DIY FEL forks are surprisingly good

[Everhard]

Holy crap that BH hangs WAYYYYY out off the back. Looks like you could think yourself a wheelie with that thing out there. Do you find yourself having to pick up a load with the forks/bucket to keep reasonable steering?

The downside of the CK20 is the fuel tank location - there's no way to move the backhoe any closer. (by the same token the Kioti backhoe has to be equally as far back.) On the plus side the NH backhoe (same as MF) is lighter than the Kioti backhoe. In fact I notice the backhoe weight less than I notice the concrete barrel I made for a counter weight. (It weighs over 800lbs)
I haven't driven a CK20 with the factory backhoe attached to it but every comment you read is that it does make the front end feel very light. I don't find that to be an issue at all, in fact it feels like the perfect match for the loader - the one offset's the other quite nicely. Guess the only answer would be to park it on a teeter-totter and see where neutral is! Lol! The NH backhoe is at least 250lbs lighter than the Kioti model.

E.

 

[Pipanski]

I've been thinking about doing something similar to this... But your execution is a lot better than what I was thinking! Nice mod...I'll definitely be stealing this one.

PS is there a reason your front tires are so low? I think I see two separate pictures and in both of them they look nearly flat....

 

[KYKub]

I've been thinking about doing something similar to this... But your execution is a lot better than what I was thinking! Nice mod...I'll definitely be stealing this one.

PS is there a reason your front tires are so low? I think I see two separate pictures and in both of them they look nearly flat....

Hi Pipanski. Cheap, fast, easy and very useful - I recommend the mod! I replaced the bolts pictured with carriage bolts with a rounded head. That way a bolt head isn't sticking up on the forks. Much better. I also cut the length so it sticks out much less from the bottom.

You asked about tire pressure - I had the front tires at either 14 or 17 pounds, whatever the manual recommends for turfs. It just didn't seem right. I noticed while traveling sideways on slopes that the front tire on the downhill side seemed like it could slip the rim. Maybe I am just imagining things, but just yesterday I took the pressure up to 24 pounds. "Looks" about right.

 

[nightdevil]

My forks are extremely simple.
I had a couple 2x8's in the basement nearly the same length and pieces of 2x4's.
Its only held in by the weight of the 2x8. No picture of it in the air but the weight is on the FEL.
Still amazed at how simple this was and it helped in a bind.

 

[cudaguy71]

I'd be interested in pics of the pin on frame you built, Thanks, Eddie...

I also started out using lumber as a simple fork, works decent enough. Eventually though I wanted to pick up pallets and that means thinner forks so time to upgrade! Given you've got hooks on your bucket already you can consider the route I took. (which was an idea I got from another member on here!)
I don't honestly remember the total cost but even buying new steel it wasn't much at all. I used c-channel to make the forks, and then found a steel tube that was a close fit inside the hooks, and another chunk of steel tube that slides loosely over that first steel tube. Makes the forks adjustable between the hooks. I was worried about the forks bending where the vertical c-channel meets the horizontal hence that rear extension with the triangular chunk of steel to give it extra strength.
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These have taken a serious beating but can handle more than the lift capacity of my tractor. Plus they are light so don't rob much from the lifting capacity either. Well till you consider you're lifting in front of the bucket which is a limit in itself.
That became my next problem as I wanted to lift more so I made a pin-on frame to replace the bucket that the forks can attach to. So now I can either use the forks on the bucket (quick on/off) or for more lifting power I pin-off the bucket and pin on the frame for the forks. Btw after taking the bucket on and off a number of times I've realised its easy and doesn't take more than a couple min to do. (Keep in mind a smaller tractor means the bucket itself isn't crazy heavy so I can move it by hand. makes pinning it back on easy.)

E.