Cargo Carrier Plus Ballast Box for Chainsaws and Junk?

[Suburban Plowboy]

I keep adding chainsaws to my collection. I used to have terrible debris tines on my bucket, and they moved around all the time. I made my own debris fork out of them, and now I have no bucket when I use the fork. That means I can't put saws in the bucket.

I have a Titan ballast box I can put one saw in, sort of. I looked at the Sawhaul, but it seemed extremely expensive for what it was. It looks like it ought to cost $75 instead of $179. Also, I don't want saws hanging in front of my loader zerks, and it appears the Sawhaul will only let you carry one bar length. I have 16", 18", 20", and 24" at the moment. On top of that, the bar rests on the inside of a plastic scabbard, and I have no faith in that lasting long. And you can't put a gas can, chaps, a hatchet, wedges, tongs, a tow strap, files, screnches, or a chain in a Sawhaul.

The ballast box has a receiver in it, so I decided to try a folding cargo carrier, like the ones old folks use to carry their mobility scooters. Is anyone else doing this? The one I picked has a lot of room, and the side walls are solid so stuff can't fall out. It has no floor, but I can throw some plywood in there. It will fold up against the ballast box when empty, so I will still be able to get the tractor into my shop. It should hold two big saws plus a lot of junk, easily.

I was thinking I should have just dropped some goat fencing across my forks and put stuff on that. It would be free. I could fix it so the fencing hinged up against the vertical parts of the tines when not loaded, to keep logs and whatever from coming back at me. Maybe I should have gone that route.

I know a lot of guys build all sorts of fancy ballast box projects to hold saws and so on, but honestly, I would rather get this wood cut and moved than spend the next month building a masterpiece.

 

[HP942]

Here is what I did. I took and old job box and bolted/welded some 3 point attachements on in. Added a trailer hitch welded & bolted to the bottom. Added several hundred pounds of bagged concrete in the bottom for ballast. I have a wooden false floor covering the concrete. It comfortably holds 2 chainsaws, 2 gas cans, cant hook, and 2 buckets of chains. I have added larger 10” pneumatic castors since these photos were taken. Here is a link to my YouTube build playlist if you are interested in looking.
YouTube build playlist

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

That looks great, but I want something I can use right away, and I already have the box for ballast.

 

[bmaverick]

That looks great, but I want something I can use right away, and I already have the box for ballast.

You can make a simple Carry-all out of an IBC tote. Then mount all the chain-saws, axes, shovels, etc in it.

Also, if you are a hunter, an IBC tote works as a hunting blind. These typically go for $25 to $50.

 

[garry1p]

this plug into your ballast box. Add a wood frame to suit your needs

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Here is the one I ordered: aluminum cargo carrier.

 

[JDW 1]

I agree with the IBC tote, they are easy to come by and cheap. I made up a couple, the short one is for chainsaws and tools in general. I put it on my pallet forks, carry tools to the job site. Back out from under it. Then use the forks to stack the trees. The other one is for getting up to other tasks safely, of course you need an operator, works good for higher tree limbs or blowing out gutters safely. The basket works good on the x758.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Those totes look interesting. Someone here is selling them for $30. Not sure what to do with the plastic. I would have to see if they match the spacing of my fork.

 

[BlueKnife]

I keep adding chainsaws to my collection. I used to have terrible debris tines on my bucket, and they moved around all the time. I made my own debris fork out of them, and now I have no bucket when I use the fork. That means I can't put saws in the bucket.

I have a Titan ballast box I can put one saw in, sort of. I looked at the Sawhaul, but it seemed extremely expensive for what it was. It looks like it ought to cost $75 instead of $179. Also, I don't want saws hanging in front of my loader zerks, and it appears the Sawhaul will only let you carry one bar length. I have 16", 18", 20", and 24" at the moment. On top of that, the bar rests on the inside of a plastic scabbard, and I have no faith in that lasting long. And you can't put a gas can, chaps, a hatchet, wedges, tongs, a tow strap, files, screnches, or a chain in a Sawhaul.

The ballast box has a receiver in it, so I decided to try a folding cargo carrier, like the ones old folks use to carry their mobility scooters. Is anyone else doing this? The one I picked has a lot of room, and the side walls are solid so stuff can't fall out. It has no floor, but I can throw some plywood in there. It will fold up against the ballast box when empty, so I will still be able to get the tractor into my shop. It should hold two big saws plus a lot of junk, easily.

I was thinking I should have just dropped some goat fencing across my forks and put stuff on that. It would be free. I could fix it so the fencing hinged up against the vertical parts of the tines when not loaded, to keep logs and whatever from coming back at me. Maybe I should have gone that route.

I know a lot of guys build all sorts of fancy ballast box projects to hold saws and so on, but honestly, I would rather get this wood cut and moved than spend the next month building a masterpiece.

Is this what you have? 3 Point Ballast Box Fits Category 1 Tractor Attachment - Quick Hitch Compatible - 2" Trailer Hitch Receiver - Use with sand, steel, concrete, gravel, rocks, etc. | Titan Attachments If so, if it were me, and I wanted a saw holder real fast in a pinch, I'd bore cut a slot in a wood 4x6 and then bolt it to the side of that thing. Wouldn't take very long, unless you don't know how to bore cut (lots of folks don't).

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

That's the box I have.