Pallet Fork Question

[Artesia Aggie]

Looking at forks for my 2520. I checked out the Frontier ones from the dealer but they really are too heavy. I hate to take up so much of the loader capacity with fork weight.

I am trying to decide between Chris Perry's Artillian Pallet Forks for John Deere Tractor Loaders and this one Construction Attachments 42" John Deere, John Deer, Quick Attach JD, Compact Pallet Forks CAL-1PFCMPSM42

Pros of Chris' is 40 pounds lighter and more lift capacity, although the lift capacity is more than the tractor can handle for either choice. Con's is lack of a top guard.

I will be using this primarily to move small rectangular hay bales that are palletized. The weight is fine, these are NOT the big bales.

I am sure I will find a lot of uses that I haven't thought of. Not having a top guard seems to be a bit of a safety issue but I am not certain of that. Any thoughts?

 

[jenkinsph]

I was in Roswell yesterday at TSC looking for a middlebuster and saw a small bale spear, would that work for you?

 

[texas42]

I have a set of the Everything Attachments Compact Tractor Forks for my 2320
They work great and I'm very satistfied.
Not the most heavy duty but they serve my purpose well.

 

[kennyd]

Either will work well...Chris (user name Ensoll) is a member here and has a great product to offer, ne is even having the frames powder coated now.

 

[Artesia Aggie]

Steve,

I forget about TSC since they are on the far north end of town. I am going to Sam's this weekend and will check out the spear. Thanks for the idea.

Also, your place ok with the fire? A good friend of mine lost a house and stables.

 

[Gizmo2]

IMO, Look for a set that has a high back. The higher back will keep stuff from falling back on the tractor hood, hay, brush and the like.
No like Artillian Pallet Forks for John Deere Tractor Loaders.

 

[crash325]

I have 3 sets of forks for my TC45 all home made. Simple and very cheap. #1 set is for lighter loads, rarely used anymore as it is so quick & easy to put on the "real forks". #1 would pick up over 1,000 pounds (11 or 12 sacks of cement.) Real Forks will lift 2,000 pounds if at the back of the forks.

The Real Forks take 1 or 2 minuets to put on or remove. They have been used and abused for almost 4 years. Such as digging out big rocks & packing loads of brush & trash.

Not shown is a pair of shorty forks, rarely used, but handy now and then.

Took about 2 days to build the real forks and they even had a nice paint job at one time.

 

[dmay]

Not having a top guard seems to be a bit of a safety issue but I am not certain of that. Any thoughts?

The best course of action is to secure your hay bales with straps and carry the load low. Carrying any load high and relying on a guard alone is not safe.

 

[beenthere]

Just add a guard. Should be easy to do, be it with some lumber or steel fabrication.

 

[jenkinsph]

Steve,

I forget about TSC since they are on the far north end of town. I am going to Sam's this weekend and will check out the spear. Thanks for the idea.

Also, your place ok with the fire? A good friend of mine lost a house and stables.

We were okay but that fire was close to us. Here is a couple of pics from my house. Seeing the entire mountainside glowing after dark was disconcerting at best.