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I am going to look at/buy old Clark forklift tomorrow.

mark_b

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
It is a older Clark C500 30 3,000 pound lift.
It has 3100 hours on it. He tells me it runs good and no cylinder leaks.
It is propane powered. With solid pneumatic tires.
It needs a starting battery.


I need to be able to get steel delivers. I have a CNC plasma table.
I have never owned a forklift any advice looking at it or in general?
 
They are a nice little fork......my old boss has one he inherited from his brother .....the Clark sold here has/had a 6cyl Holden car motor......a US made one will have a Continental ........one thing to be aware of is that repair of the wheel brakes is a big job,mast and outer drive ends off.....you can live without brakes if your workshop is level.......AND...you dont have any employees.
 
"solid pneumatic tires" sounds like an oxymoron, please clarify. If hourmeter reads 3100hrs, check to make sure its working, sounds kinda low for an old lift. Things to check, does it start, does it smoke, does it drive, does it lift (pick something up, close to capacity), any leaks?

What surface are you going to drive on? If not asphalt or cement, get pneumatic tire lift, or be prepared to hook a chain to drag it out of soft spots.
 
It was at a old historic house/grounds for years. A bag plant had it but went out of business.
Then a guy bought it for a shop he was going to build. Decided not to build and he is selling it.
I have some cement and crusher run gravel

FoorkLift2.jpg
This is the lift.
 
"solid pneumatic tires" sounds like an oxymoron, please clarify. If hourmeter reads 3100hrs, check to make sure its working, sounds kinda low for an old lift. Things to check, does it start, does it smoke, does it drive, does it lift (pick something up, close to capacity), any leaks?

What surface are you going to drive on? If not asphalt or cement, get pneumatic tire lift, or be prepared to hook a chain to drag it out of soft spots.

I had a 1500 pound capacity Clark lift with pneumatic tires. Our current Hyster has solid pneumatic tires, and the grip and squish between the two seems about the same. It's just a foam rubber core with a bit of give. No issues with grip on dirt or gravel.
 
They are a nice little fork......my old boss has one he inherited from his brother .....the Clark sold here has/had a 6cyl Holden car motor......a US made one will have a Continental ........one thing to be aware of is that repair of the wheel brakes is a big job,mast and outer drive ends off.....you can live without brakes if your workshop is level.......AND...you dont have any employees.

I looked up a YouTube that showed how to do a brake job on this lift. It looks harder than many other lifts but my shop is equipped to do it.
I have done many drum brakes. But it is just me and my son so I will not rush into it.
 
I had a 1500 pound capacity Clark lift with pneumatic tires. Our current Hyster has solid pneumatic tires, and the grip and squish between the two seems about the same. It's just a foam rubber core with a bit of give. No issues with grip on dirt or gravel.

In my silly mind pneumatic implies air, I would call those filled tires, probably better than hard tires which everyone now calls cushion tires, maybe because you are supposed to add another cushion to the seat:D

Looks like a decent little lift if its all working and priced right.
 
I had to look it up I also thought pneumatic implied air.

He wants 2K for it.
I can’t really use the hard tires here. I would like all four tires to be big but I do not need a big forklift and those prices are crazy.
3K lifting is just about right for my steel deliveries.

I have a 85 amp plasma cutter but can only lift 1/2" to the table this would solve that.
 
In my silly mind pneumatic implies air, I would call those filled tires, probably better than hard tires which everyone now calls cushion tires, maybe because you are supposed to add another cushion to the seat:D

Looks like a decent little lift if its all working and priced right.

I think the solid pneumatic tires have voids in them that make the squish. They sure creak a lot when slowly driving along.

Agreed it could be a decent lift but seems like hard dirt is about all it will manage. Gravel or loose soil will be unpleasant with that.
 
I think the solid pneumatic tires have voids in them that make the squish. They sure creak a lot when slowly driving along.

Agreed it could be a decent lift but seems like hard dirt is about all it will manage. Gravel or loose soil will be unpleasant with that.

My crusher run seems very solid I hope it can manage that.
 
I think the solid pneumatic tires have voids in them that make the squish. They sure creak a lot when slowly driving along.

Agreed it could be a decent lift but seems like hard dirt is about all it will manage. Gravel or loose soil will be unpleasant with that.

I have a hard tire lift at Tx shop, it runs on fairly level gravel ok, sometimes finds a soft spot and sinks, forget about moving it if ground is wet. For the OP it should be fine on the crusher run material if its packed hard, what is under that will determine if it sinks when wet. 2k sounds fair as long as its all functional, can't say I've seen a running one for less, only non-running.
 
Seems a very reasonable price to me.
How are you going to move it? Small guys like this can go on a car tow flatbed at lower cost than trucks made for bigger forklifts.
I have driven one a size up a bit over 20 miles on public roads.
Bob
 
I have a car tow flatbed lined up Great advice. He just lives around the corner. It is 32 miles one way to get it.
He said he do it $200. If figured another $100-$125 for a battery.

I am not sure what Group battery it takes. I have a message to him to try and get that info.
 
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Seems a very reasonable price to me.
How are you going to move it? Small guys like this can go on a car tow flatbed at lower cost than trucks made for bigger forklifts.
I have driven one a size up a bit over 20 miles on public roads.
Bob

How long did it take to go 20 miles?
 
How long did it take to go 20 miles?
I do not remember time. It was long
Dad sent me on this venture as a rookie and the first thing learned was drive the forklift backwards is easier.
That took a mile or so to figure out.
I had no clue and had never driven a forktruck in my life.
Dad just said go it and bring it here.
That was the way Dad did it, point you at a machine a print and say go do it and then disappear to go see customers.
I surely remember my first day on a Blanchard. "Use these things to hold the part, this turns the magnet on and off, this is in under the wheel, this is up and down, I'll be back later."
Bob
 
Regular car battery should do it. I'd bet 20 miles took at least 2 hours, might have included a stop for gas too! For 32 miles, on a machine you don't know yet, pay the wrecker driver. I've driven a loader 10 miles, seem to recall it taking about an hour, almost got hit by a car once, that story also involves a dead skunk, me dry heaving, then stripping down almost naked for a roadside bath.
 
It will be a weighty little thing,the boys from the blasters were going to deliver the boss'es ,but the truck crane wouldnt lift it.....over 4 tons for sure......if I was offered one for $2k,it would be mine.......I been looking around for a small fork for the new shed ,and prices up to $15k....I dont want a year old machine,just something to sit around mostly.
 
Price on used and old seems to be by lift capacity. A 3000 goes about $3000. A 8000 goes about $8000.
Side shift or tall three stage mast add some dollars.
Haul and delivered on a 3000 and and a 8000 very different money.
At 2K I'd be jumping on this as fast as possible if a nearby and in the size to work.
From the pics this is a way, way good deal.
Bob
 








 
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