Should I get a forklift or a tractor with forks? Gravel driveway use.

[macgyver]

We had a Case 586 (or 580 something anyway) at the old job and it was terrible at moving machinery, anything remotely heavy and the tires would squish and the load would follow the squish, wasn't ideal and it was a last resort for me to use. At my first job we had the same thing only 30-40 years older and it worked great for duties at the tractor dealership, handling pallets of oil barrels, moving an engine across the yard etc was what it was good for, but anything precise, I'd rather not use it.

 

[appleje197]

t is not hard to drive a forklift. But to be a skilled forklift driver takes a lot of practice. Let me tell you a story….

A few years ago, as a truck driver, I was going to one particular packing shed/cooler almost every day to pick up sweet corn for the distributor I was hauling for. I always loaded at the same two or three doors and the same two forklift drivers loaded me. They were young fellows, probably in their mid twenties. They were both Hispanic and one of them spoke very good English, the other, not so much

 

[john.k]

Loading palletized goods is very different from moving machinery.........truck terminal fork drivers are speed ,speed ,speed ,...good if the load has fork pockets in the base,otherwise its gonna get speared ,dropped ,fall over and picked up sideways ...Lotta terminals,fork drivers arent allowed to get off the machine,a busted load is pushed to a yellow painted square for supervisor attention.....next week.

 

[DDoug]

Just buy one of these, install it permanently in the center of the property...:

Mini Tower Crane Fleet | Sparrow Mini Tower Cranes

Sparrow Self Erecting Cranes provide a wide range to suit your needs. The benefits are the various jib lengths which are achievable and the flexibility.

www.minitowercranes.com

Easy Peazy

 

[Freedommachine]

Just buy one of these, install it permanently in the center of the property...:

Mini Tower Crane Fleet | Sparrow Mini Tower Cranes

Sparrow Self Erecting Cranes provide a wide range to suit your needs. The benefits are the various jib lengths which are achievable and the flexibility.

www.minitowercranes.com

Easy Peazy

Not sure I could sell the wife on that, or the neighbor who fly's my treetops in his cub on approach to his grass strip. It would be a great solution though!

 

[seiner]

Find a nice skidsteer with joystick controls. you'll have the capacity you need, all terrain, and good for other things also.

Been using mine for years and love it. when I need something larger I use my case 621.

 

[Pete Deal]

Find a nice skidsteer with joystick controls. you'll have the capacity you need, all terrain, and good for other things also.

Been using mine for years and love it. when I need something larger I use my case 621.

Well I disagree with that. I have a skid steer, tractor with skid steer quick change plate so easy to install forks, and a sky trak telehandler. When I got the skid steer I thought it would be great for lifting stuff. I really don’t care for it much at all since it’s not safe to get in and out of while the forks are up. Seems like I always need to do this. If you have a spare person around always then it would be fine I suppose.

The tractor is versatile but limited to about a ton of capacity. Sky Trak will git r done but it’s a big beast. It’s nice because it’s sort-of a crain too. The off road forklifts are tempting but still not very versatile.

 

[john.k]

The best old RT forklift I had was an old Caterpillar 966 loader,with a set of 8' long forks .....next was a MF 500 track loader with forks ,it would lift 6ton easily,but was hard on the grass (you can get flat plates for track loadrs,that are non marking ,more or less)

 

[Scottl]

Small forklift: 3000 pound lift.
Typical tractor: 800 to 1200 pound lift.

Basically if you mostly need to lift and move heavy things buy a suitable forklift. If you mostly need to do ag work, plow snow and occasionally lift somewhat heavy objects buy a tractor.

They are as different as a small passenger car vs a heavy duty truck.

 

[DDoug]

Small forklift: 3000 pound lift.
Typical tractor: 800 to 1200 pound lift.

Basically if you mostly need to lift and move heavy things buy a suitable forklift. If you mostly need to do ag work, plow snow and occasionally lift somewhat heavy objects buy a tractor.

They are as different as a small passenger car vs a heavy duty truck.

My skidloader will lift 2500, and it's a smaller sized one.
Also as with tractors, you can get much larger lifting capacity.

 

[kustomizer]

I have found this to be pretty versatile. I have a forkable dozer and a snow pusher, it does a good job

 

[Scottl]

My skidloader will lift 2500, and it's a smaller sized one.
Also as with tractors, you can get much larger lifting capacity.

Yes, but most of the heavy lifting I've seen done on rough terrain was by huge loaders that have way more mass than needed to counterbalance the load. Big issue with smaller tractors is the leverage the load has if the tractor hits a significant dip or bump while moving. I've seen quite a few close calls that way.
Skidloaders are good but I don't think moving heavy machinery over rough terrain is an ideal task for them. Contractors around here routinely use them to pull palletized loads off small box trucks but this is on paved roads. The "trailer warts" that many building material suppliers use are actually meant for moderate off-road use and their ability to travel sideways allows them to get long materials through narrow gaps into the back of a construction site. Around here most lumber and drywall, roofing, etc. are delivered on trailers equipped with them and the driver unhooks the lift from the back of the trailer and transports the materials onto the site as part of the delivery service.

 

[Scottl]

I have found this to be pretty versatile. I have a forkable dozer and a snow pusher, it does a good job
View attachment 370842View attachment 370843

Yes, that is a heavy duty machine meant for somewhat rough terrain. It also has the dual rear wheels essential for off-road use.

 

[kustomizer]

Yes, that is a heavy duty machine meant for somewhat rough terrain. It also has the dual rear wheels essential for off-road use.

It is a 5k machine, only 4 wheels but they are wide, 4wd, perkins diesel and a pedal to lock the front dif. and it will lift to 28', foreward tilt to 35 degrees to make it shorter for hauling.
It was $14k with 4k hours from a tool rental.

 

[Scottl]

It is a 5k machine, only 4 wheels but they are wide, 4wd, perkins diesel and a pedal to lock the front dif. and it will lift to 28', foreward tilt to 35 degrees to make it shorter for hauling.
It was $14k with 4k hours from a tool rental.

And that is part of my point about weight and size. A 5k machine meant for smooth floors is much more compact but would not do well off paved surfaces. Big issue with a skid steer is stability. I've seen some bad accidents including one where a kid driving downhill accidentally lowered the bucket and stood the machine on the bucket, almost flipping completely over. Due to their small footprint they are very vulnerable when moving heavy loads.

 

[kustomizer]

A young man here last fall needed to get off his skid steer, he did something with a stick to allow him to get out of it with the bucket up and against a tree, he got out, the stick fell out and the bucket smashed him, he left quite the deal for his father to find a few hours later. A friend had one for years and flopped it on its side in some small brush, the twigs weren't but a half inch in dia but he was unable to exit until another friend happened by with an excavator. I don't have to worry about skid steers as I can't wad myself up small enough to get in one, Wonder woman wants one in the worst way but for the same price you can have a full size backhoe that I can run too. I have a little clark fork machine with dual tires and it is good outside on smooth ground bet is easily stuck but it can go inside where the big one cannot. I recon If I could only have one I would choose the big forklift as it can do a fair bit of tractoring too. If they weren't so expensive I would have a Holder and a slew of things to fit on it.

Holder Tractors | Tracey Road Equipment

Holder Tractors are made for year-round use. Spacious, comfortable and versatile: this articulated steering system offers unique advantages

www.traceyroad.com

 

[Garwood]

I think with skidsteers it's important to note that what was typical size/capacity a decade ago is 100% different today. The businesses I know that run skidsteers for profit all have Takeuchi tracked skid loaders (TSL's as they all call them now). These things are more like a high powered D2 Cat with butterfly agility. They run 100HP implements and easily lift 2 tons.

Then you have the old standard style wheeled skid steers like my old Mustang 2040 that can lift 1300 and only have a measly 40HP.

I never thought I wanted a skidsteer until I picked one up by chance and found it makes a small 4x4 tractor obsolete. It's not a forklift substitute, but it has a ton of versatility.

 

[Mud]

I want one of these. About 4 times a year.

 

[DDoug]

Yes, but most of the heavy lifting I've seen done on rough terrain was by huge loaders that have way more mass than needed to counterbalance the load. Big issue with smaller tractors is the leverage the load has if the tractor hits a significant dip or bump while moving. I've seen quite a few close calls that way.
Skidloaders are good but I don't think moving heavy machinery over rough terrain is an ideal task for them. Contractors around here routinely use them to pull palletized loads off small box trucks but this is on paved roads. The "trailer warts" that many building material suppliers use are actually meant for moderate off-road use and their ability to travel sideways allows them to get long materials through narrow gaps into the back of a construction site. Around here most lumber and drywall, roofing, etc. are delivered on trailers equipped with them and the driver unhooks the lift from the back of the trailer and transports the materials onto the site as part of the delivery service.

Nothing is ideal, and I am not advocating use for "huge loads", my comments were directed towards your quote of skidloaders not lifting much.

Control & stability are all in the hands.....of the monkey on the seat.

 

[DDoug]

I want one of these. About 4 times a year.
View attachment 370893

I don't see a quick attach plate to replace the mast with other useful attachments.