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Forklifts

19K views 45 replies 18 participants last post by  EastSideBuzz 
#1 ·
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!
 
#2 ·
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.
 
#5 ·
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.
 
#12 ·
#17 · (Edited)
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!
 
#18 ·
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. :D 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.
 
#20 ·
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?
 
#21 ·
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.
 
#22 ·
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........
 
#23 ·
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.
 
#29 ·
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?
 
#30 ·
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.
 
#32 ·
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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