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Forklift advice please.

Started by JB Griffin, October 01, 2015, 08:35:31 PM

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JB Griffin

So I am in need of a new lift, my MF is just too far gone (the brakes need $1200 in parts, trans jumps out of 2nd and cost me a 16ft gate and pair of drawers, leaks everything but water.). I should have known better than to buy a lift that had been thru at least 2 sawmills already.

So I'm looking for something that's around 6000lbs lift capacity, all-terrain, and around $7500 or less is even better.

So far I have found a York ut60, gas( ::)), 2wd, for $4500, 2 584c Case, 2wd, diesel( ;D) for $7500 each. Case says the 584 is a 4000lb lift but the seller say its 6000lb? and I have never seen or heard tell of a York so parts are a concern.

What do ya'll think.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

Larry

A truck mounted forklift aka piggyback forklift meets those requirements pretty good.  I have a Navigator with an Isuzu 4 cylinder diesel.  The Isuzu is the easiest starting diesel I've ever had.  The forklift is a hydro and has side shift.  All three wheels can be locked for slop.  Depends on terrain, traction is better than a 2 wheel drive truck but not as good a 4wd. 

The only drawback is a stabilizer has to be down to pick up a heavy load.  Once the load is up and back over the forklift frame pull the stabilizer up.  I normally only have to use them on the biggest logs.



Tomthesawyer has a different model but same style.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Tom the Sawyer

As Larry mentioned, I too have a 'piggyback' forklift.  Mine is a '93 Princeton Teledyne D5000 (built for HD), I am the third owner.

It can lift more than it weighs, which is why it can load itself on those lumberyard trucks.  Mine can lift 5000 pounds although I very seldom need that capacity.  Very economical Hatz diesel engine, it is 3wd and is essentially a zero-turn forklift with wide flotation tires.  A limiting factor for using a forklift to move logs is the forward/backward tilt is only about 15 degrees.  I just found a 'trailer-spotter' for it on CL.  That allows me to hang a set of tongs from the receiver hitch and pick up logs from trailers with short sides or fenders (I'll try to get a photo this week.)


 

07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

4x4American

I'd go with the Case.  Better parts availability.  We had one of them at a previous job and it was a tank.  Rode hard and put up wet, and still did the job.  She needed tlc but still worked and picked up some heavy stuff.  I'd say biggest disadvantage is like Tom said, they don't tilt much.
Boy, back in my day..

longtime lurker

I can't say anything but good about this JCB. It's a 926, but the only difference between it and the 930 is in the counterweight so I fixed that easy enough with a performance upgrade kit... Ie couple of tractor weights we had lying about.





 

I'd really like a 940, it's handy having a machine that we don't need a lowboy to shift and the result is it gets dragged out to all the little jobs, some of which ain't that little.
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

Kbeitz

I have a Kubota L3410 and it does the job. It's nice to have something that does more than just lift logs.
I'm very happy with it. I have not found a log I could not lift.



 



 

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

JB Griffin

Thanks guys, Larry and Tom are those 3 wheel jobs stable on sidling ground loaded, if so that might just be the ticket granted that they ain't too spendy. Tractors w/ front end loaders are out completely as they wont lift enuff at all.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

Larry

It seems stable enough to me.  It gets used a lot more than I ever thought for uses unrelated to sawing.

The best feature is low hours.  It goes when I turn the key and I've yet to turn a wrench on it.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

mrector

I have a case 585c with the case 4cyl diesel. Had new tires and new hyd lines. Works awesome will pick up waaaay more than 5000 lb capacity. Off road is merely a saying meaning it will go in flat and gravel pretty easy. But you can stuck it very easily. Might help if I get the track lock fixed.. but all in all well worth the 5k I paid for it. Would never go back
Mikey
Woodmizer LT35HD25 brand new!
Stihl 044 and my favorite: ms260 pro
Homemade logging arch
Homemade hitch log picker-upper
DanG Deadheader log loading trailer.

