Front-End Loader slide on bucket pallet forks any good?

luckyme2010 · Mar 29, 2011

looking at getting some pallet forks to slide on and off the bottom lip of my fel so i can move my disc and other implements when need be.I have a skid steer attach bucket would a skid steer attach pallet fork be better?

SSdoxie · Mar 29, 2011

If you have the Quick Attach bucket, better off getting a regular pallet fork & frame. Will be faster install, bottom of the bucket is not intened to support heavy loads out in front of it could bow your bucket.

Hematite · Mar 29, 2011

SSdoxie said:
If you have the Quick Attach bucket, better off getting a regular pallet fork & frame. Will be faster install, bottom of the bucket is not intened to support heavy loads out in front of it could bow your bucket.

Very true, you will only end up damaging your bucket or worse.
Do it the right way and keep your load close to the pivot points and safely supported. Once you have pallet forks you will use them way more than you would think.
These are the best I've found and they are excellent.
Pallet Forks and Frame Assemblies: MightyMax

k0ua · Mar 29, 2011

It won't bow your bucket, at least not a Kubota:laughing: I have lifted over 500lbs with mine. and no damage.. BUT, what the other guys said is right on, it puts the lift point further out there, not good, but that is not the number 1 reason, IMHO,, the number 1 reason is you cant see anything, the bucket hides the hookup, or nearly so, if you raise up in your seat some you can get hooked up. Mine are for sale, cheap, and they are heavy duty, and both clamp on, to set them in place and I made them chain on also, for sideways stability and the ability to back up without them falling off:thumbsup: So bottom line, they work, and if your needs are few, and your budget is small, buy MINE:laughing::laughing: But if you use them often, and have the money... well get your wallet out, and get the QA type. oh, by the way, I will take a $100 today, they are rated 3500lbs. and would probably really do it.

James K0UA

Gale Hawkins · Mar 29, 2011

Loader Forks Bucket Forks Skid Tractor Pallet Fork - eBay (item 230398205516 end time Apr-04-11 17:33:06 PDT)

These worked better than I expected. Would not sell them for what I have in them if I could not get a new set for less. :B

kOua makes a good point about vision. Ours has standard loops and I have found with 3' 2x4's I can judge the angle of the forks OK but a spotter is helpful with pallets and seldom to I work without the kids around. My FEL bucket is NOT removable for quick hitch.

chopped · Mar 29, 2011

Gale thats a very reasonable price..

Gale Hawkins · Mar 29, 2011

The binders were $25 each since I did not have any. They are strong because they are made from pulled oil wells stems.

They are round so I was upset when I opened the box but they worked out well for us. Round hollow is stronger than rectangle hollow tubing I learned. My guess is the max weight I have lifted is 2000 with our old 60 HP JD 310 backhoe.

They are not like having a quick hitch set of forks but they cost a little less.

I like to know the max something can do so one day I got under a very heavy load and the loader by-passed before it would lift it but the forks/bucket did not deform in any way.

It is cool to be able to run to town and get a pallet load on the back end of the F700 flat bed and then unload with the FEL when I get home and never have to take the sides off.

Respotting building materials and getting second floor decking and shingles lifted into place make the crew who built our two story story storage/shop from Lowes/Home Depot very happy. I found out they could speak English when they wanted to. :laughing:

jake98 · Mar 30, 2011

Gale Hawkins said:
I found out they could speak English when they wanted to. :laughing:

There's a bad joke about them being like cue balls.. 'the harder you smack'em, the more english you get out of 'em...'

I like my clamp on forks, perfect for moving attachments around.

JJZ 109 · Mar 30, 2011

If you can afford it, go with a quick attach set. I originally had a set of Payne's Forks. As has been mentioned, bucket forks put the lift point further away from the loader arms. You also cannot see through your bucket to view the forks and your target. Clamp on style forks are also very likely to shift sideways if you don't hit your target squarely. Again, it's hard to hit your target squarely when you can't see it through your bucket.
I was glad when I was able to afford a SSQA for my loader arms. Now I can drop the bucket and grab the forks in a minute. Fork work is much easier now when I'm alone and don't have an extra set of eyes to guide me.

nue2farm · Mar 30, 2011

kOua, if you are serious about those bucket forks, I can be there today to pick them up. I live over near West Plains Mo.

