Bucket attached pallet forks

[beowulf]

I have a Woods PF17 quick attach pallet fork attachment. Very useful. However, from time to time when I have the bucket on I just need to move something that is a bit too inconvenient for the due to length or whatever, e.g., a couple of RR ties or a log, some light brush/bushes. I can always switch out the bucket for the pallet forks, but I think I would like to be able to just attach a couple of those bucket clamp-on forks for those quick tasks rather than take off the bucket, then attach the pallet fork attachment, do the job with the forks and then take it off and replace the bucket.

I am looking for an easier way to do this and thus I am thinking that it would be really nice to have a set of the clamp on bucket pallet forks at the ready. The least expensive set is available (1500 lb capacity) for about $100 including shipping, others a bit more. I am still poking around. So, anyway, I am inclined to buy a set. Any recommendations, experiences with these, suggestions on which type, caveats?

This would be for only occasional use and I would be careful not to become too adventurous - and I will sort of know when I should use the full pallet fork attachment.

 

[johncanfield]

I bought clamp-on forks for my now sold Kubota that didn't have a loader quick attach. They were okay but I needed the chain around the bucket to lift anything heavy. Too much hassle.

 

[Tompet]

I had clamp on with one tractor...didn't like them. I modified them with a small plate so clamps wouldn't dent bucket, and the handles so they could clamp towards outside of bucket. Anyway, they would shift or move position, kind of awkward, had less carrying capacity and weren't much faster to the experience of now switching out bucket with Q/A.

I now have the Kubota proprietary Q/A bracket, which allowed a matching set of forks (Kubota added regular SS universal q/a brackets to more models since). A second tractor has universal SS bracket and bucket with another set of forks. These are really fast to switch out from bucket compared to Kubota proprietary q/a system.

So if you have SS universal type quick attach, my advice is stick with it. But hey, if you can get a set delivered for around $100. (never saw a set that cheap) it might be worth it to satisfy your curiosity...as your results may vary!

 

[fried1765]

I have a Woods PF17 quick attach pallet fork attachment. Very useful. However, from time to time when I have the bucket on I just need to move something that is a bit too inconvenient for the due to length or whatever, e.g., a couple of RR ties or a log, some light brush/bushes. I can always switch out the bucket for the pallet forks, but I think I would like to be able to just attach a couple of those bucket clamp-on forks for those quick tasks rather than take off the bucket, then attach the pallet fork attachment, do the job with the forks and then take it off and replace the bucket.

I am looking for an easier way to do this and thus I am thinking that it would be really nice to have a set of the clamp on bucket pallet forks at the ready. The least expensive set is available (1500 lb capacity) for about $100 including shipping, others a bit more. I am still poking around. So, anyway, I am inclined to buy a set. Any recommendations, experiences with these, suggestions on which type, caveats?

This would be for only occasional use and I would be careful not to become too adventurous - and I will sort of know when I should use the full pallet fork attachment.

You would love what I have, but I do not have a picture.
I will try to describe it.
I found a pair of used forks from an old fork lift.
A local farm welding shop fabricated the rig.
Each fork has a 4" long piece of steel pipe welded across the top ("L"shaped forks)
Then the forks are slid on a piece of round solid stock (2"?), and end caps welded on the round stock.
Now you have the round stock with the two forks free to slide on it.
Lastly the shop fabricated (flame or plasma cut) two large open hooks from 3/4" steel, and welded them to the top of my bucket.
All I do is drive up to the forks with the bar across them, curl my bucket, so the big hooks will be under the solid bar, and lift.
The back bottom of the forks rest against the bucket edge.
I never have to get out of the seat to do anything with this.
When I want the forks off, I just set the bucket down, roll the bucket forward, to disengage the big hooks, and back away.
My loader is good for 2000 lbs. but because the forks are on the front of the bucket I can only pick up 1000 lbs that way.
Works for me!
Wish I could send you a picture, but I am FAR away from the tractor.

 

[Peter 315]

I think Fried1765 means something that looks like thisDrive-in Bucket Forks 48"x48" - Gentec Equipment

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I have a set of clamp on forks for my bucket. They're "ok" for light duty stuff. The biggest drawback is they will rotate right to left if you put any side pressure on them. That can be either from moving the loader sideways at all, or picking up an irregular shaped object that causes the forks to flex, or tips to spread out, as you lift the object up.

Another clamp on tool I like are the R2 Edge Tamers. You can then add the Edge Extenders to those, and carry things like fence posts, logs, pipes, lumber, etc. Very handy to have as well. And it's nice to be able to scrape the driveway, or lawn without picking up gravel or tearing up the grass.

R2 Manufacturing - Home Of The Edge Tamer

I still use my clamp forks occasionally, but I think I'll also get a set of quick attach forks as well.

