Forks Pallet Forks on JD5420

[GaryBDavis]

I made a trip to the local forklift grave yard and ended up with a monstrous carriage that was six feet wide by 6 feet tall with some sort of side shift and other things I didn’t recognize. It was a class two carriage, albeit a heavy one, with two pairs of 34 inch forks. I also picked up a couple of 32 inch carriage frames and a set of 48 inch forks.

After some serious cutting torch work, I ended up with a 54 inch wide carriage with 48 inch forks for the FEL and a separate 34 inch carriage for the3pt with 34 inch forks. I still have one carriage and a pair of 34 inch forks left over. I spent $200 for the large carriage with the two sets of 34 inch forks, $150 for the set of 48 inch forks, and $50ea for the 34 inch carriages. I used some miscellaneous steel out of my stock to complete the modifications needed to mount up to my tractor.

The bottoms of the forks are 10 feet off the ground leveled at maximum lift height.

PS. The 3pt pallet forks are also finished and painted, I just haven’t used them yet. I’ll post some pictures of them when I do.

 

[GaryBDavis]

A side view of the FEL pallet forks.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Here is how I engineered the mount to my JD 542 FEL. I purchased the upper retainer brackets from John Deere, but man, were they expensive. I machined the lower pins myself. The tilt is the same as on a stock bucket.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Another side view of the FEL pallet forks.

 

[GaryBDavis]

Okay. Here was the first big test. There are 36 bags of ready mix cement for a fencing project. The bags are 80lb each so I’m lifting 2880 pounds plus the weight of the pallet forks themselves. I haven’t weighed the pallet fork assembly, but I’d say it’s in the 500 pound range. This puts the load right at the maximum rated capability of my FEL which is 3300 pounds breakout. The back tires were a little light. I lowered the load to a foot off the ground, stayed on level dirt and made my delivery to the new fence line without feeling too unstable.

 

[GaryBDavis]

In case you were wondering what the DANGER and WARNING stickers were all about. This is a spoof aimed at the all the legal verbiage you see on tractors and machinery these days. I had them specially made and you will find these same labels on pretty much all my work. Funny thing is, they look so official, most people don’t even bother to read them.

 

[burnetma]

I expect to take delivery on a 5420 MFWD with the 542 SL FEL in about 2 weeks. I am concerned about ballasting the unit. My machine will be used for everything from stone and earth work to haying (kicker baler and wagon). JD recommends a an awful lot of rear ballast (ie 660 per wheel plus 1760 3 pt) and at the same time my dealer is telling me to avoid loading the tires. Obviously you have lived with the machine for some time. What is your opinion? Please note that I am mostly concerned about haying (5500 lb baler + 12000 lb hay), but any input is valuable. Thanks!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Nice Job Gary, those forks look like "they were made at the factory."

 

[dullpain]

Really great job of forks. Where did you get those stickers? I would love to put some on my homemade forks and some other homemade implements. thanks

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I would get the wheel weights for your JD. Load it up that way and it will help you during baling if you are baling on hills as well as help with loader work. However, if you are baling flat land your machine will handle the baler, thrower and wagon fine. You will not have to worry about being pushed around on flat ground. If you do bale on hills you will want as much weight as low to the ground as you can to help control it. On the same token though, you don't want too much weight on a small footprint as the compaction would not be good for your fields.

I have baled hay with my TN and baler setup on hills. The TN could stop the wagon and baler on steep hills but it was a fun experience every time I had to turn while going down a steep slope. A lot of slow moving was required. Luckily, those fields are all going into corn this year so all I have are flat fields.

I run a NH 575 w/ 72 thrower and I use 2-8x18 and 1-9x18 Pequea kicker wagons (the 9x18 will hold over 160 36" bales).

Just remember though, if you do have to bale on hills be very careful with a small utility like what we use as it is a dangerous situation if something goes wrong. Have fun though.