Bxpanded Quick on Pallet/Brush Forks

[ehenry]

Does anyone have any experience with Bxpanded forks? I've been using some homemade bolt on forks that have broken several times and I'm ready for something different. Thanks

 

[Grouse Feathers]

I have the BX expanded forks and am replacing them with a set of forks like these: http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24020
I also have the BX Piranha bar and it is far more valuable than the forks. Unless I remove the Piranha bar the forks are not adjustable. The forks in the link are compatible with the Piranha bar. I will post pictures of my version of the forks in the link when they are completed.

 

[ehenry]

Grouse, so the only reason you're replacing them is that they're not adjustable with the piranha bar? Other than that do you like the forks? Are the made heavy enough? Did you have problems with the clamp on quick connects? Did they perform as expected?

I don't have a tooth bar so that's a nonissue for me.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

The bxpanded forks are plenty strong enough for a BX tractor. In addition to the problem with using the forks with the piranha bar I have had two other problems. The bent retainer that keeps the hanger on the top of the bucket starts falling out after several uses. One of mine is lost, and I plan to replace it with a straight piece of 3/8" rod with holes in the end and hair pin type clips to hold the rod in place. The second problem is due to the way the forks hang from the top of the bucket. For the forks to be level with the ground the top and bottom of the bucket have to be vertical. If you have the loader elevated to dump on a pile and dump the bucket to drop the materials off the forks, I believe the down angle on the forks is only about 30 degrees.

To resolve the problem with the piranha bar and the dumping problem I drilled a second hole in the vertical leg of the forks. The hole is about 5 1/2" below the the original hole and allows the bottom of the forks to set in the bucket. This works better for me and the only negative is the bottom of the forks are about 1 1/2" above the bottom of the piranha bar.

The forks I am building are not the clamp on type. If building was not an option, I would choose the bxpanded forks over the clamp on type forks despite the problems noted. They have the advantage of being sized for the BX, a lot of the clamp on forks are designed for larger tractors and you can lose a lot of capacity picking up heavy forks.

 

[ehenry]

Grouse, that's kind of info I'm looking for. I appreciate it ! The forks I have are home made. The gentleman I inherited the tractor from made them and they've worked quite well for him and me since I've had the tractor. They bolt to the bottom of the fel bucket. I also inherited a miller bobcat 225g welder from the same guy and its a project to get it running as well. I think that is what I'll do this weekend....get the bobcat running then look in to repairing the homemade forks.

The remark you made about the Bxpanded forks only giving a 30 degree dump concerns me. Do you think they could me modified to give more of a dump angle?

 

[rlcotter]

I have the Brush Forks as well. The pins are loose on my forks; haven't lost one yet but they won't stay in by themselves. I wrap electric tape around the ends so that the pins can't fall out. The forks are handy, but the clips are a little disappointing. It would be nice if there were a more permanent fix.

The angle of the dump is also an accurate comment, but I don't find it nearly as big a problem as the clips. I did speak to Craig at BXpanded, and he provided a suggestion on bending the clip to get it to stay on; and it did work for a short time but then we back to the same problem. If a solution could be found regarding the clips, I would be more positive about them. But if the clips fall out, the forks (without load) tend to fall off

Good luck.

Les.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

The remark you made about the Bxpanded forks only giving a 30 degree dump concerns me. Do you think they could me modified to give more of a dump angle?

The modification I made of drilling a second mounting hole 5 1/2" below the original mounting hole allows the bottom of the forks to set inside the bucket instead of below the bucket. The bottom of the forks are then parallel with the bottom and you have the same dump angle as the bottom of the bucket. If you need a picture of this modification I will take one tomorrow.

 

[ehenry]

I pic would be great and a pic of This pin that continues to get loose and fall out. Could the pin be drilled and a clip used to keep it in place? I really want to know what I'll be buying before I pull the trigger on buying or if I need to look at something else.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

I pic would be great and a pic of This pin that continues to get loose and fall out. Could the pin be drilled and a clip used to keep it in place? I really want to know what I'll be buying before I pull the trigger on buying or if I need to look at something else.

On the Bxpanded web site look at the "Bucket Hooks". The pin is the silver colored rod with the "V" shaped bend. After you put both end in by sliding it back and forth you, rotate it to the down position as shown. In new condition it takes some force to insert and rotate the pin. After some use it loosens up and can fall out.

I will be using the tractor today and will add pictures tonight.

 

[GWD]

Or you could just make your own from scratch.

 

[GWD]

Forks at work:

 

[ehenry]

GWD, I've got a set of home made forks that have served their purpose well since they were built back in '02....after all the use, stress, breaking and being welded numerous times they're ready to be retired.

Right now I've got 17 fourteen to eighteen inch pine trees down in my yard I had to have cut due to beetles and a drought we had a couple years ago. A logger was down the road from me clearing a house lot and for $300 he brought a machine and laid them all down for me. A tree service was going to be 7 to 8k but their price included cleanup. The tree service was sight more than I wanted to bear. I really don't want to purchase these forks only to find out they aren't going to hold up.

 

[GWD]

GWD, I've got a set of home made forks that have served their purpose well since they were built back in '02....after all the use, stress, breaking and being welded numerous times they're ready to be retired.

I really don't want to purchase these forks only to find out they aren't going to hold up.

Fair enough. Then another strategy is to purchase used forklift forks and modify them to fit on your bucket. A forklift repair shop usually has used forks. They are VERY strong.

These were made for a L3650 bucket. (The chain is to keep it on my SSA forks to haul them to my neighbor who bought the tractor.) He sold the tractor and bought a L5460 and used them on it.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Here are some pictures of my bxpanded forks. The fork on the right is the as built fork and the one on the right I modified by drilling a second mounting hole. The third picture show the bucket raised to the highest point and fully dumped. As you can see the as built fork doesn't have much of a dump angle. To modify you set the fork flat in the bottom of the bucket and mark the location for a new hole for attaching to the bracket.

I have rethought my recommendation for the bxpanded forks. I think the price is a little high. Since you have a welder I would fix your existing forks for now. When you have your welder fixed, look at some of the designs used by others and build the design you like best.

The fourth picture is of the forks I just finished building for my tractor. The two outside forks I will use for larger materials and all five for brush.

 

[RonBoyBX25D]

I like my forks, went with the Kubota quick attach for my BX. If you can swing it the Landpride grapple would be the way to go. I had 2 trees fall last weekend from a storm and with the grapple it was an hour to limb and cut to 8' length. All the brush was piled up and the wood was stacked, never left the seat once the chainsaw was done. Just a thought as I picked up the grapple in the initial purchase so it was minor in the 0% finance payment.

 

[ehenry]

Well, I pulled the trigger on the Bxpanded forks. I hope they work out for me. I'll post my thoughts once they come in and I use them. They will go straight to work moving the downed trees.

 

[RonBoyBX25D]

Good luck, fully expect you to be happy with a BXPANDED product, so far love everything I have purchased from them.

 

[ehenry]

Ordered the forks last Friday the 24 and they came in yesterday. I wasn't able to mount or use them yesterday. I'll have to post my thoughts when I get a chance to use them. Bxpanded gets an ATTA BOY for processing and shipping my order in less than 2 hours.

 

[RonBoyBX25D]

Ordered the forks last Friday the 24 and they came in yesterday. I wasn't able to mount or use them yesterday. I'll have to post my thoughts when I get a chance to use them. Bxpanded gets an ATTA BOY for processing and shipping my order in less than 2 hours.

They have great customer service for sure, hope they meet your expectations.

 

[ehenry]

The mounting brackets seemed ok when I put them on the bucket but holes for pins that hold the forks had to be reamed with a drill in order for the pins to go through them. It wasn't paint stopping the pins. Material had to be taken off.

The forks will be put to use this weekend. Will post some pics.