PT capabilities as an all-terrain fork lift

[boggen]

no idea what the technical term is for them. but have a good amount of companies around here. that run a fork lift. that attach directly to rear end of a large box truck or semi trailer flat bed. or like. the forks go into a couple rails through back of truck under the flat bed. then driver just drives fork lift right into back of truck., then lowers the lifts. (result) fork lift machine itself raises up off the ground. a couple straps and pins. locks the fork lift in. and ready to drive off. there is no trailer to load/unload machine. due to machine basically locks itself on rear end of the truck or trailer.

i have seen a couple versions. one resembles more of a zero turn mower as far as wheels go, were there are 2 larger wheels on it. and then a couple caster wheels on it. then another machine that has 4 larger size wheels on it. i think might be 4wd. if memory serves both had hyd "extension" boom possibly dipstick on it as well. so extra length of reach could be had. and possibly up to 2 stories high? if memory serves the 4 wheel version had "swamp tires" errr very wide tire, to reduce chance of putting marks into a lawn. the 4 wheel version seemed extremely quite not sure if it was gas or diesel engine.

the times that have been used here, is when ordering pallets of shingles, landscape timbers, rocks, etc.... and just paid for delivery fees.

========================
also....
telescopic forklifts. made more for out of the concrete jungle and more on work sites. and various terrains.
http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1038

regular fork lifts...
http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1037

look through above links. at min, it might help you get a better idea of what is out there.

================
you might also look at cranes.
http://www.machinerytrader.com/drilldown/category.aspx?catid=1015

 

[toy]

I believe you would be better off with the 1430 according to your description of what you want to do. I was wandering if you could haul your stuff on a small trailer being either pulled or pushed with the 1430 and put weights on the tires of the tractor and the trailer to give you more stability. widening the stance of the tractor and the trailer if used would help also. One thing about the pts is that they oscillate as well as articulating and that I believe it would give it better stability as it goes over uneven ground. On the compact tractors if you would hit a low spot on one side when the tractor went over it as the balance of the tractor shifted and if that low spot was on the low side then that might get a little hairy. That might not be a problem but something to think about.

 

[toy]

Boggen the lumber delivery trucks around here [lowes] have fork lifts similar to what you are talking about except they have three wheels, two wheels up front and one in the back. From what I have seen of them they seem to do a good job and they will turn like a zero turn tractor. I don't know about their stability on a slope though.

 

[MossRoad]

You mentioned breaking a belt and then running down hill.... the PT425 and the 1400 series have no brakes either. You blow a hose and you're going for a ride, too. You have to step up to the even larger PT models to get them with the brake tender. Just wanted you to be aware.

 

[aczlan]

Boggen the lumber delivery trucks around here [lowes] have fork lifts similar to what you are talking about except they have three wheels, two wheels up front and one in the back. From what I have seen of them they seem to do a good job and they will turn like a zero turn tractor. I don't know about their stability on a slope though.

I think that such a thing could be ideal, but it would restrict him to one truck and those are very heavy (takes a lot to get one out of a soft spot on your lawn as our neighbors found out).

Aaron Z

 

[cqaigy2]

no idea what the technical term is for them. but have a good amount of companies around here. that run a fork lift. that attach directly to rear end of a large box truck or semi trailer flat bed. or like. the forks go into a couple rails through back of truck under the flat bed. then driver just drives fork lift right into back of truck., then lowers the lifts. (result) fork lift machine itself raises up off the ground. a couple straps and pins. locks the fork lift in. and ready to drive off. there is no trailer to load/unload machine. due to machine basically locks itself on rear end of the truck or trailer.

i have seen a couple versions. one resembles more of a zero turn mower as far as wheels go, were there are 2 larger wheels on it. and then a couple caster wheels on it. then another machine that has 4 larger size wheels on it. i think might be 4wd. if memory serves both had hyd "extension" boom possibly dipstick on it as well. so extra length of reach could be had. and possibly up to 2 stories high? if memory serves the 4 wheel version had "swamp tires" errr very wide tire, to reduce chance of putting marks into a lawn. the 4 wheel version seemed extremely quite not sure if it was gas or diesel engine.

the times that have been used here, is when ordering pallets of shingles, landscape timbers, rocks, etc.... and just paid for delivery fees.

