pallet forks - 42" or 48", floating or fixed

[MrJimi]

I have all of the above, floating and fixed and 42" and 48" I love my 48" fixed above all
Jim

 

[putt_putt_green]

Thanks for the replys everyone. After reading this, I'm about 50/50 on length. I'm 95% sure on fixed however.

 

[MrJimi]

With 48"s you can pick up a sheet of plywood with a tire on it, end ways

 

[ragkar]

putt_putt_green this is for you

 

[tuolumne]

With 48"s you can pick up a sheet of plywood with a tire on it, end ways

I loaded all of my roof sheathing onto the roof the long way with 42" forks. I put a sturdy pallet on first that was 48", then the sheets on top of that. They would just balance, so a ratchet strap holds down the pile until the end was set on the rafters. I could do about 12 sheets of 5/8" Advantech at a time this way. I could not go full height with this many sheets until the end would rest on the rafters to take up a bit of the load.

 

[JCB]

Putt Putt,

I'm 36" forks floating on a 2210. Floating because that's how I built them. Sliding floating forks into a log pile can be both advantageous and a PITA at the same time. They follow the ground contour of a nice lawn or pickup bed without too much damage, but sometimes you really wish you had some down pressure.

42, 48, fixed or floating. The only sure thing is that you'll appreciate either of them more than your bucket.

Joe

 

[Superduper]

I just bought mine a couple months ago, the 42" fixed ones. They are fine for what I use them for and reach seems good enough where I don't see 6" making all that much difference. It's not like the 42" forks aren't long enough to lift a 48" pallet anyhow. Having longer forks seems like it's just going to make turning more difficult (and unlike a forklift, it's NOT NEARLY as manueverable).

Like Tuolomne said, when the forks are low to the ground, it's nearly impossible to see where they are and if you try to stand while moving, the operator presence switch on the seat cuts in. I know I couldn't see the tips when the forks are down and needed a spotter to guide me but this was my first time operating with them. I guess with experience, I'll have a better idea but it will always be a guess as again, unless the forks are at the widest position, you can't see them.

One issue to keep in mind that others have not mentioned: the 300cx is not a self leveling loader. You will likely be using the bucket curl/dump function often to keep the load level. During curl, you can feather the load up but the dump function is much more abrupt and the heavier the load, the more jerky/abrupt the dump action. I recently unloaded a 850 lb mower from my truck using the frontier forks and they functioned fine but I did promptly discover that the dump function doesn't operate with anywhere near as much control as the loader lowering function. 850lbs centered 30" away from the loader pins amounts to a LOT of loader observed weight.

 

[putt_putt_green]

When low to the ground, do you think you could see the forks if they were the 48 inch forks instead of the 42 inch forks?

 

[Superduper]

When low to the ground, do you think you could see the forks if they were the 48 inch forks instead of the 42 inch forks?

Definitely not. My guess is that the forks would have to be 6' long before you could see them from a sitting position. I am 5'7". If you are taller, your visibility might be marginally better. Of course as the forks come up, visibility improved dramatically though with a large load, sometimes it's a little hard to judge whether the load is perfectly level. A rigged up tiltmeter might be of value here. This might be as simple as dropping a plumb bob from a bolt mounted on the side of the fork frame. When unloading from a pickup bed, I had no problem with visibility. Picking up a pallet on the ground: that is another matter. If the forks are set at the widest position, you can sort of see by looking from the side but then the pallet would have to be wide enough to accept the forks at that position. Again, I am new to the forks so I'm sure if you are an experienced user, you may feel more comfortable stabbing the forks, especially for non-sensitive materials such as a pallet full of sod, for instance. Picking up a pallet with a gasoline drum or sensitive machinery mounted on it? I would definitely try to find a spotter.

 

[B8FISH]

I've got the 48" on a 3320 and am 6'2"--I can just barely see the tips when they are on the ground--I usually get pretty close and then stand up for a better view (and raise/lower if needed) then pick up whatever I am getting.