 

[beowulf]

So if you have SS universal type quick attach, my advice is stick with it. But hey, if you can get a set delivered for around $100. (never saw a set that cheap) it might be worth it to satisfy your curiosity...as your results may vary!

This is what I found re the cheapest cost for clamp ons (tho shipping has gone from $15 to $30 in the interim if I recall my search from yesterday correctly:

15lbs Capacity Clamp on Pallet Forks HD Loaders Bucket Skidsteer Tractor Chain | eBay

But, a link sent by Slowpoke Slim shows a pair of edge extenders that would also work out. I have to find out what weight they can handle though and compare costs. Or, it may be that I may decide to stay with my quick attach forks. ... decisions, decisions. . . Thanks for responding.

 

[CincyFlyer]

I have a Woods PF17 quick attach pallet fork attachment. Very useful. However, from time to time when I have the bucket on I just need to move something that is a bit too inconvenient for the due to length or whatever, e.g., a couple of RR ties or a log, some light brush/bushes. I can always switch out the bucket for the pallet forks, but I think I would like to be able to just attach a couple of those bucket clamp-on forks for those quick tasks rather than take off the bucket, then attach the pallet fork attachment, do the job with the forks and then take it off and replace the bucket.

I am looking for an easier way to do this and thus I am thinking that it would be really nice to have a set of the clamp on bucket pallet forks at the ready. The least expensive set is available (1500 lb capacity) for about $100 including shipping, others a bit more. I am still poking around. So, anyway, I am inclined to buy a set. Any recommendations, experiences with these, suggestions on which type, caveats?

This would be for only occasional use and I would be careful not to become too adventurous - and I will sort of know when I should use the full pallet fork attachment.

I switch implements sometimes a dozen times in a day. It takes less time to swap my bucket for the quick-attach pallet forks than to get the clamp-on forks attached and secured.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I believe the weight on the R2's is only 300 lbs.

 

[beowulf]

I have a set of clamp on forks for my bucket. They're "ok" for light duty stuff. The biggest drawback is they will rotate right to left if you put any side pressure on them. That can be either from moving the loader sideways at all, or picking up an irregular shaped object that causes the forks to flex, or tips to spread out, as you lift the object up.

Another clamp on tool I like are the R2 Edge Tamers. You can then add the Edge Extenders to those, and carry things like fence posts, logs, pipes, lumber, etc. Very handy to have as well. And it's nice to be able to scrape the driveway, or lawn without picking up gravel or tearing up the grass.

R2 Manufacturing - Home Of The Edge Tamer

I still use my clamp forks occasionally, but I think I'll also get a set of quick attach forks as well.

Thanks for the info. I see that some of the clamp on forks come with a stabilizing bar of sorts so that might prevent the left to right turning - though would likely also mean more work to put the clamp on forks on (and coming closer to the time it would take to use the quick attach pallet fork attachment) and because the length of the stabilizing bar is not great you could not space the forks that wide so hauling things like RR ties or long posts would require some balancing.

I like the edge tamer idea - looked at your link. Wonder how much weight they could handle. . . e.g., a couple of RR ties? I also see that I could put a piece of plywood or trimmed cattle panel on those and haul a bit more brush when that need arose. Cost for these would be $45 x 2 for the two required edge trimmers plus $15 x 2 for the necessary edge extenders plus shipping so approaches cost for the clamp ons including a stabilizing bar.

 

[newbury]

I've two pair of the Titan pallet forks, one pair for each tractor, or put all four on one each pair with a stabilizer bar.
Often when I just need to move one log or object I'll just clamp on a pair and forget the stabilizer bar. But if I'm doing a bunch of pallet or log movement the stabilizer bar comes in REAL handy.
When I'm moving brush




it is handy to have a chain, ratchet strap, or rope to throw over the pile so it acts as a clamp. I call it my "poor man's manual grapple".

I'd like to get a grapple but other attachments have taken priority and I don't have QA yet.

 

[flingwing1969]

Except for the Drive-In Forks that are linked and discussed, you will find the bucket forks will take more time to attach than swapping your SSQA bucket for your forks and back again. Personally, I have my forks on way more than my bucket but that is because lifting and carrying is a more common task for me than having a need for the bucket - if I ran a dairy farm, this would not be the case.

I had a set of bucket forks for my B21 without an SSQA and loved having them (got three so I could use them for brush hauling) but the B21 has a very stout bucket unlikely to easily be bent and I really did not have another option. Putting the load out front certainly limits your lifting though and again, putting them on and taking them off took me more time than driving over to my SSQA forks and swapping implements - I have a 4n1 so I also have hydraulics to swap and it still only takes me 5 minutes (if I take my time).

 

[beowulf]

Likely true and just swapping out may be the best course as I think about all this. There are some other good options suggested here, but I also keep my tooth bar on the bucket most of the time and thus some of those options would not work with the tooth bar on. On the Titan Pallet fork link that Newbury provided I saw some debris forks that really looked interesting and with a significant lifting capacity would be very versatile but again the tooth bar would have to be removed. Thanks for input.

