Bobcat with forklift mast, or without, vs Hummerbee!!!!!!!!

[QUOTE=Keith Jarrett;856762]

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Originally Posted by JoshJames

Josh, I sell nutra Bee pollen sub at my shop here in Calif, we load other keepers trucks with sub using the swinger 1K machine, out of dozens of keepers that have jumped on the 1k at my shop your the only one with those veiws.

P.S. The one quote I here most is, I should-of bought the 1k.

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Keith, I think your tripping over my usage of the word easy. There are many bee keepers that think it is easy to get into their bobcats. It is if your comparing that to getting into a crane. I was simply pointing out that it is more difficult to get on and off on the drivers right side of the 1k than the turbo. Swinger did not design it for you access it from that side(although you can). So some people may not care(we were actually planning on purchasing the 1k despite these inefficiencies)if it's a little harder and some may never use that side but we do and we do it a lot to make it a difference for us.


"P.S. The one quote I here most is, I should-of bought the 1k."

And remember, those bee keepers were comparing the 1k to the turbo, not the XRT. Comparing the 1600 to the 1k is like trying to compare the turbo to the XRT(at least from what I've seen, but I admit that I haven't test driven the XRT yet.)

mmmmm

I'd pay good money to see some kind of forklift showdown, Keith on the Swinger 1K, Benstung on a Bobcat and Josh on one of the new XRT's. I just keep picturing something like this in my mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmdAsL1n6q4

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Originally Posted by jim lyon

I'd pay good money to see some kind of forklift showdown, Keith on the Swinger 1K, Benstung on a Bobcat and Josh on one of the new XRT's.

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HEY! Don't leave me out!
You want a forklift showdown; you've got it!
We will have a semi positioned in the loading area and hives scattered in almonds up to 1/4 mile away; sound good?
Oh I'm just waiting for the phone to ring....

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Originally Posted by HarryVanderpool

hives scattered in almonds up to 1/4 mile away; sound good?

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Bobcat will lose in that 'management failure' scenario :D (of course you already knew that Mr Vanderpoo).........semi positioned....bees stockpiled and I'm in. Loser buys breakfast. We can use my yards & bees for the olympics this spring :banana:

Freudian slip intended :) :)

Yeah Harry is trying to rig the competition no doubt. That thing he drives should be in Talladega not a bee yard. I'm thinking restricter plate to even the field a bit.

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Originally Posted by jim lyon

I just keep picturing something like this in my mind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmdAsL1n6q4

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Jim, you have the wrong picture in mind. This one is the "patty" showdown where Keith puts one of his patties on the ground and dares anyone to try and take it from him.

I'm late to this game apparently. What is the XRT? I cannot find any information on it... does it exactly exist or is it a beekeepers fantasy forklift?

According to Hummerbee it's going to be coming soon with base price around 37 grand. Sounds like its gonna be "badass". I can't sleep thinking about it. :)

can any one say what the swinger costs i still haven't heard; all i hear is that it is cheaper, but i would like to know a price.

A 1K with 10' mast, load dampener, lift gauge, and a couple extra lights is selling for uhhhhhhh I will guess just under 33 grand fob Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Not that I would really know or anything.;)

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Originally Posted by jim lyon

a couple extra lights is selling for uhhhhhhh I will guess just under 33 grand fob Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Not that I would really know or anything.;)

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Alright... Out with it Jimmy....lol you seem to know alot all of a sudden.

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Originally Posted by UVBee

I'm late to this game apparently. What is the XRT? I cannot find any information on it... does it exactly exist or is it a beekeepers fantasy forklift?

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I am guessing they will tell us more about it at the CA bee convention next month. If they dont then I agree a fantasy lift.

Chevy, ford, mine's bigger kind of argument. All boils down to what you need. I bought an XL Hummerbee a year ago and it does everything I need. I lift 2500 lb pallets of sugar and it runs like a top. Don't know the price now but I paid less than 30k

I look at value, in my other life, I own & run Jarrett Equipment rents, I have everything from cummings to Catipillars.....Case to Kamatsu. VALUE... I work with a guy that bought one of the 1K swinger, its about 7-8 years old now, he runs 15-20 thousand hives with it. The only thing he has changed is he bought the converion two pedal to one pedal, he told me and I qoute " that thing is bullet proof " , he also has hummers but has order more of the 1K's machines. One machine is out in front and the other, well we will just have to wait for swinger to design something new for them to copy.

dback, you sound like a shifty ole beek that I know from the west valley. I dont think anybody else on this web site knows Im an active hunter...:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by dback

Bobcat will lose in that 'management failure' scenario :D (of course you already knew that Mr Vanderpoo).........semi positioned....bees stockpiled and I'm in. Loser buys breakfast. We can use my yards & bees for the olympics this spring :banana:

Freudian slip intended :) :)

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Keith, I didn't say the 1k wasn't a good machine. I'm sure you would find owners of each of the 3 machines mostly being discussed here that would consider them bullet proof, myself included. All are commercial grade machines and each has features that lend them better fit for specific applications. I looked hard at the 1k but opted not to buy one because they were a little too wide to get into the building lanes where I store my supers and also because getting attachments like a snow blower and bush hog was far simpler, less time consuming and much cheaper on the Hummer. The Swinger will take standard bobcat type attachments but it requires that the mast be removed (45 minutes according to the manufacturer) AND it requires an attachment from Swinger that will cost you an additional 4-5 k. In contrast, the snow blower and mower I bought for the Hummer fits right on the forks and doesn't require a 4-5 k part to attach it! You run the forks in the attachment, snap a chain to hold it on when you back up and connect 2 quick couplers for the hydraulics and you're done--a 2 minute job. Let's see; I saved 4-5 k and 45 minutes every time I use an attachment. It wasn't a difficult decision for me Keith and, like I said, the machine a person buys should fit their needs--the emblem on the hood won't let you do something it wasn't designed to do. I'm happy you like you're 1k but the Hummer was a far better fit for MY needs. I also really like the folks at A&O; they always had the parts I needed to keep my old Swinger running and I'm sure they will be there to help when the Hummer gets old and tired. Chip

I here yeah Chip, I don't live in snow country and only use my 1k for bees so I don't see much other than that, you do bring up good points to consider though as one looks for a machine to fit there own needs. As for me I only use the 1k for loading bees sub ect... something that I can put forks into. :)

P.S. with the 1k no joints to burn off an replace & no final drives going out.

You gotta help me out on this one Chip. If the mower and snow blower fit directly onto the forks then why wouldn't it also fit on the forks of a Swinger as well? What exactly is this 4 to 5 thousand dollar part?

Jim, I'd bet the Swinger could be plumbed to accept A&O's attachments like the snow blower or the mower. They just use a 1/2 inch quick coupler and they steal the hydraulic line off the side-shift on the mast. The expensive part for the Swinger was called a quick attach universal mount if memory serves me. I really liked the idea of being able to use any front end loader attachment but taking the thing on and off would be a time killer for me even if expense wasn't a factor. I can throw the mower deck on the truck along with a yard of bees, mow it down, take it off and place the hives in about 10 minutes and in only 1 trip. I'm a pretty small operation and do everything myself so the time saved is a big plus.