Another 300CX capacity question

[Woody_NH]

Has anyone done this?

I buy wood pellets by the one ton pallet and would like to off load from the flat bed trailer. The trailer bed is 24" high, lift height would be to just to clear the bed and then carry low into the garage for storage. If the pallet itself is about 40 lbs, there would be about 2050 lbs of pellets, pallet and packaging. The pallet is 40" deep so the load center would be 20" out on the forks.

The 300cx spec lift:
2125 lbs at pivot pin to 59" high
1646 lbs 19.7" out to 59" high

Breakout:
3327 lbs at pivot
2316 lbs 19.7" out

Now I think the answer is no so I am not on the way out to buy a pallet fork for the loader. But if someone has actually done this, I would consider getting the fork.

The 3320 has loaded rear tires, a weight box would be on the back and the travel is a short distance on level ground.

 

[JDeerekid]

My guess would be it is possible. I dont think you will be able to lift to full height but 2 feet off the ground unloading the pallet for a trailer should be close. If you can roll the forks back a little you can get a little more lift also.
Is it possible to use the 3pt hitch if you can raise it high enough?
You can get the forks for TSC for alot cheaper then a set of loader forks.

 

[WH401]

For as little a height and distance your planning to move it, I would say it's definately possible.

 

[jsboening]

I'd say yes. I've got a lawn roller thats full of concrete. Total weight is right around 2000lbs with the frame. I was able to lift it about 4 feet off the ground with the forks before the "Pucker" factor set in. If the pellets are individually bagged in smaller amounts just take a few off.

 

[JDeerekid]

I'd say yes. I've got a lawn roller thats full of concrete. Total weight is right around 2000lbs with the frame. I was able to lift it about 4 feet off the ground with the forks before the "Pucker" factor set in. If the pellets are individually bagged in smaller amounts just take a few off.

Thats a good idea that take 5 bags off the top on the pallet thats 200lbs lighter.

 

[wippster]

I run a 3520/300cx and have lifted up to 2600 on the forks! loaded rear tires and KK 6ft tiller on a quick hitch and the beast still floats the back wheels good thing there is 4 wheel drive!

 

[Woody_NH]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I think that I'll look for a pallet fork.

Woody

 

[Nuru]

I'd say yes. I've got a lawn roller thats full of concrete. Total weight is right around 2000lbs with the frame. I was able to lift it about 4 feet off the ground with the forks before the "Pucker" factor set in. If the pellets are individually bagged in smaller amounts just take a few off.

Yeah that funny feeling you get when you feel something is about to go wrong.

 

[keeney]

There will be no pucker factor if the machine is sufficiently ballasted. A box blade at only a few hundred pounds is still a bit light foin this case. I would recommend a ballast box or concrete weight in the 1000 to 1500lb range for a load of 2500 lbs on the forks.

Based on the ratings you quote, it is likely that the loader will be able to lift the "1-ton" pallets presuming they are not loaded with a generous "baker's ton".

Don't forget to consider front tire and axle ratings as well. Ag or turf tires might not be up to the task while industrial tires are more typically rated for this kind of thing. Don't forget to inflate the tires to max rated pressure.

What will happen if the forks cannot quite lift the weight is that you will still be able to put enough upwards pressure on the pallet to easily slide it off of the truck (if no lip to lift over) and lower it safely, but not raise it back again. That means unloading only. Lower near the ground, the loader capacity should still allow you to transport and position the pallets for storage on the ground and re-transport if necessary.

As was suggested, having another empty pallet handy and splitting the load manually is an effective techniqe if the load is significantly beyond the loader capacity. Once split into smaller pallet loads, you can move and stack the pallets on top of each other to take up about the same amount of space.

I have done that numerous times with pallets of rock or ceramic tile where the original pallet was 3000 to 4000 lbs, but my little JD 4100 can only lift about 1000 lbs. I would split the load into multiple pallets manually from the back of the truck to one or more additional empty pallets. Its not too bad of a chore when they are right next to each other. I was then able to conveniently move the stuff around for storage and to the worksite when required while building my house.

One thing I did was to build my forks as light as possible to preserve as much payload capacity as possible. I used 36" mini-forktruck forks and a small welded frame that fits the JD bucket quick attach. They are probably 100 lbs lighter than the 60" JD bucket itself.

- Rick

 

[AKfish]

I helped a buddy unload and relocate 20 pallets of landscaping blocks for a retaining wall project this past summer with my JD110.

He said they were "all in the 2,000lb range". The 110 is rated to lift over a ton. I thought... should be a piece of cake! NOT!

It was right at the very limit of what the 110 could handle and I never attempted to lift the pallets more than 24" off the ground.

You might JUST be able to lift those pallets enough to slide them off the truck. And as keeney stated - once the pallet is on the ground - you might not be able to pick it back up again.

Before you invest the $500 or more in a set of forks; see if you can borrow a set and give it a shot.

That said; if there is one thing I have learned over the year's --- if you're using a piece of equipment at the upper limits of it's capacity --- the probability of the equipment breaking or failing is very high and the longevity (lifespan) of that equipment is also generally diminished.

So, if unloading wood pellets (in 2,000lb loads) is a long-term project; you might want to really consider other options as well.

Best of luck.

AKfish