Moving Fishing Kayaks with a Tractor w/ Pallet Forks

[KennK]

My wife & I have fishing kayaks and live across the road from a lake. As we age, I'm thinking that carrying the kayaks from the storage building to the lake will get more difficult. Has anyone seen/heard of using a JD 3320 tractor with 42" Titan pallet forks, and maybe pallets or something to move kayaks in a simple way?

They are 11.5 feet long, but the storage building door is not quite that wide. I try to imagine a way to carry them lengthwise, but am struggling to be creative on that.

Any ideas?

 

[Citydude]

Boom pole on the 3pt?

 

[rkidd]

They arent heavy like you say. You could use a pallet and put them on long ways and use a ratchet strap to hold down the one end so they dont tip off the front if possible. Or you can make something out of wood over the pallet to slide them under to hold them from tipping off the front. Or you could make a wood structure designed for that purpose to carry them. Would be light enough and shouldn't be to hard. Good luck.

 

[rustyshakelford]

What about building a trailer and pull them long ways?

Brett

 

[3930dave]

Or you could make a wood structure designed for that purpose to carry them.

If the traffic around OPs lake is anything like mine (some people seem to view wide or extended loads as target practice....) I'd be tempted to build a wood frame for the forks so you could strap the kayaks in a vertical position - obviously assumes enough vert. clearance between OP's yard and lake....

If a pallet is involved, you'd have to avoid crossing certain fields though......

Rgds, D.

 

[jmc]

Generally, compact loader attachments sit way out from the grill, probably for higher lift. If you HUNG your kayaks under the forks somehow, they could slide back toward the grill further.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Easiest way to carry a kayak is a rope through the carrying loop on each end. If the kayak is supported from two points it won't tend to spin. So what you want is a pole out in front with one end far enough out in front to clear the front of the tractor and the other end further out enough to support the other end and keep it from spinning. My kayak is 9'6", so if the center of the kayak were 5' from the front of the tractor that would be enough clearance. I'd say putting the two attachments 4' apart would be plenty, so one attachment 3' from the front of the tractor and the other 7'. My kayak is only 45 lbs and you're not going far so this doesn't have to be that sturdy, a 2x4 would probably work. I don't see any problem with hooking both kayaks to the same pole.

So I'm thinking a 4' piece of 2x4 with an eye hook in each end, and four pieces of rope about 4' long with a carabiner at each end. I agree that putting it on the bucket is the way to go, it gives you maximum maneuverability. The question is how to attach that 2x4 to the bucket. You want it to be quick and easy.

Thinking out loud, how about a bar bracket like this:
Stanley National Hardware SP15BC Open Bar Holder, Zinc Plated - Hardware Braces - Amazon.com

It's through-bolted to the 2x4 and hooks over the lip of the bucket. In place of one of the through bolts use an eye bolt, and then run two ratchet straps through the eye bolt and onto the bucket to hold it in place.

 

[briano228]

Make a pallet with two sets of carpeted 2x6 bunks ( two each kayak) extending towards front. kayaks can sit on bunks like a trailer. Reinforce bottom of pallet as bunks will want to rotate end of pallet near backrest. Will likely need to use u bolts to hold bunks to pallet again to resist rotating....
This pallet would likely be 10' long but can be used for storage

 

[Wagtail]

Make a pallet with two sets of carpeted 2x6 bunks ( two each kayak) extending towards front. kayaks can sit on bunks like a trailer. Reinforce bottom of pallet as bunks will want to rotate end of pallet near backrest. Will likely need to use u bolts to hold bunks to pallet again to resist rotating....
This pallet would likely be 10' long but can be used for storage

Attach wheels to the pallet IOT move it into/out of the storage shed. Your choice of tyres depending on the surfaces the kayak pallet will be traversing. Many wheel assemblies have their own brake too.

 

[boggen]

find TWO 4" or 6" pipe (what ever fits over your forks). preferably metal. slip them over your forks. you now have extended forks. drill a hole in pipe nearer to tractor. so you could toss a wire through and wire the pipe back onto the main frame of the forks. to help keep the pipes from sliding off the forks when you uncurl the forks, and let the kayak slide off the forks.

if you have having physical problems with that much weight out in front of you (primarily due to length sticking out in front) then see about getting some caster wheels. so they are free to spin in any direction. if you end up needing casters. you will most likely need to make a BOX frame, and then X support framework inside the box, then an "angle brace" per pipe. to help strength things up some. example of caster wheels, would be the "larger wheels" on a finishing mower deck. local hardware stores might carry a larger caster wheel. larger the diameter the better, so you can deal with little bumps and like better. without causing the wheels to dig into the ground.

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find the cheapest "lawn cart" or "little trailer" for a riding lawn mower. as long as it has 2 wheels that spin freely of each other. extend the "tongue" X amount of feet so you can turn it into a long "trailer" with kayaks center setting over the wheels of the trailer.

extending tongue, could be a piece of pipe. with some holes drilled through it. to i really do not see it happening, some lumber some how extending the tongue.

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hit craiglist, and find the cheapest boat trailer you can find. that is long enough and short enough in width to get into the storage building. heck you might find one with a hand crank winch. with 20 plus feet of cable on it.

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there are "boom poles" for FEL, but every time i see them, they tend to be DIY jobs. welded up out of some metal. and most of the times, they are either used to set "trusses" for a house or building, or lifting up sheet metal to a roof, of a pole barn building.

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they sale axles, wheels, mounting hardware for axles, to DIY something at most large hardware stores (i know at least menards does) more so give it another month if not already in the lawn / garden section inside.

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a bit more expensive, get some 2x4's, and building yourself a "cube" with a top and middle shelf. toss on 4 caster wheels at 4 legs. and pull it around like a wagon. unload/lead kayaks on it. and store it as a "large shelf" in the building.