Forks Need help picking pallet forks

[canoetrpr]

I'm finally doing my SSQA conversion.

I'm purchasing from a local operation and he stocks Standard Duty 2000 lb capacity and heavier 3700 capacity. Former has 42" tines and latter 48". Cap and tine size of the standard are fine for me but the big difference is that the Standard duty tines slide on a cylindrical shaft and do not lock. I think I have seen the Bradco ones many of you use and they seem to be the same style. The heavier ones are the lockable tines.

My Kubota l3400's capacity is not huge and for the most part I am not lifting much more than this and that. I'd prefer the lighter weight but am not quite sure how important the lockability is. Price diff is about $ 140 - not much. Not sure on the weight diff.

What do you all think?

 

[rimshot]

Take a look at the forks made up for my front bucket. MichiganIron made them up for me and they are dandy and go on quickly. I have a piece of round stock that slides through those eyes you see mounted on top of the bucket. This round stock also pins the fork to the top of the bucket.

Incidentally, the rigging for providing the fork bracket reinforces the bucket quite well, don't you think? Check out his web site or give him an email or a call. I know he has sent stuff up to Ontario previously.

 

[rus_geek]

If you're going to use the forks to pick up pallets, I think the round bar will be fine. If you're going to use the forks for "other" stuff like most users, you need to think about things like pointing the forks straight down to dig under a rock - will they flop around on the round bar? Will you want to be able to nudge/slide a pallet sideways on the ground by pushing the tip of the fork sideways? Will it slide on the round bar if you do? Having the bars lock on a sliding rail also means the bottom of the fork is attached to the carriage, which for me makes them seem a lot more stable, with less side-to-side movement of individual forks.

-rus-

 

[canoetrpr]

rimshot, that looks like a nice setup.

My predicament has been made easy. The guy I am dealing with pointed out that there isn't enough of a weight difference between the two forks. He heavy duty one is a better design and a bit bulkier. I'm just going to go for that.