kameljoe21

I use a donkey fork lift and a few warehouse ( my neighbor and i use these to move logs for cutting and firewood, works great if you have hard pact ground) and a all terrain fork lift ( really big tires on the front ) , the 3 wheel kind, the one i use is only a 3k lift or something like that, we use it to move pallets of sod
It far better than a normal fork lift, and way better traction, My opinion would be to use something like this for moving logs

deadfall

If level ground is not the rule where you are, as is the case where I am, using wheel tractor loaders with forks can be problematic, though better than no forks in most cases.  The issue is, the forks will horizontally align with the tractor's rear wheels, and the chance the ground back there aligns with the ground up there is slim. 

I have both a manufactured pallet fork and a log fork I made myself (79 inches wide).





Here's a pic of the log fork during the build:

W-M LT40HD -- Siding Attachment -- Lathe-Mizer -- Ancient PTO Buzz Saw

============================

Happy for no reason.

JB Griffin

Quote from: JB Griffin on October 02, 2015, 09:47:28 AM
Tractors w/ front end loaders are out completely as they wont lift enuff at all.


Not trying to be a smart (admin edit) but why would I spend the same (or more) money on something that wont lift more than 2000lb MAYBE 3000lbs or more than 10 ft high.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

4x4American

^ come on don't ya know that she thinks my tractors sexy, not my forklift!!!  lol lol
Boy, back in my day..

Larry

Quote from: JB Griffin on October 02, 2015, 02:02:50 PM
Quote from: JB Griffin on October 02, 2015, 09:47:28 AM
Tractors w/ front end loaders are out completely as they wont lift enuff at all.


Not trying to be a smart (admin Edit) but why would I spend the same (or more) money on something that wont lift more than 2000lb MAYBE 3000lbs or more than 10 ft high.

That's exactly what I found.  Before getting my forklift I thought about trading in my old tractor and buying a new one. I tried out a orange one and a green one in the 40-50 hp range.  Neither one would lift a big log.  Neither one would lift a stack of stickered lumber.  Neither one would lift a bundle of timbers.  If I moved into the 80 to 100 horsepower size of tractor it was a different story, but a lot more money.

I still use my old Ford tractor to move logs in its size range, as it is faster and quieter than my forklift.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Tom the Sawyer

JB,

The piggyback I have is quite stable, if you keep in mind the design limitations.  The wide flotation tires give it a very stable stance but, since the forks only tilt about 15 degrees, you have to be aware when travelling on slopes.  If the slope is more than 15 degrees, then the forks are tilted below horizontal, even though you have them all of the way back, and a round log will roll off (detail later).  The answer is to tilt the forks back as far as possible and then back down slopes so that gravity keeps the load against the uprights.

The fulcrum of these types of forklifts is the front axle.  Most logs I handle are less than 3500 pounds and I can slide the forks under it, lift it a foot or so, and take it wherever it should go.  I can usually tilt the forks forward and let the log roll off onto the ties I use to keep them off the ground, or onto a pile.  Some logs, you have to get off and give them a shove.

For heavier logs I slide the forks under the log, lower the outriggers (both front corners) and lift the log to a point slightly above the height of the tires.  Then you retract the carriage which brings the log back towards you about 4', and behind the front axle.  That transfers the load to all three tires and is a very stable way to move big logs.  Reverse the process once you get ready to unload the log.

Caution - If moving pretty large logs (say, 2500 pounds) you will find that logs that large can tip the forklift forward if they are too far forward on the forks.  Shouldn't be a problem...right?  Well, if you are moving a large log on the forks and start down a slope and the log starts to roll forward on the forks, there is a point just before it comes off the forks where it can pivot on the front axle (raise the back of the forklift in the air).  Then when it comes off the forks the forklift will come back down, hard (yes, I know from personal experience).  Fortunately I only had the log about 18" above the ground but it was still a pretty good jolt.  Of course, I could just get off and use a chain and/or J-hook to secure the log, preventing that situation.  Usually I just pay attention to the slope angle and back when appropriate.
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

deadfall

Quote from: JB Griffin on October 02, 2015, 09:47:28 AM
Tractors w/ front end loaders are out completely as they wont lift enuff at all.

