Payne's Aluminum Alloy Debris Forks ~~ pictures working.

[jeff9366]

I purchased Payne's Aluminum Alloy Debris Forks for my previous Kubota 'B' tractor-loader in February 2012.

After I sold the 'B' in order to buy the heavier Kubota L3560, I decided the 52" Payne's Debris Forks did not need to be re-purchased in a wider size. When you get under loose brush/vines with forks, you pick up dirt too. Narrower forks pick up less dirt. Good decision.

[ Note: Buy enough tractor the first time. I bought two, too small, before purchasing the heavy chassis L3560, which is perfect for my conditions. ]

Payne's Debris Forks have been good. Securely clamp on and easily removed. Each clamp has its bucket pad attached with a small, sacrificial aluminum screw, which I thought would get lost early on, but hasn't. Screws do need to be tightened periodically with an allen wrench. Payne's did NOT include any spare screws with the forks. For a few pennies, some spare proprietary screws would have been nice. (( Price in February 2012, $775, including freight, direct purchase from Payne's))

Aluminum alloy from which the forks are produced is extremely tough. Some paint has been abraided off but the metal is in factory new condition, save for minor dings.

The loads pictured in Photos #1 - #5 were an effortless lift for the LA805 loader , which has a factory spec lift capacity of 2,000 pounds. I had an 60"/ 700 pound ETA Cultipacker mounted on the Three Point Hitch for counterbalance. In heavy lift situations, the Cultipacker can be lowered onto the ground, lowering center of gravity, and roll along the ground unitized with the tractor. I have R4/industrial tires filled only with air.

Payne's was a good decision for the Kubota 'B'. Had I not owned the forks when I bought the 'Grand L' L3560, I probably would have purchased a grapple with the heavier tractor.

Good quality, premium priced, bucket attachment. Steel is a much cheaper material for forks, but you must subtract extra weight of steel from capacity of each lift. I feel the higher price of aluminum alloy forks was worthwhile and I would buy aluminum again.

Debris resulted from Hurricanes Hermione and Matthew.

It was 83 degrees at 2:00 PM yesterday. A very pleasant working temperature in the shady woods.


Photos #1 - #5 from yesterday.

Photos #6 - #7 illustrates a maximum lift ~~ estimated 1,400 - 1,600 pounds, in front of the bucket.

Photo #8 illustrates fork support under the bucket. (B3300SU)


LINK TO PAYNE'S WEB SITE: ALDF52

LINK TO T-B-N ARCHIVE: Paynes Debris Forks site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[Fallon]

As soon as that 3pt ballast touches the ground, it stops doing its job. I wouldn't recommend running it really low. Your tractor is a giant teeter totter. The heavy load on the 3pt pulls the back down & unloads your complex expensive & comparatively flimsy front axle.

 

[jeff9366]

I do not understand why having the Cultipacker on the ground would decrease its effectiveness as counterbalance to the FEL.

 

[coldsteelva]

In order for ballast to work, gravity has to be acting upon it. You will get the most counterbalance if the full weight of the attachment is just off the ground. Placing the attachment on the ground or having the attachment touch the ground, even for an instant, reduces the counterbalancing effect. You should always keep your front or rear ballast as low as possible.

 

[jeff9366]

Gravity acts on all mass.

Weight of the counterbalance is the same on ground as just off the ground. Center of gravity changes, relative to the tractor, but not weight.

There is no lower position, nor center-of-gravity for ballast on flat ground than being ON the ground.

As long as the FEL load is elevated higher than the center of mass of the Cultipacker, the Cultipacker will act as counterbalance. Considering weight of the FEL and bucket without any load, this will be ALWAYS, unless the bucket is in a hole, below grade.

 

[DarrellSimpson]

Thank you for the post , I kinda had my doubts about aluminum forks , but they look great . I know what you mean about proprietary screws and bolts , I'm a retired machinist , I worked for a company that made gigantic plywood and hardy board manufacturing machinery , the bolts I made were odd sizes so the customer had to purchase from us at a huge over-bloated price , for example 150.00 dollars for a 1/2 - 15 bolt . absolutely ridiculous . But good for the profit margin I suppose . Of course the prices came down with quantity because of setup and labor .:confused2:

 

[Fallon]

Think of a tractor like a teter totter. If a person is on either end it's balanced. If one person junps off, sits on the ground & just sets their hand on the seat (roughly what happens when your ballast hits the ground), what happens to the other end? In practice it's your front axle, not your friends backside taking the abuse.

 

[motownbrowne]

I'm with Fallon on this one, Jeff. Once you set the ballast on the ground it isn't ballast any more. I'm not sure what tire pressure you run, but the rears on my Kubota are pretty low pressure. If I've got a heavy implement on the three point, I can see sidewall flex very easily. That means there is lots of weight behind the rear axle, which takes weight off the front axle. When I set the implement down on the ground my sidewall flex goes away. The weight isn't hanging behind the tractor, there's no weight being removed from the front axle. You are right about gravity still affecting the ballast, but it's no longer applying force to the tractor. It's the same as parking with your three point eyes next to a boulder and calling that ballast. Yep, it's heavy, yep it's got a real low center of gravity, But it sure won't take any weight off the front axle.

Best place for three point ballast would be about 3" off the ground. Koua has a story about almost tipping his take with a heavy load on the loader. He had to get off the tractor while on a slope and out of habit lowered his three point ballast to the ground. With the shift of weight to the front, the tractor became balanced on the pivoting front axle and started to tip. If I recall, he actually held out in place by hand. Must have been terrifying.

 

[jeff9366]

12/01/2016​

Photo #1 + Photo #2 This wood was all one stump. I could not pull it entire, partly anchored in the dirt as it was, so I cut it in to four pieces to make two loads for the Debris Forks.

I dragged the sump in Photo #1 with two lengths of Grade 70, 5/16" chain, linked with Grab Hook in Photo #3. Reckon I had about 22' of chain, including that cinched around the stump, secured with a Slip Hook. The ground was too uneven in the woods to attempt a heavy FEL lift.

Photo #4 Chain(s) attached to tractor at rear center drawbar using TSC 1/2" clevis Grab Hook pinned on drawbar.

Photo #5 After dragging the stump to an accessible location I loaded it onto the Debris Fords and transported stump to the community burn pile.

Photo #6 I wrestled out the three remaining pieces, then placed pieces against the base of an Oak and picked up all three pieces with the Debris Forks for transport to the community burn pile.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm with Fallon on this one, Jeff.

NOW I've got it. Yes, FALLON, Yes, COLDSTEELVA and Yes, MOTOWNEBRONE, Y'ALL HAVE CONVINCED ME.

No more Cultipacker on the ground when using as counterbalance.