Stabilizing clamp on forks?

[Navvet]

This is the last time I used mine. They went over instead of under but i needed a little more reach to move my generator. I had my 1200 lb ballast on the 3pt and kept the load a few inches off the ground.
View attachment 713577

I have my back hoe for counterweight ....

 

[Smokeydog]

The clamp on fork tubing extentened slightly past the back of the B20 bucket. Trimmed and welded a plate to mate with bucket heel. This locked in the forks better. The plate didn’t interfere with with longer bottom buckets. Even with ssqa forks the clamp ons ones are handy.

 

[DCGuinn]

I have a Kubota BX2380 with land pride forks that seem too heavy for the machine 306#. I’m thinking of switching to clamp on forks 50# and rigging them to a skid steer plate 60#. That way the forks would be close to the pins and give me close to 200# more lift capacity.

 

[newbury]

I have a Kubota BX2380 with land pride forks that seem too heavy for the machine 306#. I’m thinking of switching to clamp on forks 50# and rigging them to a skid steer plate 60#. That way the forks would be close to the pins and give me close to 200# more lift capacity.

OUCH!! From tractordata your lift capacity at the pin to full height is only 739 lbs. 306 sucks up a lot of that.

 

[beowulf]

I have quick attach pallet forks which get a lot of use. I also bought a set of the titan clamp on forks with stabilizing bar to use mostly for when I am hauling branches and brush away from a clean up area and where I also need the bucket - I thought they would be a quick way to have a fork capability in the field. I have not yet used the clamp on forks, and after watching the video and seeing how long it takes to install the clamp-ins, tighten and so on, I doubt I would have bought them - so maybe that was a mistake. The quick attach pallet forks is really quick compared to what the video shows time-wise with the clamp-ons.

 

[fried1765]

I have a clamp on set like this. All I can say is they suck! Just a tad better than nothing if you need them. I usually just chain whatever I need to move to my bucket hooks and pick it up from above.

By the time I have my clamp on forks mounted and secure I could have chained whatever it is to the bucket hooks and had it moved.

I have a set of clamp on forks for my Ford 1920 FEL.
They are basically worthless (sitting in the barn)!

I have a set of 3pt forks that I bought from Agri Supply on the Ford, and they will lift 2,000 lbs.,....but being 3pt. forks, they only raise to about 30".
I have a set of 4,400 lb. EA forks (QA) for my Kubota L48 TLB.
They are REAL forks!

 

[Smokeydog]

Tool for tightening L and T handle bolts like on some clamp on forks. Heavy wall tubing welded on top of hammer. Since it can rotate gives good angle for lever inside a bucket.

 

[k0ua]

I sold my clamp on forks, converted the Kubota to SSQA and got a set of real forks. Still using them with my Kioti. SSQA is the way to go. Tractors with loaders should not be sold without it. It is just a crime and a crying shame.

 

[DCGuinn]

But, easy to overload a BX with SSQA due to weight.

 

[RammerJammer]

Obviously, YMMV . . . But, the $140 (delivered!) that I spent on a pair of clamp-on forks is likely the best money I've spent. They are 48" and are supposedly rated at 4,000 pounds. But, ratings are ratings and reality is reality. I'd say, maybe 2,000 pounds with a peace-of-mind limit of 1,000 to 1,500. But, my loader rating is under 2,000 pounds (backhoe ballast not part of the equation?) and the geometry, when using the forks, likely reduces that a good bit. In other words, the forks likely match the loader pretty well.

OK, sure. You can use poor judgement, any time, and wreck just about anything. And, yes, they can move so that they are not parallel to themselves or perpendicular to the bucket edge. However, when they are tight (meaning tight), that tendency decreases.

Used within their obvious limitations, they have been fantastic for me. Takes me all of two minutes to install or remove them. (No chains/binders yet.) They stack on a small custom-built "shelf" when not in use.

I've used them to move logs, riding mowers (when I got rid of them!), air conditioners, generators, sod, mulch, lumber, barrels, limbs/trash, leaves (using a sheet of plywood + clamps), as a construction support, for demolition, as a large, moveable work bench (moves any way you want!), removing vines/undergrowth and even as an elevated fulcrum for a custom, 25 foot pole saw. And, no bent bucket, either.

If you have a loader, and you don't have a set of these, you are missing a great opportunity for utility and innovation.

I have no idea what they cost today. I got mine in 2017 (?) from jet.com which Walmart bought out 2 or 3 years ago. They had some pretty good deals before WM took over and ruined/killed them.

Sure, you can spend $500, or more, on a quick-attach fork set and have more capacity and nice, thin forks. You'll also have to find storage space for the fork assembly. But, if your needs (and lifting capacity) are closer to what mine have been, I think the clamp-ons will do nicely for maybe a third of the cost.

And, yes, my tractor has a quick-attach loader. If yours does not, your fork options are limited or, likely, even more expensive if you go with quick-attach forks.

One other thing while on the subject of loader add-ons, I'm no fan of those k-orange tractors; HOWEVER, I have to admit that this is the second-best money I've spent:

BXpanded Piranha Toothbar

Just try grading some clay soil with and without it . . . You'll see. And, likely, be just as amazed as I was. Costs more than the forks, though . . . (Note to BXpanded . . . Check's in the mail, right?)