If you have a Cub Cadet 7000 series tractor from the '90s with the 417 loader, it is really a Woods 165, and that loader on that little 27 or 30 HP Mitsubishi built tractor will pick up about any log you might want to try.  They downsized that loader around 2000, probably because it could break the tractor.  Don't ask me how I know.  I now have a 2000 with 30 HP, but it has a CC 476 loader (Woods 1009).  I also have a 41 HP LS and its loader is even wimpier than the Cub's.  I found a great deal on another old CC (I knew the original owner) with that 417 loader on Craigslist, bought it, and have set it up with a quick-attach for the next log I can't get off the ground.

So anyway, there are tractor loaders that can do the job, but mind what you ask of your front drive axle while you are carrying a big log (especially if you are backing uphill).
W-M LT40HD -- Siding Attachment -- Lathe-Mizer -- Ancient PTO Buzz Saw

============================

Happy for no reason.

Dave Shepard

A 6,000 pound spec is not out of line for a sawmill. A compact tractor, or even a large farm tractor, is not even close.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

JB Griffin

But you can't pick up a pack of 25 7"x9"x8'8"(approx. 6000lbs) or a 1Mbf pack of lumber(approx. 5500lbs) with a tractor without going to maybe 200hp 4wd.

I'm going to be sawing ties, cants and grade hardwood, prolly should have put that in the opening post, and the average tractor cant do what I need or you would see them at all the mom and pop sawmills around as their primary lifter.

Deadfall I agree that with the right combo of loader and tractor u can pick up most any log you'll run in to. I once saw a 4506 Duetz with TA25 Westendorf loader pick up and load a 32" 9' red oak log for me.

Tom and Larry, I really like the 3wd lifts. I found one on CL that's a shooting boom type instead of a mast that I really like but he wants $11000 for it :(

Quote from: Dave Shepard on October 02, 2015, 05:44:26 PM
A 6,000 pound spec is not out of line for a sawmill. A compact tractor, or even a large farm tractor, is not even close.

EXACTLY what I say.
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

Kbeitz

I just had to put this in here...
This is my 14hp PowerKing garden tractor.
I never found a log I could not lift.
But it's slow....



 



 



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Percy

I have one of these...Its and all wheel steer machine that can switch to skidsteer mode at the push of a button. Tires last forever and it doesnt chew up the ground like a skid steer. It is rated at 3000 lbs tipping but I have loaded a 5000 lb lift of lumber on a truck at near 10 foot level. Its no 10,000 lb forklift but it is the most used machine in our operation besides the Lt70/Turbosaw Gladiator?Peterson WPF. Versitile...


 
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

4x4American

I just looked up that A-300, that is pretty cool!


I hear ya JB.  You want to be able to lift up alot.  Personally, for my next mill machine, I am torn between a skidsteer, telehandler (lull), or an old payloader.  Those Cat IT's are sick and can be seen at many different mill yards.
I'm many days away from buying one, but if I can decided on what would suit me best now, it might help me in the long run in case I run into a good deal somewhere or whatever.
Boy, back in my day..

JB Griffin

If money was no prob, I'd have a IT28 tomorrow :D
2000 LT40hyd remote 33hp Kubota with 6gpm hyd unit, 150 Prentice, WM bms250, Suffolk dual tooth setter

Over 3.5million bdft sawn with a Baker Dominator.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

Dave Shepard

I'm a big fan of telehandlers, especially if you have to unload trucks with high bunks. The one we have at wish will lift 11,500.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

mrector

Here is my case 585c unloading my trailer.. the easy way. Haha
Mikey

https://youtu.be/QoHLLxkRfU0
Woodmizer LT35HD25 brand new!
Stihl 044 and my favorite: ms260 pro
Homemade logging arch
Homemade hitch log picker-upper
DanG Deadheader log loading trailer.

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