Yup, another pallet fork thread by a newb :-)

[bcp]

I hope the forks are adjustable so the grapple can bypass them, and the grapple will move down much farther, otherwise you can't grab a small brush load or single log.



Bruce

 

[George2615]

I hope the forks are adjustable so the grapple can bypass them, and the grapple will move down much farther, otherwise you can't grab a small brush load or single log.

View attachment 368952

Bruce

Yes, the forks adjust from 6"-44" width

 

[juddspaintballs]

My only issue with those is that the grapple portion would be in the way when trying to lift a fully loaded pallet.

 

[Panik]

I know your wife is hating on a guy named James in Branson right about now.

Naw, I left your name out of the discussion. Realistically the grapple isn't going to happen, in fact I think I got laughed at when I mentioned it earlier today.

Very often us TBN'ers gradually force mission creep on posters. We are REAL good at spending other peoples money

LOL, I'm pretty good at mission creep by myself without any encouragement. In all honesty we have 10 acres and the 3 acres that are cleared were well cared for by the previous owners. While I'd like to be able to justify a grapple I really can't for the work I need to accomplish. Besides we're in the process of fencing about 1/2 acre (3 board, vinyl coated wire, 4x6 post) as kid and dog containment. Between that and the little golden retriever girl we have coming in a month or so we're kinda tapped on grand and above level expenditures.

Quick aside, here's a pic of her older brother who came to live with us last year:


GolfAddict, thanks for clarifying about the angle of the forks in relation to the bucket. I really do like the idea of easy on and easy off. By any chance do you happen to know the weight of the forks? I'm not particularly worried as I have a neighbor with a skid steer that I can always lean on if needs be, but it'd be nice to have an idea how much of the weight capacity they Harry's forks consume.

I am going to try to email/call Harry this weekend about the spring mechanism. If I get any usefully info I will post it back here.

here is a link to some inexpensive ones.
bucket forks | eBay
Ive also seen a thread here somewhere with some home made ones and some from basic 2x4 s that would possibly work.

Thanks for the link. I'm not quite sure ebay is on the same page with what bucket forks are.... When I clicked on your link this is the first item that came up :confused3:



I'm guessing you were trying to point me towards the clamp on forks, that run around $170.00. I have seen the wood pallet forks you are talking about. I think the idea is really cool, and applaud the ingenuity but in truth if I am going to go through with getting forks I think I need something that will last in the long term.

TBH in order to be realistic about looking at getting forks, and I'm leaning toward the bxpanded version, I should give one of the local Kubota dealers a call a price out Kubota's QA system and a dedicated set of pallet forks. If for no other reason than the sticker shock will allow me to feel comfortable about spending 170.00 to 300.00 for clamp on forks.

 

[brokenknee]

for the e bay ones you need to scroll down on the page.

 

[puckgrinder85]

This was going to be my suggestion was some sort of tine system either built or bought to bolt into the bucket and give you fingers sticking out of the bucket. Our "brush" bucket is a standard bucket with 6-7 1" square steel tines welded in place. This could easily be made into something that would just bolt into the bucket and would give you a nice medium between forks and a brush handler and you still keep bucket capacity for loading stuff that might fall through the tines. Our obviously has the grapple but the tines work really well for raking into a brush pile. With curling back all the way you'd retain quite a bit of brush.

The OP started writing about moving some small brush piles and railroad ties.

I think a set of Quick-On Pallet/Brush Forks would fit the bill ideally, probably NOT break the bank, store easily and be useful for carrying many things. And they could be augmented by FEL thumb or top grapple later.

Very often us TBN'ers gradually force mission creep on posters. We are REAL good at spending other peoples money

 

[GolfAddict]

...
GolfAddict, thanks for clarifying about the angle of the forks in relation to the bucket. I really do like the idea of easy on and easy off. By any chance do you happen to know the weight of the forks? I'm not particularly worried as I have a neighbor with a skid steer that I can always lean on if needs be, but it'd be nice to have an idea how much of the weight capacity they Harry's forks consume.

I don't know the weight, I'd guess about 20 lbs each fork. They are pretty light, don't reduce your lift capacity much. But I have to say that, though light, I don't think you could bend them with normal use on your loader. In my experience, you run out of lift power long before these would ever bend or something like that.

I am going to try to email/call Harry this weekend about the spring mechanism. If I get any usefully info I will post it back here.

I'll be real interested to see that, thanks!

TBH in order to be realistic about looking at getting forks, and I'm leaning toward the bxpanded version, I should give one of the local Kubota dealers a call a price out Kubota's QA system and a dedicated set of pallet forks.

:drool: That would be so awesome to have.

Then you'd be able to quickly switch between bucket, forks, and your new grapple. (It's just a matter of time you know... )

 

[GolfAddict]

I don't know the weight, I'd guess about 20 lbs each fork. They are pretty light, don't reduce your lift capacity much. But I have to say that, though light, I don't think you could bend them with normal use on your loader. In my experience, you run out of lift power long before these would ever bend or something like that.

I should clarify that when I have truly maxed out the loader lift capacity using the forks (it was moving fresh cut oak logs), I was using four forks. I've never maxed out lift capacity using only two forks.

However, I move my implements (on pallets) around all the time using two forks. The rototiller weighs 520 lbs without the pallet.

 

[Panik]

Well, I had a good laugh with one of salesman at the Beshears Tractor yesterday. Called and asked about pricing on a QA plate, forks, and frame for the forks. After the salesman looked up pricing there was a big pause and his response was something to the effect of:

"ummm, I have a set of full size forks on site that are cheaper than what you are looking at. You might want to look at some of the after market options."

Basically in order to get outfitted with QA forks through Kubota would run over a grand. :yuck: BXpanded is looking more and more likely. Gonna get an email out to Harry sometime today. While it would be nice to have dedicated QA forks it ain't gonna happen for that price.

GolfAddict thanks for the weight info, at ~20lbs per fork that's downright reasonable. I still haven't decided between 2,3, or 4 forks yet. The grapple might happen someday, surprisingly the price of a QA plate by itself from Kubota was the only reasonably priced part of my conversation with the dealer at 300.00. So it's within the realm of possibilities to have a QA grapple...... maybe after all three kids have graduated from college :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Well, I had a good laugh with one of salesman at the Beshears Tractor yesterday. Called and asked about pricing on a QA plate, forks, and frame for the forks. After the salesman looked up pricing there was a big pause and his response was something to the effect of:

"ummm, I have a set of full size forks on site that are cheaper than what you are looking at. You might want to look at some of the after market options."

Basically in order to get outfitted with QA forks through Kubota would run over a grand. :yuck: BXpanded is looking more and more likely. Gonna get an email out to Harry sometime today. While it would be nice to have dedicated QA forks it ain't gonna happen for that price.

GolfAddict thanks for the weight info, at ~20lbs per fork that's downright reasonable. I still haven't decided between 2,3, or 4 forks yet. The grapple might happen someday, surprisingly the price of a QA plate by itself from Kubota was the only reasonably priced part of my conversation with the dealer at 300.00. So it's within the realm of possibilities to have a QA grapple...... maybe after all three kids have graduated from college :laughing:

How handy are you with the steel, so to speak? I have seen people make all of these things themselves. Welder, bandsaw and a good junk pile. On my last tractor I made the ignorant mistake of not getting the optional SSQA setup to start with. I bought it later and yes it was expensive. Far more than if I had gotten it to begin with.