 

[flingwing1969]

On the Titan Pallet fork link that Newbury provided I saw some debris forks that really looked interesting and with a significant lifting capacity would be very versatile but again the tooth bar would have to be removed. Thanks for input.

Debris forks are great to have. As I mentioned, I keep my forks on 80% or so of the time and I live in woodlands so lots of debris to pick up and dump. They are covered in snow right now, but I made a real simple set of debris forks that attach to my forks (I have to take a picture of that thing).
Anyway, here's what I did:
1. I welded on a receiver hitch to the bottom crossbar on the forks that I use for attaching homemade implements and for pushing trailers around the place. Like this:

2. I got a big length of rectangular tubing the size to slip over the forks and some 2x2x1/4 tubing for the forks and a big chunk of 4x4x1/4 angle iron and a piece of receiver 2" receiver tube I had laying around.

3. I cut two 6" chunks of the rectangular tubing put the forks as far as they would go on the carriage and slipped the chunks over them, sliding them all the way back.
4. I cut the angle iron to the length of the width across the forks and tubing, at full width, and welded it to the two chunks of tubing
5. I slipped the receiver tubing into the receiver, slipped a pin through the already drilled holes, and welded it to the top of the angle iron
6. Next I cut the 2x2 tubing to three lengths about three inches shorter than the 42" forks, slipped a full-length chunk of rebar into each piece to add stiffness and welded each in front and rear, cut the ends so I could weld them shut with a taper, aligned the lengths equal distance from the forks and each other and welded them to the angle iron. They look a bit like this but only three of them and where the tubing goes across the back is the angle iron attaching point:


That's it. Really easy and didn't cost much in materials or time. This is a load of pine needles/pine straw (for the southerners) so you can see it works well. Slips on and off in a trice and is light-weight.

 

[MossRoad]

How much did you pay for your quick attach system to use your forks that you are no longer going to use because you want to clamp forks to your bucket??

I think you already know the answer is it will take you longer to clamp the forks on by hand than just dropping the bucket and picking up the forks.

Have you ever considered, or is it possible, to put small actuators on the quick detach levers? Like linear actuators or small hydraulic cylinders.

On my PowerTrac it came with a quick attach system that operates hydraulically. I just set the bucket down, pull a valve near my knee and back away from the bucket. Drive over to my forks, pick them up, push the lever and lock it in. It litterally takes me less than 15 seconds to change implements without getting off the tractor. :thumbsup:

I'm surprised no one has gone after the niche market of quick attach automation conversion kits. Are there kits out there?

 

[Peter 315]

How much did you pay for your quick attach system to use your forks that you are no longer going to use because you want to clamp forks to your bucket??

I think you already know the answer is it will take you longer to clamp the forks on by hand than just dropping the bucket and picking up the forks.

Have you ever considered, or is it possible, to put small actuators on the quick detach levers? Like linear actuators or small hydraulic cylinders.

On my PowerTrac it came with a quick attach system that operates hydraulically. I just set the bucket down, pull a valve near my knee and back away from the bucket. Drive over to my forks, pick them up, push the lever and lock it in. It litterally takes me less than 15 seconds to change implements without getting off the tractor. :thumbsup:

I'm surprised no one has gone after the niche market of quick attach automation conversion kits. Are there kits out there?

Kubota has it, I think its 1500. dollar option my dealer says nobody buys it . He gave one to a guy that buy alot of stuff there

 

[fried1765]

I think Fried1765 means something that looks like thisDrive-in Bucket Forks 48"x48" - Gentec Equipment

Yup!
That is basically it.
Mine is a bit beefier than that though.
I love it!

 

[MossRoad]

Kubota has it, I think its 1500. dollar option my dealer says nobody buys it . He gave one to a guy that buy alot of stuff there

YEOWCH!

Is it a standard skid steer quick attach or a Kubota proprietary quick attach on your machine? Got any pictures of the levers?

Do you have 3rd function hydraulics for a grapple on the FEL?

 

[Peter 315]

YEOWCH!

Is it a standard skid steer quick attach or a Kubota proprietary quick attach on your machine? Got any pictures of the levers?

Do you have 3rd function hydraulics for a grapple on the FEL?

Its is standard skid steer but you would have to disconnect grapple or 4-1 bucket hoses manually
Front Loader Hydraulic Quick Attach Coupler - YouTube

 

[MossRoad]

So it would take you about 30 seconds to disconnect hoses for the grapple and drop the bucket.

I have a similar deal on my Power Trac when I change powered impelements. Mower, brush cutter, or power angled snow blade. Just two hoses on quick disconnects.

One thing about those drive up forks.... what keeps them from swinging up if you angle the bucket down too far? Can you get the tips under stuff and pry down with them like you can with dedicated forks?