b3030 fel lift capacity

[strokerduster]

i've seen a lot of discussion on this forum about fel loader lift capacity. it's difficult to determine what it will do for your purposes. just thought i would give you a real world example. log is solid oak and weight is unknown. loader had no problem lifting and was no problem during moving.capable of much more capacity. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Stef]

I did the same thing. On my pic, the tractor weighs around 820lbs. You must add the weight of 2 2"x10"x8' and the wood pallet. As you can see the tractor is quite a bit ahead of the pivot pins... that's why I couldn't lift it higher than that.

I never tried my B3030 with a log though.

 

[strokerduster]

stef, whats the odds i can borrow your rear ballast??????????? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Stef]

I must say that the rear ballast is crucial. The other day, I was moving a pallet with 1080lbs on it (36 bags of compost at 30 lbs each) with the backhoe on, of course, and I nearly tipped forward because I moved the FEL a bit too fast. The rear wheels were completly on the air for a moment. The pallet was about 2 or 3 feet in the air. I was unloading my trailer and I lifted the pallet with the curl cylinders only because the boom didn't want to lift the charge. I guess that's why it's written on the pallet fork frame: rated capacity 600 lbs. The rated capacity is not about the forks or the frame, it's the rated capacity of the tractor. 600 lbs is a safe weight to move around. More than that... you have to move slowly with the minimum height possible.

A backhoe is really the best ballast for a tractor like a B3030. It's heavy and it's far behind the rear axle. I have a rear Kubota ballast box full of cement that I use from time to time for small FEL jobs but most of the time I take the time to put on the backhoe. It's safer that way but the length of the tractor is greater though. I guess there's no perfect solution.

Here's another pic. A front shot of the same tractor shown earlier.

I saw on your picture that you have R4. Those are better for FEL work. They're more stable because you can put more air pressure in them. Turf are hmmm... not the best choice for that kind of job. They tend to flatten a bit to much for my taste.

 

[jlbota]

Stef,
I kinda had the same thing happen about a week ago. I had a truck freight shipment brought to my house and had to unload out of the truck with my pallet forks. It weighed in at about 987lbs. We did take some of the weight off the pallet first to make two trips just to be safe....so if I had to guess it was about 750lbs. The B3030 lifted it just fine but on the way down with the loader I stopped suddenly and man you wanna talk about air time... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif The rear tires came up off the ground and bounced a few times. And that was with the backhoe and loaded rear tires. The lighter B3030 has its advantages but I would definitely stick to 600 lbs on the forks. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I think if I had to move a heavier load low to the ground I would attempt it and just go slow.

 

[Stef]

That's cool to know that someone out there knows exactly what I'm talking about. When it happened it kind of freaked me out a bit but now I'm ok... I move smaller loads. I thought that with a backhoe as a ballast I could move anything but I know now it's not quite true. It's heavy but not that much.

 

[bowhunter3030]

Stef, are those factory forks? What did that set up cost you?

 

[jlbota]

Steve,
I can answer your question as I have the same forks as Stef.
They are Kubota 36 inch pallet forks. The forks are roughly $900 give or take and the quick attach brackets you need are about $200 give or take.
I love mine and they are really great for hauling brush or logs and its great to throw a pallet on and just carry about anything you want. They are easy on and easy off also...just pull the pins and drop off the bucket and go pick up your forks and slide your pins back in and your off... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif.

 

[Stef]

bowhunter3030, I agree completly with jlbota about the forks. The price of the forks and the quick-attach is right on the target too. This is an excellent setup. I use the forks more often than the bucket.

 

[have_blue]

Stef, you just gave me a great idea for mowing my fence line. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif