Egon
Epic Contributor
How about the small spare tires.
Egon
Egon
Source for very heavy duty wheel
- Thread starter MChalkley
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John_Mc
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I do think the forklift tire suggestions you've gotten from other are a good place to look. THey are extremely heavy-duty, available as solid rubber on a steel rim, pneumatic (probably too big in diameter), or foam filled. The rear tires tend to be smaller, but are still tough, since they are carrying the weight of the counterweight when th eforks are unloaded.
As for a source for used ones: If you find a manufacturing plant in your area that uses them, ask. They may have a junked truck around (I know we always did in my former job). Or, many of these plants contract out the maintenance on their fork trucks. Ask them who they use, or flag down the little van with the "Clark" or "Yale" (or whatever) sign on the side and ask them
As for a source for used ones: If you find a manufacturing plant in your area that uses them, ask. They may have a junked truck around (I know we always did in my former job). Or, many of these plants contract out the maintenance on their fork trucks. Ask them who they use, or flag down the little van with the "Clark" or "Yale" (or whatever) sign on the side and ask them
OP
MChalkley
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Bob,
Actually your question is such a good one that I'm not sure I can answer it, even though I'm the one that came up with the idea. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Nevertheless, I'll try to explain the hoped-for effect of the gauge wheel.
First of all, keep in mind that, with the EF-5, all the implements that would normally be on the three-point hitch with a CUT are on the FEL, as with a skid-steer. With that in mind, have you ever used a grading blade, for example, with a trailing rear gauge wheel? (Or, even better, one on each side?) The benefits are so useful they're hard to imagine. Because the gauge wheel is behind the cutting edge, it's riding on ground that's already been graded.
Now, to your question: Imagine the blade out front on the FEL, and you want to do some fine grading. (Or imagine using your FEL bucket this way.) You can't just put the FEL in float mode, because it digs in too much because of the combined weight of the blade and the FEL itself. If you try to control it yourself, you find that every time you start up a hill, it tends to dig in, until the tractor itself is also on the hill. Every time the rear wheels hit a bump, you dig a chunk out with the blade. Every time the rear wheels drop into a hole, you leave a hump where the blade raised up. Now, suppose you could put the FEL in float mode, and support enough of the attachment and FEL weight to keep it from digging in too deeply with a gauge wheel. You could adjust the height of the blade with the gauge wheel so that it was just barely skimming the surface, knocking off the high spots, and accumulating enough material to drop into the holes. Anyway, that's the theory - how well it will work in practice remains to be seen. I doubt it will work as well for fine grading as the trailing gauge wheel does on a three-point hitch blade, because of the differences between pushing a blade and pulling one. But, on the other hand, there are times that the ability to apply downforce can save a lot of time, too. As always, it's all about compromises and trade-offs.
Actually your question is such a good one that I'm not sure I can answer it, even though I'm the one that came up with the idea. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Nevertheless, I'll try to explain the hoped-for effect of the gauge wheel.
First of all, keep in mind that, with the EF-5, all the implements that would normally be on the three-point hitch with a CUT are on the FEL, as with a skid-steer. With that in mind, have you ever used a grading blade, for example, with a trailing rear gauge wheel? (Or, even better, one on each side?) The benefits are so useful they're hard to imagine. Because the gauge wheel is behind the cutting edge, it's riding on ground that's already been graded.
Now, to your question: Imagine the blade out front on the FEL, and you want to do some fine grading. (Or imagine using your FEL bucket this way.) You can't just put the FEL in float mode, because it digs in too much because of the combined weight of the blade and the FEL itself. If you try to control it yourself, you find that every time you start up a hill, it tends to dig in, until the tractor itself is also on the hill. Every time the rear wheels hit a bump, you dig a chunk out with the blade. Every time the rear wheels drop into a hole, you leave a hump where the blade raised up. Now, suppose you could put the FEL in float mode, and support enough of the attachment and FEL weight to keep it from digging in too deeply with a gauge wheel. You could adjust the height of the blade with the gauge wheel so that it was just barely skimming the surface, knocking off the high spots, and accumulating enough material to drop into the holes. Anyway, that's the theory - how well it will work in practice remains to be seen. I doubt it will work as well for fine grading as the trailing gauge wheel does on a three-point hitch blade, because of the differences between pushing a blade and pulling one. But, on the other hand, there are times that the ability to apply downforce can save a lot of time, too. As always, it's all about compromises and trade-offs.
OP
MChalkley
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Egon - That's another idea I hadn't thought of. Two of them bolted together might be about the right width. Mounting them wouldn't be fun that way, though.
OP
MChalkley
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John_Mc - I like the idea of a forklift tire. I don't remember exactly how big they are, but I think they're probably about right. I don't remember at all how wide they are, though. I'll start doing some looking around for used forklifts... Thanks!
beenthere
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OP
MChalkley
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beenthere - I don't know, either. Next time I see one, I'll take a look at the tire and see what they're rated for. I suspect they're a lot lower weight class than I need. Worth checking out, though. Thanks!
rbargeron
Elite Member
Hey Mark - what about an idustrial roll like they use in paper mills, textiles, etc. - maybe about 18" long, 12" diameter (could be any size) and with a 2" thick rubber cover. It could be mounted on pillow blocks attached to the bucket - or to the arms. Basically a short oversized anti-scalp roller but with real bearings. Or am I missing your intent?
Could it be longer - like 4 or 6 feet? Seems like that might enable some good surface-averaging. The bearings could be on slides with 12volt ballscrew actuators for tilt control. Oops, budget is going up.....
Could it be longer - like 4 or 6 feet? Seems like that might enable some good surface-averaging. The bearings could be on slides with 12volt ballscrew actuators for tilt control. Oops, budget is going up.....
Bob_Trevithick
Platinum Member
Mark,
<font color=blue>... Now, suppose you could put the FEL in float mode, and support enough of the attachment and FEL weight to keep it from digging in too deeply with a gauge wheel.</font color=blue>
Ahah, gotcha! That would indeed be a handy addition. I can't wait to see the pictures! Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me.
Bob
<font color=blue>... Now, suppose you could put the FEL in float mode, and support enough of the attachment and FEL weight to keep it from digging in too deeply with a gauge wheel.</font color=blue>
Ahah, gotcha! That would indeed be a handy addition. I can't wait to see the pictures! Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me.
Bob
John_Mc
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Mark - The front wheels on forklifts tend to be bigger and wider than the rear (the rears are the steering wheels, as you probably know). trucks designed for outdoor use (off pavement) have bigger tires all around -- probably too big for your purposes. They are also generally pneumatic or foam-filled.
The ones designed for indoor use (or outside on a paved surface) are probably more in the size range you need. These are usually very solidly built steel wheels with a solid rubber tread bonded on. Where I used to work, we had about 20 fork lifts, ranging from 3000# units up to 8000#. (occasionally rented larger ones). I'm thinking the wheels off our 6000# or 8000# trucks are about the size you are looking for. If I recall, the front wheels were about 16" diameter by 10 or 12" width. Rears were slightly smaller diameter and significantly narrower. They are built like TANKS.
If you can live with tires that are deformed/dented or have chunks of rubber torn out, I'm sure you could get them very cheaply. I can ask around when I'm back at our plant in Ohio, but I'm not sure how we'd get them to you if they did have some (not sure how much they weigh).
Their are (or were?) some old steel mills and steel wire manufacturers in your neck of the woods (Baltimore area, some in NC). They probably have quite a fleet of fork trucks. If you don't have any luck, I can try to look them up for you.
I'm curious... since it's a trailing wheel on a rear implement, will you need a LEADING wheel on one that mounts on the front?
John_Mc
The ones designed for indoor use (or outside on a paved surface) are probably more in the size range you need. These are usually very solidly built steel wheels with a solid rubber tread bonded on. Where I used to work, we had about 20 fork lifts, ranging from 3000# units up to 8000#. (occasionally rented larger ones). I'm thinking the wheels off our 6000# or 8000# trucks are about the size you are looking for. If I recall, the front wheels were about 16" diameter by 10 or 12" width. Rears were slightly smaller diameter and significantly narrower. They are built like TANKS.
If you can live with tires that are deformed/dented or have chunks of rubber torn out, I'm sure you could get them very cheaply. I can ask around when I'm back at our plant in Ohio, but I'm not sure how we'd get them to you if they did have some (not sure how much they weigh).
Their are (or were?) some old steel mills and steel wire manufacturers in your neck of the woods (Baltimore area, some in NC). They probably have quite a fleet of fork trucks. If you don't have any luck, I can try to look them up for you.
I'm curious... since it's a trailing wheel on a rear implement, will you need a LEADING wheel on one that mounts on the front?
John_Mc