Vern1
Bronze Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2007
- Messages
- 54
- Location
- Pettytown, TX US of A
- Tractor
- Kubota L35TLB - International 424 Diesel
Greetings,
I've used various forms of forks before and each had their strong points and their weak points.
My favorite to date were the drive-in forks - basically, heavy fork lift forks with a round rod on top that fit into hooks welded onto the top of the bucket.
You just put your bucket into "dump" position and drive under the bar and curl the bucket until the hooks engage the cross bar and drive off. Nice and easy but usually expensive and requires welding hooks on your bucket that get tangled in brush sometimes.....and did I mention expensive...but if you put the on and take them off multiple times a day, they will pay for themselves in time saved.
The other version I tried before were the clamp on type that used a large bolt inside the bucket but they would swing around and eventually loosen up and fall off. I never had any real success with them - moreso when grabbing a round bale as they would just spread and the bale would drop thru the front - real fun when you are moving and run over the bale or almost run over it before you can stop. They do make a spreader for these but it is usually set to one width.
The latest version I tried are Molly Forks from Yankeewarehouse and clip on the bottom of the bucket just like the clamp on type but have a chain that goes around the bucket and attach with chain boomers. These come in a 1200 and 3000 pound rating and work as advertised and don't swing around much plus put some of the tension on the top of the bucket and not entirely on the cutting edge. Since I plan on moving round bales and pallets of paintballs from time to time, I opted for the 3000 pound version for my L35TLB. The good part is they can be had for 80.00 a pair plus shipping.
On to the testing.....
When I pulled them out of the box after UPS delivered them I noticed the welds were nicely done (yes, I have been certified on pressure vessels in the past so I know what a good weld looks like) and paint was nice altho I have scrapped most of it off since then.....
First thing was to hit the pile I had burned last week and pick out some wood that didn't burn and some various metal that had ended up in the pile over the years. Worked like a charm and it's nice to be able to dump the stuff without the forks falling off or swinging out.
By this time, the guys had finished baling the round bales in the hay field so it was time for another test.....I must say I was a little concerned that they would handle this task but they worked like a charm and I had the round bales out of the field and stacked in no time.
I had some pallets laying around but nothing really heavy to test them on but have a couple of pallets of paintballs coming in later this week to test them on. These generally weigh 1500 to 1800 pounds so they will be a real test.
I am not affiliated in any way with the manufacturers of Molly Forks but recognize a good product and have no problem recommending them and they address some problems I have had with other types of forks on a FEL.
Hope this helps somebody....and YES, I could have fabbed and built them and saved a little money but time is short right now!
I've used various forms of forks before and each had their strong points and their weak points.
My favorite to date were the drive-in forks - basically, heavy fork lift forks with a round rod on top that fit into hooks welded onto the top of the bucket.
You just put your bucket into "dump" position and drive under the bar and curl the bucket until the hooks engage the cross bar and drive off. Nice and easy but usually expensive and requires welding hooks on your bucket that get tangled in brush sometimes.....and did I mention expensive...but if you put the on and take them off multiple times a day, they will pay for themselves in time saved.
The other version I tried before were the clamp on type that used a large bolt inside the bucket but they would swing around and eventually loosen up and fall off. I never had any real success with them - moreso when grabbing a round bale as they would just spread and the bale would drop thru the front - real fun when you are moving and run over the bale or almost run over it before you can stop. They do make a spreader for these but it is usually set to one width.
The latest version I tried are Molly Forks from Yankeewarehouse and clip on the bottom of the bucket just like the clamp on type but have a chain that goes around the bucket and attach with chain boomers. These come in a 1200 and 3000 pound rating and work as advertised and don't swing around much plus put some of the tension on the top of the bucket and not entirely on the cutting edge. Since I plan on moving round bales and pallets of paintballs from time to time, I opted for the 3000 pound version for my L35TLB. The good part is they can be had for 80.00 a pair plus shipping.
On to the testing.....
When I pulled them out of the box after UPS delivered them I noticed the welds were nicely done (yes, I have been certified on pressure vessels in the past so I know what a good weld looks like) and paint was nice altho I have scrapped most of it off since then.....
First thing was to hit the pile I had burned last week and pick out some wood that didn't burn and some various metal that had ended up in the pile over the years. Worked like a charm and it's nice to be able to dump the stuff without the forks falling off or swinging out.
By this time, the guys had finished baling the round bales in the hay field so it was time for another test.....I must say I was a little concerned that they would handle this task but they worked like a charm and I had the round bales out of the field and stacked in no time.
I had some pallets laying around but nothing really heavy to test them on but have a couple of pallets of paintballs coming in later this week to test them on. These generally weigh 1500 to 1800 pounds so they will be a real test.
I am not affiliated in any way with the manufacturers of Molly Forks but recognize a good product and have no problem recommending them and they address some problems I have had with other types of forks on a FEL.
Hope this helps somebody....and YES, I could have fabbed and built them and saved a little money but time is short right now!