========================
also....
telescopic forklifts. made more for out of the concrete jungle and more on work sites. and various terrains.
http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1038

regular fork lifts...
http://www.machinerytrader.com/list/list.aspx?ETID=1&catid=1037

look through above links. at min, it might help you get a better idea of what is out there.

I've had a couple loads off loaded at my house, roofing and building material and I didn't care about the wheel marks that were left but they were real evident on grass with dryish clay soil.

 

[ponytug]

Dear Boggen,

The three wheel Lowe's style delivery forklifts are called Moffett Mountys. They have no stability on slopes, and because of the weight are very hard on turf.

1824:
I would recommend a 1430. At the loads you are talking about, you could probably get away with reversing the tires for a wider stance and more stability on ski slopes. The diesels have the advantage that they are lower rpm than the gas engines, and if noise is truly an issue, you don't have to be running them at wide open throttle.

If you only occasionally hit 700lbs, you could think about adding either CaCl2 to the tires or an addon weight at the rear trailer hitch to the 425, but I do think a 1430 is likely to meet your needs better, especially the lift height. Regardless, all of these articulated loaders have a very real shift in the center of mass when you turn. Keep your load low when traveling and turning.

If you find that you need additional sound proofing, you can probably have someone make you an extra engine cover with some soundproofing and holes in the critical areas. Unlike some of us, your unit would be running in a rather civilized area.

All the best,

Peter

 

[boggen]

your talking 700lbs of weight plus weight of unit itself. there really is nothing out there, that will not leave tracks in soft soil of a finished yard. the harder and dryer the soil more likely less chance of making marks.

less total weight of machine, wider tires (not taller tires) can make a difference of leaving or not leaving tracks

one thing that is used many times, is use of 5/8 plywood and overlapping them a couple inches. so large trucks with a roll off dumpster can be placed near worksite, along with picking dumpster up after it is completely full. most the time most work sites have 2 to 8 person crew so moving and placing the plywood goes quick. for putting it down moving equipment. and then pulling it back up after things have been done with equipment. so the lawn does not damaged.

if you have a forklift, on unit and plywood on a pallet would make things most likely even quicker. of lifting up pallet of plywood. while some one drives a couple people unload / load the plywood for the path.

====================
larger diameter wheels, and more clearance (distance between bottom of unit and ground) can help with getting over rocks and curbs and like.

wider width between left side and right side tires can help with stability on hills.

lower the COG (center of gravity) the better on hills. reason why many folks use fluid in tires. vs adding weights higher up on the tractor.

==============

any machine can and will leave tire marks on concrete. more so if you try and turn sharply, or do something that causes the wheels to spin. hot tires and hot concrete during hot summer days, can also attribute to leaving marks on concrete. see mention of "plywood" above.

===============
plywood is not cheap by no means. but when ya dealing with high cost jobs / high end clients, were causing a rut can be a big thing. plywood can be cheaper, than going back and fixing ruts put into a lawn. and not leaving a ugly face on customer face of having there lawn torn up and looking ugly for the next year or 2.

 

[MossRoad]

PT425 weighs 1500 pounds + 700 pound load = 2300 pounds / 4 tires = 575# per tire.

Don't know the square inches of the tire contact patch but I'm guessing its about equal to my shoe.
PT425 with 700 pound load will probably do no more damage to your lawn than a fat guy like me walking across your lawn. :cool2:

The real problem would be from repeated operation back and forth over the same exact path, which also happens with walking paths.

 

[ponytug]

I'll second MossRoad's comments. A big guy walking will leave more of an impact. Until you see how little the ground impact is from a PT, it is hard to imagine. PTs, especially with turf tires, are very easy on the ground.

All the best,

Peter

P.S. I did donuts on a 25 degree slope at Tazewell in a PT on wetish grass during a test drive. It was pretty amazing.