MrZukerman · Mar 30, 2011

If you have the SSQA I vote for the SS pallet forks hands down. Had the bucket forks thought they were nice ( better than nothing) then got a SSQA loader and switch to a set of forks and will never go back, no comparison in the two.

Hematite · Mar 30, 2011

MrZukerman said:
If you have the SSQA I vote for the SS pallet forks hands down. Had the bucket forks thought they were nice ( better than nothing) then got a SSQA loader and switch to a set of forks and will never go back, no comparison in the two.

No question about it.:thumbsup:

MESSMAKER · Mar 30, 2011

Gale Hawkins said:
Loader Forks Bucket Forks Skid Tractor Pallet Fork - eBay (item 230398205516 end time Apr-04-11 17:33:06 PDT)

These worked better than I expected. Would not sell them for what I have in them if I could not get a new set for less. :B

kOua makes a good point about vision. Ours has standard loops and I have found with 3' 2x4's I can judge the angle of the forks OK but a spotter is helpful with pallets and seldom to I work without the kids around. My FEL bucket is NOT removable for quick hitch.

I have a set like was linked above that was made locally. I have lifted as much as I could a couple of times and did no damage. The chain spreads the fore over the whole bucket. My only complaints are that they are hard to see once installed and they do work loose over time so you have to check them from time to time.

beenthere · Mar 30, 2011

luckyme2010 said:
looking at getting some pallet forks to slide on and off the bottom lip of my fel so i can move my disc and other implements when need be.I have a skid steer attach bucket would a skid steer attach pallet fork be better?

Most certainly the skidsteer attach would be better, but the slide on's would be better than nothing. To what degree "any good" and "be better" would be for you, only you can determine, or find that out.

It is your call if you want to risk needing more than the slide on's will provide.

k0ua · Mar 30, 2011

nue2farm said:
kOua, if you are serious about those bucket forks, I can be there today to pick them up. I live over near West Plains Mo.

I sent you a PM..

James K0UA

dwost · Mar 30, 2011

Based on Gales rec, I just ordered a set. I too don't have a QA for my bucket.

Gale Hawkins · Mar 31, 2011

dwost said:
Based on Gales rec, I just ordered a set. I too don't have a QA for my bucket.

What have I gone and done now.

I actually talked to them by phone and they were nice. There was some lag time on an email but I did get a reply.

This spring I may get to work on the other end of the BH and get a THUMB from them. I just need to pull some measurements so they can build the attaching part to best mate with my boom. I think it was the 32" thumb that we decided that I needed for my 24" bucket on the JD 310. I am going to try and bolt it on if possible. If the bolt on method does not stand the pressure I will just take it to a shop and get it weld in the most ideal position I find when bolting it on to best mate the bucket.

dwost · Mar 31, 2011

Gale Hawkins said:
What have I gone and done now. .

You forced me to buy the forks! Lol jk i've been looking at options and was considering buying the QA plate for my loader. As of now the only thing I'm switching between is my bucket and the plow for winter. I have an 80 series JD loader and it has 4 one inch pins holding it on. What I did this winter when attaching my plow to speed things up was replace them with hitch pins from TSC. Now I simply pull them out and attach the bucket or plow. No more snap rings to deal with. I have found several instances where I could have used some forks. These should work out great and the price is hard to beat. I'll post up my findings.

dwost · Apr 5, 2011

Forks arrived today. As Gale mentioned, they are round tubing and they clearly state on the instruction sheet this is due to the strength of round vs. square. I picked up two chain binders at home depot for $60 and they installed in less than two minutes. I put them right to work and loaded my box scraper into my truck. They worked flawlessly and from the looks of them should last a long time. At this price I'd say they are great deal. I was also impressed with their commitment to stand behind their product. I believe they also carry a 10 yr warranty. All in all I'd say these are a great option for the part time fork user.

k0ua · Apr 5, 2011

Ordered the Construction Attachments Lightweight QA pallet forks, they should be here friday. Had a nice meeting with nue2farm, and we traded, and then "shot the cows husband" for about an hour. I will let you know how the new QA pallet forks work out.

James K0UA