# LOADERS! post a pic of your forklift or whatever you use!



## oblib

:lpf:


----------



## hpm08161947

My Bobby... good little worker... just kinda old.


----------



## swamprat

was reaching and seen oblib beat me to it


----------



## gregstahlman

dbest: gotta love the old 610. was our first bobcat in 1982 and to this day was my dads favorite machine. had a swinger before that and couldnt stand it. tried a new swinger in 1997 and still couldnt do anything with that machine. only reason we got rid of the old 610 is we had it overhauled and had nothing but motor problems after that. so i suppose i am gonna hear some crap for being a die-hard bobcat man lol


----------



## dbest

I used to love my 610, right up until I got a swinger. We have 6 610's 4 that run at any one given time. My dad couldn't run the swinger to save himself.


----------



## jim lyon

No crap from me Greg, nothing faster loading and unloading in a good smooth loading area than a bobcat with "crazy wheel", though you do have to be careful since you are blind behind you. There is definitely a learning curve adapting to a swinger/hummer type of wheeled loader for sure, I was pretty frustrated the first few hours myself but now I Have advanced from being really bad up to just bad.. Hey odlib I used that same method myself for years, and it is a lot cheaper, at least if you aren't factoring in chiropractic costs.


----------



## dbest

Your not blind behind you with a 610. I think you can see better than with a swinger.


----------



## HarryVanderpool




----------



## sqkcrk

Looks pretty heavy.


----------



## Barry

Is that bad?


----------



## sqkcrk

Bad? Maybe. Maybe not. Apparently he tows it around w/out a trailer. But can he tow it 1,000 miles? Also seems bigger and heavier than necassary. But maybe it isn't. I'd like to see it in action.


----------



## Barry

Yeah, no trailer cost and it looks like a top notch rig.


----------



## loggermike

Looks fast Harry. Dual exhaust too.
Great for those long runs down the orchard.
Here's mine(not as fast or pretty), but after dragging it over logging roads a few years cant expect too much.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b278/loggermike/000_1241Medium.jpg


----------



## loggermike

He probably trailers it for a long haul.I use a car trailer for mine if it has to go along way, but for local moves I just back it up to the pintle hitch.Takes about 3 minutes to hook up and go.


----------



## sqkcrk

What does that thing weigh?


----------



## hpm08161947

I would love to see a video of one of those things in action. Bet there is one on here somewhere.....


----------



## HarryVanderpool

You know, it is fast. It has a Ford 351 Winsor 4bbl.
If you are rocketing around, it burns 5 gallons per hour!
If you look at the pic of the gauges you will see a speedo and tach.
It will go as fast as you want to go, but I put a 2000 rpm limit on my lead foot due to the fact that there is a hydrulic pump running off of the crank and shouldn't be ran much faster than that.
And 2000rpm is 60mph; that is fast enough. Seems like I do a lot of 40 - 45 mph on smooth runs back to the truck.
Mike is right, the dead-head empty runs, gliding back to the truck really highlight the advantages of this type of rig.
No dilly-dallying around.
But there is another kind of fast that Mike spoke of which is a big time saver as well:
When you are done loading, you just start lowering your tow bar and drop it righ on the pindle from the drivers sead.
Pop the transfer case and tranny in neutral,
lock pindle lever, plug in the lights, safety chains, and breakaway and off you go.
When you arrive, unhook lights, chains, breakaway, pindle lever. Get in the seat, fire engine, pindle up (hydraulic) and go for it!
And did I mention FUN!!!

Hey Mike; tell us about your clamp.
That is the next thing I want to do.
Do you have any pics of the clamp arrangement?


----------



## swarm_trapper

is it really faster than using a tilt trailer? it take maybe 30 sec to get my loader off the trailer and about 30sec to have it on and tied down. I can definitely see where it would be nice for long runs down the orchard.


----------



## loggermike

Well the clamp is a pain until you NEED it.Some of my yards are pretty rough(rocks and holes) that will shake hives right off the pallets without the clamp.Just remember to raise it up before backing away from the truck
It slides up and down and has a pin and hole for various heights adjustments. It can be taken off in a minute.

A guy in Orland built a bunch of these years ago for the local pollinators. Then they all got rich and went to swingers/hummers lol.


----------



## HarryVanderpool

swarm_trapper said:


> is it really faster than using a tilt trailer?


Not if you have your trailer set up properly and it sounds like you do.
Unfortunatly, I dont have a tilt trailer. I have a car hauler with ramps, chain binders,etc..... nothing but a time consuming, overweight pain in the butt.
Our towables weigh just over half of what many forklift / trailers do.


----------



## dbest

I would love to see a video of that thing in action. It looks awesome!


----------



## jim lyon

After what Harry posted.......I got nothin.


----------



## HarryVanderpool

dbest said:


> I would love to see a video of that thing in action. It looks awesome!


Thank you for the nice words.
A friend of mine who has a few towables and I plan to put together a presentation on " How to Construct Your Own Hot-Rod Forklift."
Something for the state conference.
Part of that will be videos. I'll post something here.


