't like the idea of using a back blade going backwards down the driveway pushing snow. I thought of rigging the bucket with an angled board to push the snow to the side. I ended up getting a lightweight rear blade and using that last winter - it worked great and had a very easy time going backwards (sharp steering). What really helped me was the skid plates on the blades. I also purchased the front wheel chains since the snow can get pretty heavy sometimes - never got the chance to use them though after I purchased them - easy winter.

My suggestion is to purchase front chains, new Branson Forks, and a cheap rear blade for the first year and decide after that what you want to do about pushing snow - you can always use the rear blade. I got my rear blade for $35 at a garage sale (7'). You can buy them new for as little as $250.