Storing Bobcat Attachments on Shelves?

[Gadgetnut]

Last year I built an addition on the end of my shop for attachments and I'm running short of floor space. I'm considering getting some heavy duty warehouse shelves, like six feet high by twelve or eighteen feet wide... something like this... any thoughts or ideas where you'd get shelves like this? Thanks.

 

[radman1]

Those are pallet rack shelves. Used in lots of businesses and warehouses. You can buy them new or if you keep watch they are on auctions. I have several of them. Mine are 10 and 8' lengths and 8' high. They can get 16-20 high. Most are 4' deep and some are 3' deep. They can have different weight ratings. I use them for shelving and for storage or equipment. Buckets and grapples fit on them great. I also put my aerator, snow blower and auger bits on them. I try to stay under 1000 lbs on each shelf. I leave the bottom open without any shelf and just use the ground for the heavy and more bulky attachments. Next shelf is about 3 ft high and top shelf around 6-7 feet on my 8' tall racks. On those items that don't have a skid steer attachment plate, I will put the attachment on a pallet and then use my forks to place the pallet on the rack. I use 2x4s or 2x6s for the bottom of the shelf with 4x8'x1/2" OSB for the bottom of each rack. The OSB keeps small items from falling through. Sometimes, I will screw the OSB to the 2x4s to keep them from shifting.

You won't find many 12-18' wide. Just too long to support much weight. Also the longer length is more prone to spread the shelves apart.

 

[Mtngrancher]

I just ordered from the following firm. I got the 4' deep, 8' high uprights with 8' beams. I'm planning on using 4X8 foot plywood, 2 sheets screwed together, exterior grade, as the shelving material. Hopefully my stuff will arrive this week. Less than $800 for the material.

PayLessKC.com Pallet Racking & Supplies.

 

[aczlan]

Look in the Buisness section of your local Craigslist site, I see 2-3 sets of pallet racks go through mine every month

Aaron Z

 

[radman1]

I just ordered from the following firm. I got the 4' deep, 8' high uprights with 8' beams. I'm planning on using 4X8 foot plywood, 2 sheets screwed together, exterior grade, as the shelving material. Hopefully my stuff will arrive this week. Less than $800 for the material.

PayLessKC.com Pallet Racking & Supplies.

I would urge you to use several 2X's for the bottom and not just plywood jif you are planning to have any significant weight on the shelves. The plywood will bow with time under the weight and fall through the supports. Even 2 sheets of plywood will bow with time. With the 2X's, you will only need one sheet of plywood or even OSB. Find some scrap 2x's if possible and cut to lenghth.

 

[Gadgetnut]

Thanks, everyone, great suggestions and discussion. I checked my local Craigslist and found several pallet rack options for sale locally. The four foot depth sounds most useful. The rack sections appear to be about eight feet wide and I was going to get two or three 8' wide sections, with two shelves on each. As radman suggests, leave heaviest tools on the concrete floor beneath the first shelf. Looks like a very useful solution for me. Thanks again.

 

[BarryinMN]

I ringed the pole barn 40x60x12 back in '02. Mixed uprights & beam lengths. Palletized (used pallets) all materials & bought a small gas forklift.
Layout includes shelf heights to accommodate cargo trailer, wood chipper & other things to go against the back wall. All uprights are 42" and all shelves are wire decked. Wire decking has the strength & no place for dust, dirt or critters to nest.

Have such things as a dozer engine on a bottom shelf and a snowmobile on a top 8' high shelf. The racking parts are stamped with a load rating.

Outside on the back wall I added 16' uprights and 14'+12'+8'+ beams. Wire decking again has no weather issues.

 

[Gadgetnut]

Sounds great, Barry. Do you have any photos at all of your installation that you could link us to online? In the area I am considering installing pallet racks, I have an extremely high roof, and now I'm thinking about putting in 12, 16, or 18 foot high racks...

 

[DEWFPO]

This where I've been looking.

http://www.shelving-direct.com/family/bulk_rack_units_with_steel_decking/316.htm

DEWFPO

 

[BarryinMN]

No direct photo's. Here is a JD A being fixed; on left is a rack with 4 shelves, top is the snowmobile rt front spring/ski is visible...

My layout is all materials palletized & racked including lumber 20' feet long. Bottom shelves are min 6" above the floor around perimeter.

Ended up with most shelf spacing 4' for furniture etc. So have a skid of extra 8' beams and decking from my original paper layout.

Everything else is on wheels. tool boxes, eq, work benches, carts. Makes for fast maintenance, no hiden corners. Acquired a 4hp gas powered floor sweeper with hepa filters.

Some caveats: 8' span fits 2 #2 48x40 skids - ok if nothing hangs over!! The higher you go the worse the visibility. Stepladders are dangerous, I acquired wheeled stairs to access small stuff overhead. Also have a boomlift to fly sideways say over a parked dumptruck to pick some copper pipe.

Wanna buy some ladders?