# Forklifts



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

In my opinion the 12' mast is a waste of money and even a bit of a liability as it cant fit through an 8' doorway and will easily snag on overhanging tree limbs and such (the load clamp makes that situation even worse). In almost every loading scenario it is easier to lift multiple pallets since you are nowhere near the lift capacity. I have an older machine with the tall mast and the few times I have used it at the top of its height capacity I have found it is quite difficult to do it gracefully because every movement is magnified at that height. I use the 42" forks but a good case could be made for the 48" forks in many situations.


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## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

Jim's reply shows experience......12' is a waste and sometimes a problem. We use 42" forks as our pallets are only 44".....don't like them 48" boats. I prefer everything tight, but they both work.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

Just to be clear, I was asking about weather a 10 foot mast (126") is the prefered way to go. Also are having the foam filled tires worth the cost? pros/cons? Thank you Jim for your input.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Scott J. said:


> Just to be clear, I was asking about weather a 10 foot mast (126") is the prefered way to go. Also are having the foam filled tires worth the cost? pros/cons? Thank you Jim for your input.


Yeah that is what I would prefer as opposed to the 144" tall (approximately) mast that I was referring to which is an additional cost. Sorry I wasnt clear. You will have to make the call on the foam filled tires, I dont have them but have heard good things about them, just a bit pricy in my mind but someone with a flat tire and a lot of work to do would no doubt disagree. I am not aware of any other downsides to foam filled tires other than the cost involved.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Scott J. said:


> Also are having the foam filled tires worth the cost? pros/cons? Thank you Jim for your input.


Scott, I would go with green slime in your tires, I put the stuff in my 1K tires and haven't had a tire issue since.


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

i don't have the foam filled tires on my machine but heard a few guys tell me they are a lot rougher ride.


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## BEESERIOUS (Feb 25, 2009)

Keith Jarrett said:


> Scott, I would go with green slime in your tires, I put the stuff in my 1K tires and haven't had a tire issue since.


Keith, how much green slime did you put in your tires
thanks, James


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

James, yeah know James they sell I think about a quart or just a little shy of a quart size, I put one in each tire, Maybe a little over kill but I tell you what I haven't had a tire problem since. Before that I had a flat once a month.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

Keith, where does a person purchase the "green slime"? What is the approximate cost?


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

All of our hummerbees have foam filled tires. I would highly recomend it. No flats and you never have a low tire on the downhill side with a 4 high stack of bees 4 feet off the ground.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Scott J. said:


> where does a person purchase the "green slime"?


The brand name is just "Slime", but the product color is green.  Here one web and local store vendor:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200365342_200365342?gclid=CJOewO6vjrUCFUKd4AodKxIAAA

You likely can also find it at local auto parts stores.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...=slime&vehicleIdSearch=-1&searchedFrom=header


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

Or this Slime.
http://www.gemplers.com/product/T4024/GEMPLERS-Ultraseal-Tire-Sealant-5-gal-Bulletproof-grade


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Do you inject it through the valve stem of a deflated tire?


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## BEESERIOUS (Feb 25, 2009)

Thanks Keith
I've been wanting to foam fill the tires I think I will give the green slime a try. Thanks James


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

Yes, Mr. Lyon. You unscrew the valve from the valve stem. Then you put the slime in, then screw the valve back into the stem and air the tire back up. It really does work well. I use it in all of my mower tires.


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## JoshJames (Jun 12, 2009)

This question really depends on your personal style of bee keeping. We used the 10' mast for years and found that we really needed the 12'. We love the 12' mast because there are times that it is needed. It never gets in the way. We move into many forested areas and never had a problem with the mast hitting branches that snagged in a way to make us have to find another route. As for moving through 8' doorways we don't have any so it's not a problem. 


We love the clamp and contrary to popular belief it almost never is in the way( the mast will save you waaaaaaay more time than what you lose by its shortcomings). The only time it's in the way is when we want to move a stack of pallets that is more than 16 pallets high or moving 2(empty) totes at a time. But then the clamp simply dis-attaches in about 15 seconds so it's really not that big of a deal to take the thing on and off. We move into many forested areas and never have a problem with the clamp hitting branches that actually cause a problem. With the clamp you really can rev your machine all the way up and move equipment with super-fastness(lol). It really is sweet. So if you use the clamp like this you will save waaaaay more time. If you still move like a turtle, then no the clamp won't save you a whole lot of time. And really that's what i've seen with guys that don't like the clamp and think it's in the way. It's because they don't change their speed to make the clamp really perform like it was meant to. Add the load cushion and you will be able to move your bee's at top speed without making them all want to kill you. 