----------



## dbest

One of these years we need to break out a forklift rodeo again at a national mtg!


----------



## hpm08161947

> forklift rodeo



I bet there would be some pretty interesting events! Imagine a race around a track with say 5 pallets of bees - on second thought 3 pallets would be enough... drop a pallet and you are out... live bees of course.


----------



## dbest

hpm08161947 said:


> I bet there would be some pretty interesting events! Imagine a race around a track with say 5 pallets of bees - on second thought 3 pallets would be enough... drop a pallet and you are out... live bees of course.


Last time is was more like a relay race with points taken off for mistakes and messed up boxes. The honey queens got a chance to go at it. It was a lot of fun to watch. I think someone has a video somewhere.


----------



## Keith Jarrett

1K swinger

Lifts #3700 runs full hyd @ half throdel so is a quite machine, built better than any other in it's class, cost $30,300 new


----------



## irwin harlton

pretty dark looking sub


----------



## Action

Nice!


----------



## dbest

Hey Keith, how wide are the tires? Do you ever have trouble cutting in? I like the idea of having the narrow steering column. I'm assuming it helps you see the forks.


----------



## Keith Jarrett

dbest said:


> Hey Keith, how wide are the tires? .




http://s785.photobucket.com/albums/yy136/bzzztom/Swinger 1K/


Hope this helps.
Keith


----------



## Keith Jarrett

irwin harlton said:


> pretty dark looking sub


don't ya just hate that when they put liners in there and you can't see the product.

Did I mention on the swinger 1K you can shift low to high range while driving, no need to be stoped like the other machines.


----------



## jim lyon

Hey Keith how about a short rundown on your impressions after owning it for awhile. For one how does the cummins compare to a Kubota and anything else you can think of.


----------



## Keith Jarrett

jim lyon said:


> a short rundown on your impressions after owning it for awhile. For one how does the cummins compare to a Kubota


Jim, the 1K swinger cummins motor is NON turbo @ 48 hp, more than the Kubota turbo, with a turbo you have to spool up the turbo to get any power out of it which makes it a LOUD HIGH running rpm machine . The swinger 1K model hyd pump is desinged to operate at full capacity when the motor speed is at 50% throdel. It is the difference between a two stroke & a four stroke motocross bike, but in this case the four stroke (swinger) has more horse power & is quite.

Smoooooth, more leg room, BETTER visablity, much easyer to service, lifts more alot more and the machine cost less than a hummer.

Better built, just wait to you see them up close, side by side. At the Calif state meeting the two machines were there, the responce from the keepers were unanimous.


----------



## Barry Digman

Here come the big dogs...


----------



## sqkcrk

Kinda overkill, isn't it Barry? You could carry 6 to 10 w/ that contraption.


----------



## odfrank

Here is Manuel moving one of my 12 frame Brother Adam 11 1/4" frame supers that had been used as a honey super to draw out the frames. He throws heavy honey supers around like they are empty. I should be investigated by the Labor Board for making him do this kind of work.


----------



## Barry Digman

sqkcrk said:


> Kinda overkill, isn't it Barry? You could carry 6 to 10 w/ that contraption.



That thing is one of those interesting looking creations that you're just sure will work. I found it to be more trouble than it's worth.


----------



## Keith Jarrett

anybody have any pics of home made loaders, like the ole chev pu ???


----------



## HarryVanderpool

Keith Jarrett said:


> anybody have any pics of home made loaders, like the ole chev pu ???



Is this what you're looking for Keith?
Sorry, it's not for sale.
You will have to stick with that 'ol Swinger....


----------



## sqkcrk

I hope you wear a hard hat when operating that thing. And that your wife has a good life insurance policy on you.


----------



## Keith Jarrett

HarryVanderpool said:


> Is this what you're looking for Keith?


That is it Harry, those are the kind you drive backwards looking over your shouder. Yep, that it. 
Haul about 30-40 mph... when MT.


----------



## HarryVanderpool

Actually in this case the pumpkin has been flipped so it has four gears forward, one in reverse.
We just use it around the barn to load and unload supplies; never over 5 mph.
It works very well for its intended use.
But it sounds about the same as it looks. Lots of rattles and bangs.
By the way, its a '42 chevy.


----------



## jim lyon

Converted 42 Chevy? No fair, Harry's got all the cool stuff.


----------



## Z-B

Been working hard to convert an old home made thing into my bee forklift or loader thing. I call it the Wanna-Bee... Or Frankenloader...


----------



## dbest

I love it!


----------



## johng

Here's a couple pics of my homeaide forklift. It works quite well for what it is. I started using 4way pallets this year, I can double stack 4ways on my trailer and haul 12 pallets and the forklift on the trailer without any problems. It works great for my little apiary, being able to move my hives around by myself without any help is nice. I've only got about $500 in it. I would like to get a better loader one day but, for now it's all I need. http://s203.photobucket.com/user/rgraf/library/Fork lift?sort=3&page=1


----------

