Fork Lift Type Adapter for John Deere

[Susan Mary]

We are looking for a fork lift that can be used on the loader bucket of a John Deere tractor. We have found them but they are in the 1000.00 range.

Anyone have any suggestings where we could look say in the 300.00 - 500.00 or less.

Thank you Susan

[sugarbush]

Be a hard find with the scrap prices right now, but if you can find an old forklift cheap you can use the forks and frame and have it modified to fit your tractor.
watch ebay....if you get just a set of forks you can have a tube welded to the top and a bracket to pin it to on top of the bucket

[moopups]

3 point hitch forklifts are also available if thats an option for you. Not real expensive.

[DaleK]

Ask around the local welding shops or forklift dealers. My weekend milker has a friend at a dealer that gets him used forks and then he makes the frames himself. He sells them for about $300. Be careful, it's really easy to get carried away and overload them.

[Rowdy]

Just remember, clamp on forks, and forks that attach over the bucket have greatly reduced lifting power than a normal set of forks, due to the greater distance away from the loader. Depending on what you want to do with them, the 3 PH forks someone else mentioned might be the way to go, or a real set of forks that take the place of the bucket.

[artificer]

What do you want to lift? How heavy?

I was looking for some forks for my JD backhoe. cheapest was some slip-on types that were about $250 for the pair. Load limit of about 1500-3000 lbs. You have to be careful that your bucket can handle the weight. Also that the tractor's loader isn't overloaded. The backhoe can handle 4000 lbs, and has a heavy bucket, so I wasn't worried. I have all that weight in the rear (5000lbs of backhoe), so I had no problems with front weight.

I ended up welding a pair up from some scrap 2" x 4" x 1/4" box tube. They've been very handy.

Michael

[farminghandyman]

I jsut bought a set from this company,

http://www.budgetforklift.com/pallet-forks.html

very nice forged forks,

I got a set of 4" x 1 1/2" thick 60" long two for $400. said to be good for 4500 lb, class II (which is more than what my tractor loader should lift).

And to day I jsut got done making a mount for the loader and for the forks, they have a mount but I made my own since I made the loader, and it does not have a standard mount.

I looked for a set of used forks and was told if they were used and no longer suitable for use OSHA required them to be destroyed (cut up with a torch) and sold for scrap. so I never found any. (don't know if the above statement is true but that was what I was told).

some more links that may interest one,

http://www.budgetforklift.com/forkli...s-listing.html

http://www.budgetforklift.com/fork-specs.html

[beowoulf90]

You can also look for an old MF model 2200. This is what I have.. It's a model 2200 tractor, with a backhoe attachment and a front bucket that can be replaced with the forklift attachment. I got mine from a small plumbing company, where it doubled as a forklift and backhoe..

[Up North]

Originally Posted by Susan Mary

We are looking for a fork lift that can be used on the loader bucket of a John Deere tractor. We have found them but they are in the 1000.00 range.

Anyone have any suggestings where we could look say in the 300.00 - 500.00 or less.

Thank you Susan

Here's a source you may wish to explore:
www.paynesforks.com
Prices start at $325 to $425...

[Ken Scharabok]

Another source:

http://www.rocklandmfg.com/Images/PDFs/bucket_forks.pdf

I have a pair for my Ford 3000 backhoe. Very difficult to use since as the bucket goes up and down, the angle of the tines change. Plus, I cannot see the ends of the tines from the seat.

Very poor substitute for an actual forklift.

[Susan Mary]

Thank you everyone we have found just what we needed. I think my husband found them at Northern Supply. He is not going to be lifting anything over 200 lbs on pallets the problem was just moving the pallets off a tractor trailer truck.

Tks again! Susan

[highlands]

We ended up getting forks a couple of years ago for our John Deere. They are incredibly useful when we need them but that is rare. They did pay for themselves immediately. We had bought them because we were offered two tractor truck loads of cheese for our pigs, if we could unload it as pallets - no hand unloading allowed.

The cost of the forks was under $1,000 but the value of the feed was about $8,000 so we came out way ahead. Since then we've used them for a variety of things and each time I've been glad to have them. Fluid in the rear wheels and backhoe on the back do make a big difference in how well they work - stability.

[neolady]

Originally Posted by moopups

3 point hitch forklifts are also available if thats an option for you. Not real expensive.

Hubbie just made one for me out of scrap and had also made a bucket last year for the 3 pt hitch. They work great and were very minimal in cost with most of the materials being scrap metal. Thankfully he's very handy with a welder, hydraulics and mechanics.

[neolady]

And today he just made me a rock puller for the 3 pt hitch!!!

[michiganfarmer]

Originally Posted by Susan Mary

We are looking for a fork lift that can be used on the loader bucket of a John Deere tractor. We have found them but they are in the 1000.00 range.

Anyone have any suggestings where we could look say in the 300.00 - 500.00 or less.

Thank you Susan

Ive built 5. To bad you arent closer

[Ramblin Wreck]

Originally Posted by Up North

Here's a source you may wish to explore:
www.paynesforks.com
Prices start at $325 to $425...

I bought a set from these folks and have had good luck with them when I've used them as intended. Once when I tried to clear a beaver dam on my niece's driveway, I bent the metal plate that holds the clamping bolt. A friend heated the metal, straightened it, and then reinforced it with a couple of beads of welding. It's worked fine since...and I've not used it for anything other than lifting loads since then either!