We use a type of beet juice for tire filling and really like it. It gives us extra traction which comes in handy when down here in the Florida which is mostly sand and it helps weight the machine down and gives a noticeably smoother ride. The foam fill do wear more so that should be considered and they do give a rougher ride

But really, all these things are so dependent on how you run your business and where...Good luck!


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Scott J. said:


> Is a 126" mast and 42" forks work well for loading your trucks 3 high with double deeps? Thinking of ordering one and am curious on how others have theirs set up. Any other options that you feel are worthwhile? I am leaning more towards the Swinger 1K. All opinions welcome!


Sooooooo to answer your question Scott. I would say yes, the 126" mast is plenty good enough to load a truck 3 high with double deeps. You could even set the third deep on alone if you so choose....but I wouldn't recommend doing it as it would be slow, you know, like a Turtle.  Choose your options as you see fit, the major ones being the taller mast which adds $200, the clamp, $2,400 (never in the way but when it is you just take it off) ,the dampener $640 (I would strongly recommend). Those are the main options, and that's why they call them options, some want them and some don't.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

JoshJames said:


> This question really depends on your personal style of bee keeping. We used the 10' mast for years and found that we really needed the 12'. We love the 12' mast because there are times that it is needed. It never gets in the way. We move into many forested areas and never had a problem with the mast hitting branches that snagged in a way to make us have to find another route. As for moving through 8' doorways we don't have any so it's not a problem.
> 
> 
> We love the clamp and contrary to popular belief it almost never is in the way( the mast will save you waaaaaaay more time than what you lose by its shortcomings). The only time it's in the way is when we want to move a stack of pallets that is more than 16 pallets high or moving 2(empty) totes at a time. But then the clamp simply dis-attaches in about 15 seconds so it's really not that big of a deal to take the thing on and off. We move into many forested areas and never have a problem with the clamp hitting branches that actually cause a problem. With the clamp you really can rev your machine all the way up and move equipment with super-fastness(lol). It really is sweet. So if you use the clamp like this you will save waaaaay more time. If you still move like a turtle, then no the clamp won't save you a whole lot of time. And really that's what i've seen with guys that don't like the clamp and think it's in the way. It's because they don't change their speed to make the clamp really perform like it was meant to. Add the load cushion and you will be able to move your bee's at top speed without making them all want to kill you.
> ...


I am thinking about filling my 100 tires liquid because its a small machine... Have you ever popped a tire and have all liquid come out?


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

Thanks everyone. Your input was very helpful. So I pulled the trigger on the Swinger. I will add the slime to the tires when it gets here. 10' mast, ride dampener, lift gage, bolt on front fenders, standard bumper with hitch, 42" forks. They have a 20% off sale till the end of January. They also told me that the base price is going up around $1500. So since I'm not getting any younger now was the right time for me.

Now... next question. What trailer works for other people? Custom built? Tandem axle?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Good choices all Scotty. I like the lift gauge too. As long as you are going with the front fenders I have seen extra lights mounted out there. That might be worth considering. The trailer can get pretty spendy. The 8,000 lb torsion axle under a tilt bed is awesome. A good machine shop could probably make you one for around 5 grand. A&O gets 6500 last I checked.


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## dback (Jan 8, 2012)

jim lyon said:


> A *GOOD* machine shop could probably make you one for around 5 grand. A&O gets 6500 last I checked.


There's the fly in the ointment.....an inferior one WILL cause some serious seepage into the ole BVD's. Maybe Jim gets work done for less then we can here but I'd expect closer to his 8k projection then 5k for quality. We tried one of A&O's trailers last year and it fits our needs very well...all of our other trailers were done by a company that did the municipality equipment and prices were about the same as A&O (can't remember what the total was but it was more then Jim's $6500) We prefer the single axle over the tandem.....weight, cost and DOT rules in some states. IMHO .... tilt is the only way to go and don't go on the cheap here.....you've got an expensive (and essential) piece of equipment setting up there.

My 2 cents........


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I have two of A&O's and love them, I paid 6,500 for them but dont know what they are currently charging. Recently Trevor Mansell mentioned on here that he had gotten one made locally (Florida) quite similar than the A&O for around 4,000 that was at least the equal of the A&O. I just pulled that 5,000 figure out of nowhere. Whatever one chooses to do I would strongly recommend the single 8k torkflex axle.


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

We get ours from a guy in SD. They are built tuff with 22.5 tires I think the guy uses the front axle off of a Freightliner. I believe the last one was $7,000 and they don't break.
Don't skimp on the trailer, it makes for long nights.


