"Tow Behind" Forklift
"It does the work of a self-propelled forklift at a far lower cost and with amazing maneuverability," says Jeff Parker, Bloomington, Minn., about the two-wheeled "tow behind" forklift that he built out of a commercial forklift mast.
Parker pulls the unit with his Deere 110 garden tractor or pickup. The mast mounts on a steel frame equipped with a 7-ft. long hitch. The mast rides on a pair of heavy wall 20 by 10 by 10 tires and pivots on a pair of 1 1/2-in. pillow block bearings. A pair of cylinders tilts it back and forth. Two more cylinders are used to raise or lower the forks, which reach 9 ft. high. Power is supplied by a battery-powered electric motor that drives a hydraulic pump.
"It's small enough that it can be used almost anywhere and comes in handy for doing a variety of jobs," says Parker. "I spent only about $1,000 to build it. I paid $250 for the used mast and $50 for new forks. I paid $400 for a new self-contained power unit, which was originally designed to operate a pickup-mounted snowplow. The original hydraulic reservoir wasn't big enough so I added an auxiliary reservoir.
"It has a lifting capacity of 3,000 lbs. so it can do big jobs. I use it to stack pallets at least three high depending on what's on the pallet. Yet I can drive it with a load across my lawn without leaving any tire tracks. I've used it to pull 5-in. dia. trees out of the ground, I can also tie a chain around the forks and use it to lift engines out of cars and pickups.
"Anything over 500 lbs. will lift the back end of the tractor so I have to add weights to the hitch. When the mast is hooked up to my mini pickup I can lift 3,000 lbs. without lifting the back end of the pickup. By pulling a pin I can fold the tongue straight up so it takes up only about 2 ft. of space.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Parker, 8618 Clinton Ave. S., Bloomington, Minn. 55420 (ph 952 884-4326).
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"Tow Behind" Forklift MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Forklifts 25-5-20 "It does the work of a self-propelled forklift at a far lower cost and with amazing maneuverability," says Jeff Parker, Bloomington, Minn., about the two-wheeled "tow behind" forklift that he built out of a commercial forklift mast.
Parker pulls the unit with his Deere 110 garden tractor or pickup. The mast mounts on a steel frame equipped with a 7-ft. long hitch. The mast rides on a pair of heavy wall 20 by 10 by 10 tires and pivots on a pair of 1 1/2-in. pillow block bearings. A pair of cylinders tilts it back and forth. Two more cylinders are used to raise or lower the forks, which reach 9 ft. high. Power is supplied by a battery-powered electric motor that drives a hydraulic pump.
"It's small enough that it can be used almost anywhere and comes in handy for doing a variety of jobs," says Parker. "I spent only about $1,000 to build it. I paid $250 for the used mast and $50 for new forks. I paid $400 for a new self-contained power unit, which was originally designed to operate a pickup-mounted snowplow. The original hydraulic reservoir wasn't big enough so I added an auxiliary reservoir.
"It has a lifting capacity of 3,000 lbs. so it can do big jobs. I use it to stack pallets at least three high depending on what's on the pallet. Yet I can drive it with a load across my lawn without leaving any tire tracks. I've used it to pull 5-in. dia. trees out of the ground, I can also tie a chain around the forks and use it to lift engines out of cars and pickups.
"Anything over 500 lbs. will lift the back end of the tractor so I have to add weights to the hitch. When the mast is hooked up to my mini pickup I can lift 3,000 lbs. without lifting the back end of the pickup. By pulling a pin I can fold the tongue straight up so it takes up only about 2 ft. of space.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Parker, 8618 Clinton Ave. S., Bloomington, Minn. 55420 (ph 952 884-4326).
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