JD420 Pallet Fork Build

[Paul Buhler]

Hi: I want to palletize my firewood going forward, so I'm building a set of removable and adjustable forks to go on my dozer. I'm in the early stages in that I found a set of skid steer forks that will work well for a fair price. What's nice about these forks, is that their dimensions are 1-1/2" x 4" so that I can cut off 16" from each vertical part to make the blade frame arm inserts. I've made a wooden mock-up to see where I need to build in adjustability. The actual forks meet at 100 degrees, not 90, so I'm planning to hinge the forks at the lift arms with only enough clearance so that the forks can self align under a pallet, and reach a level plane reasonably close to the ground. I also want the forks to be as light as possible and as close to the nose of the dozer as possible.









I plan to use 1-1/4" pins at the two pivots, and the trapezoidal gussets on each side of the lift arm will be of either 3/8" or 1/2" steel welded to each fork. I'll get the holes bored at the scrap yard since they have the correct size bit and a big drill press. I plan to stick weld these using 7018 rod.





The actual forks are quite heavy, so having them as independent units will make it easier to fit on the dozer when needed. The span between the forks match bottomless pallets that I have. I'll include a bit of play at the hinge pins so that a fork can be adjusted a bit when loading if needed.

So far so good, now on to the actual build as time allows. Paul

[notmeu]

Looking good paul! Looking forward to reading about your progress! Do you think you will need to add some more weight to the rear of the crawler other than the winch?

[Paul Buhler]

Tom: I figure I'll build it and find out.I've been told that 1/3 cord pallet loads of hardwood weigh about 1200 lbs. I can go smaller loads if need be. With me in the seat, the canopy weight mostly aft, and the winch even further back, I'm hoping that everything works as hoped without the need for additional tail weight. Paul

[Lavoy]

At that weight, you should be fine. I think a 62 blade will lift in excess of a ton.
Lavoy

[JimAnderson]

Paul,
Good to see you getting around to the fork project.Based on what I have oicked up chained to my blade you should have no issues with weight on the forks.I think the biggest issue will be getting the forks under your pallets without digging into the ground.since you don't have the ability tilt them.
Keep us posted on your progress.Luck,JimAnderson

[notmeu]

Paul, now might be a good time to add some more functionalities to the front end of that crawler. Its a perfect time to add a 6 way blade, or better yet a 8 way blade! That would take care of the tilting issue with the forks. The blade/forks could be detachable off of a 8 way mounting plate. Tom

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

The only thing I would worry about when lifting with the 62 are the cylinder shaft seals. Being as you will now be loading them backwards.

Stan

[Paul Buhler]

Thanks for the comments and thoughts. Tom, I don't want to get lost in the swamp; the goal is getting wood to the house with less handling (however, there may be a skid steer added to the toy bin down the road😎).
I tested my hinging, and the forks, with some up and down adjustments will float across the ground independently without digging in much. Using pallets that don't have bottoms means that the forks won't catch on them and skew things- I hope.

I'm using nominally 40" square pallets with uprights and nylon banding across the top of them as tension members. The pallets will be stored in a work yard so digging up the soil a bit getting under the load is acceptable. At the house I have a gravel driveway and wood storage area that is slightly pitched so dropping the load should allow the forks to drag back with little damage if I let them float a bit.

Here's hoping that all works as planned. I'll keep ya posted. Paul

[Lavoy]

Seals are the same either way, no problem there. Lifting a pallet is no different than trying to grub a rock or tree. Actually better, a pallet is only weight, if you are grubbing, you have forward motion so the blade can't slip much and you will be at max load as far as the blade.
Lavoy

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Except that with a loader, the heavy load when lifting is on the fat end of the piston so the rod seals are spared. A dozer blade is the other way around, meant for the heavy load to be downwards.

But, it sounds like he won't be putting all that much load on, so they should be ok unless they are weepy old original ones like I have.

Stan

[JimAnderson]

Paul,
With a dozer blade and a good cutting edge the load is downward in undisturbed soil.The 62 blade is my guess is 500 hundred pounds not including the mounting frame.The cylinders are more than up to the challenge of lifting
1200 pounds.In all likelihood the diameter of them was selected more to insure
that the operater had a good control, speed wise than total capacity.Go for it and let us know how it does.Based on my experance I think I know the answer.
Luck,JimAnderson

[Gil]

As Jim Anderson mentioned, I believe the inability to tilt the forks will be your biggest irritation. Even if you get them loaded, going down the slightest hill on the way to the house will cause the pallets to want to slide off. You can compensate some by raising the "blade" but there is not a lot of travel there. Also you will have to set the pallets down on the ground at the house. You cannot set them up on a porch or any other surface that is not at ground level.

I move my wood in bulk apple bins that hold a little more than 1/3 cord. I removed the bucket from a loader on a JD440 wheel tractor and put on a pallet fork frame, so I have lots of fork angle control. The loader picks up the weight like it wasn't even there.

It does however get a little front end heavy. I have a half a 55 gallon barrel of cement ballast on the tree-point in the rear. The wheels never come off the ground but in the winter, if I hit a patch of ice, the rear wheels slip. In that case, set the box down and leave it there until spring. Go back and get another box and try a different route. But you won't have that problem with the crawler. Gil

[Paul Buhler]

Thanks for the shared thoughts. My mock up includes the 100 degree fork angles. By including the hinge pins, I can get the forks to be level anywhere between on the ground to about 16" above ground depending on how they're "dogged". The dogs are simple wedges that fit between the 1-1/2"x4" frame arms and the back of the forks between the gussets and adjust the hinging angle. I figure that once I have the unit constructed, I can play with an optimally sized dog, or keep the system adjustable.
There is about a 7-1/2" rise over the 42" legs to have the forks level. If I set them up carefully, I think that I can keep my load low and parallel with the track plane,then if needed lift the load to get tilt back so the pallets stay on while traveling. A hole drilled at the end of each fork for travel pins, or a belly band around the load and uprights may be needed.
At this point based on my experiences and comments shared, I'm not concerned about the loaded weight on the blade frame or hydraulics. I'll be weighing each fork assembly soon for a real working number, but currently estimate that together they will weigh about 300 lbs (I can pick up and carry each fork); well under the weight of the blade and its arms which require leverage for me to manhandle around.

[Gil]

Rather than using shims, you might consider attaching a large turnbuckle from the top of the fork assembly to a point further back on the frame arm. I get very large turnbuckles from an Army surplus store for a reasonable price. The Army uses them to tie down tanks.

The turnbuckles would allow you to have not only adjustment for the fork angle but also would give you critical additional strength for supporting the load instead of having all the weight and rotational force at the end of the frame arms. Just a thought. Gil

[CuttingEdge]

I use my dozer and 6 way blade to move hay bales around and thought too that a lack of "tipping angle" would hamper me a lot. Granted lifting round hay bales is different then lifting pallets but this was not even an issue.

With my Kubota tractor, oh I can feel the haybale on the front of it, but with my dozer I move them around with immunity! It like they are not even there.

I'd keep going on your project for sure. My lack of tipping in no way hampered me moving haybales around.