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## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

I HAD the foam filled tires in my 1K, the ride is a little rougher but you can lift allot more weight. It adds about 750lbs to the machine.


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## Keith Jarrett (Dec 10, 2006)

Trevor Mansell said:


> but you can lift allot more weight. It adds about 750lbs to the machine.


Trevor, do you feel it can lift more because the foam adds 750lbs of more counter weight ?


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## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

Yes ,and the front tires don't flatten out. But its not worth the added weight and rough ride.


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## JoshJames (Jun 12, 2009)

RAK said:


> I am thinking about filling my 100 tires liquid because its a small machine... Have you ever popped a tire and have all liquid come out?


Yes, which is why we like using Rim-Guard(beet juice byproduct) instead of the damaging and rusting abilities of calcium chloride.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

I found a used tandom 12' tilt bed with 10k capacity for $1800. So have a setup that will save my back.  Thanks eveeryone for your input. 

I am curious as to those that do not have a load gage on your forklift, what do you do to guess the weight of your four way pallets? Do you have a 'rule of thumb' weight that you use?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Those gauges just give you a general idea how the weights are running for truck loading purposes you would never want to rely on them solely to assess the feed situation in all your hives.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

So for feed purposes Jim are you still hefting the individual hives on the pallet?


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Yup forklifts are no substitute for most good old fashioned beekeeping practices. There is beekeeping and there is box moving good beekeepers are skilled at both


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## Ben Little (Apr 9, 2012)

I am wondering what you all started with as a new beekeeper planning to expand into a larger scale ? I am trying to make a decision on what to shop for, a fork lift/skid steer/ezyloader ??
I don't have a large budget for a new hummerbee : )

Thanks

Ben


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Look for older swinger loaders...


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## Ben Little (Apr 9, 2012)

i would if there were any around me : ) i have been looking at the Kubota R420 loader.

Ben


this is one close to me. i don't know if it's a good deal or not.

http://novascotia.kijiji.ca/c-cars-...pment-Kubota-R420-Forklift-W0QQAdIdZ452310358


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Ben Little said:


> have been looking at the Kubota R420 loader.




Kubota loader is way to heavy. 

I guess the used one might be nice around the house. But, hauling it would be tough.


For the new ones the 0% interest financing is nice, but, it is 50k or so for the Kubota loaders. I wish swinger did an in house finance plan.


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## irwin harlton (Jan 7, 2005)

http://advantage-equip.com/wyoming/products-page/tractor/kubota-r420-wheel-loader/

Advantage Equipment » Tractor » Kubota R420 - Wheel Loader
Kubota R420 - Wheel Loader
Kubota R420 - Wheel Loader

Unit is in good shape

41 HP

Unit comes with Quick Attach Bucket and Pallet forks
$18,000.00


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

Ben check your pm.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

My swinger 1K is here! Nice machine, after running it around the place and playing with it I finally parked it in the barn and just sat there admiring it. Thanks again everyone for your inputs.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

I got mine the this morning at 7am. It was a cold 2 mile drive home to the house with it. It has some spunk when I figured out that it has a throttle. The center of gravity is definitely toward the rear because it pops wheelies going up the hill empty. It also needs a rear view mirror for when you are in traffic.


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## Trevor Mansell (Jan 16, 2005)

Can you post a close up of your lights?


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Eastside, and all the non-beekeepers on your road will think that "Swinger" is your vanity license plate.


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## dbest (Aug 9, 2005)

Its a bummer you didn't get a hummerbee...you could have loaded it sideways and saved a little space! lol


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

Congratulations Mike! How is the trailer situation coming along?


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

dbest said:


> Its a bummer you didn't get a hummerbee...


Hummer-bee, Swinger you cant say either of those without a bit of explanation around friends. 

I chose Swinger because I think it is a better machine and much heavier duty then the HB. I am pretty hard on things and wanted something that would take my abuse.

The trailer I am still looking at. Need some more cash so it might be next month.



Adrian Quiney WI said:


> Eastside, and all the non-beekeepers on your road will think that "Swinger" is your vanity license plate.


I think that would violate the DMV rules on license plates.

{ Personalized license plates can’t have:

Unusual characters (#, %, &, @, +, !,etc.).
Invalid letter and number combinations.
Vulgar, racial, ethnic, or indecent messages.}

It is not indecent but, I am sure they would think so.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

If anyone is looking for a Swinger here is one.

Found this for someone looking for a swinger http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/bfs/3664100348.html


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