Dealer Ordered a new Horst Pallet Fork for CX 200

[johnwilldo]

Thanks to the good input on these forums, I was able to decide on a Horst LD 3542 JD440 for my CX 200 Loader.

The sales rep at one of my local John Deere dealers informed me that there were no accessories made for the CX 200. He was the same rep who tried to put me into a much bigger tractor than I needed for our small farm. I have been using the John Deer 2305 for two years and am now starting the third season for lawn mowing, field mowing, brush removal, snow removal, removing fence posts and hauling shale that I have to constantly remove from the pastures. The 2305 is a perfect match for our very hilly farm in the Lehigh Valley of northeastern Pennsylvania.

On this purchase, I had to do all the research, talk to the distributor and then hand feed the John Deere dealer who came up with a price which was way over the suggested retail price by $200!

I ended up going to a non John Deere dealer who works with the distributor and getting the Forks below retail! They even gave me a break on the freight since they are adding the forks to an existing shipment!

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

You should have looked at the artillian forks advertised here. They're the best fit for the 200cx loaders.

Matt

 

[Sawdust102]

I have a set of Horst forks for my 1 series. They are a great product and very well built.

 

[johnwilldo]

Thanks for the comments. The Horst forks seemed to get the most multiple positive comments and seem to be a better value than the artillian forks. Time will tell. The forks should be arriving from the distributor this week and will be put to immediate use. I will be happy to post my experience with the forks.

 

[rockshaft]

I had a similar experience with my local JD dealer. I felt like I knew more about the product line (1-series) than the salesman. The quotes I received were equally disappointing- well above MSRP.

Glad the 2305 is working out well for you!

Thanks to the good input on these forums, I was able to decide on a Horst LD 3542 JD440 for my CX 200 Loader.

The sales rep at one of my local John Deere dealers informed me that there were no accessories made for the CX 200. He was the same rep who tried to put me into a much bigger tractor than I needed for our small farm. I have been using the John Deer 2305 for two years and am now starting the third season for lawn mowing, field mowing, brush removal, snow removal, removing fence posts and hauling shale that I have to constantly remove from the pastures. The 2305 is a perfect match for our very hilly farm in the Lehigh Valley of northeastern Pennsylvania.

On this purchase, I had to do all the research, talk to the distributor and then hand feed the John Deere dealer who came up with a price which was way over the suggested retail price by $200!

I ended up going to a non John Deere dealer who works with the distributor and getting the Forks below retail! They even gave me a break on the freight since they are adding the forks to an existing shipment!

 

[johnwilldo]

I really did not mean to "Dealer Bash." Somehow I needed to vent a little since I had very little experience in the products and tried to depend on the dealer to provide the information to make an informed decision. The up side to that is that I discovered an alternate dealer with whom I can work with and a distributor who is very proactive about moving his products. I also had a very good experience with one of the new vendors who advertise on this forum, so the overall experience is on the plus side.

 

[johnwilldo]

The Horst Pallet forks arrived yesterday and I picked them up a local dealer. Freight was a bargain since the dealer already had a load of items ordered from the distributor. The dealer sold them at a few dollars under the retail price of $699. They came with the 42" forks unmounted. The construction looks solid and the C/W guard even comes with John Deere green at no additional price.

Got home, dropped the bucket from the FEL and hooked up the C/W guard while it was still in the truck. Installing the tines took about 10 minutes or less. Within five minutes after the installation, I moved four heavy picnic tables down to our outdoor riding arena and relocated several jumps to new locations. I am liking the forks very much already. I have several trees that need to come down so relocating the logs is going to be easier with the forks rather than dragging them with my logging chain.

 

[jbeall]

Hi johnwilldo,

How have those forks been working out for you? I just picked up the exact same model for my John Deere 2210. My 210 loader (apparently) has the same bucket mounting system as the 200CX loader.

-Josh

 

[johnwilldo]

Hi Josh,

The forks are probably the most used of the implements I have for the 2305. There is a learning curve to using the forks. They will handle more weight than you can safely carry in hilly pastures. When carrying a load, the forks have to be very low and sometime in ground contact and skidded to keep the back wheels in contact with the ground. I just finished removing all the fencing and fence posts from the front of our farm and moved all of the used coiled wire and the posts with the Horst forks. The IMatch hook and a short piece of chain works well to pull out the posts. I back into the post and give it a few bumps and it comes right out. It is faster with a helper. When my daughter operates the tractor and I work the chain, we can pull a post in about 3 to five minutes. I find that 11 posts are all I can safely carry on the forks before it destabilizes the tractor. The slope does not have to be real steep to have it tip, so be careful..the higher the load the less stable.

 

[Gator6x4]

Please get a weight box for the rear. You will be amazed at the night and day difference in what you can safely do with the loader bucket and forks. You advised you have the IMatch so hooking up to the weight box will be a snap.