Forks on l185?

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
Anyone put forks on a l185 . It not a quick connect frame so options are slim. Thinking of bucket mounted forks . But I would lose some lenght.
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
Ok, guess no one has tried to put forks on a l185. I don't mean clamp on forks. Since my bucket is not a QD style I was thinking of forks that will sit in the bucket and be mounted on top of the bucket on a steel rod or angle iron.
 

vic gerbasi

Member

Equipment
M110 L3300
Feb 19, 2016
232
6
18
dugald mb canada
Ok, guess no one has tried to put forks on a l185. I don't mean clamp on forks. Since my bucket is not a QD style I was thinking of forks that will sit in the bucket and be mounted on top of the bucket on a steel rod or angle iron.
yes i made my own bale prongs for my front bucket Im able to lift and move 3x3x8 hay bales easily with my homemade unit send me ur eml address and ill send u some pics

$x$ angle 3x3 square 2x small side plates one hole in each side of bucket matching the side plate holes I drilled and placed 3 bale prongs in the welded bar --- should have placed only 2 prongs same sizing as pallet forks spacing

works well for my purposes
 

D2Cat

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
13,885
5,686
113
40 miles south of Kansas City
Vic, your equipment listed is much larger then an L185. A bale fork on the loader bucket of an L185 might be too far out to do much lifting. Would be better lifting with the 3 pt. and then get small bales.
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
Vic, your equipment listed is much larger then an L185. A bale fork on the loader bucket of an L185 might be too far out to do much lifting. Would be better lifting with the 3 pt. and then get small bales.
So what is the lifting capacity of a l185 loader? I have a 500-600 lb generator that I want to use the tractor forks for. I am only going to lift it a couple feet of the ground. My loader is a kubota 1200 model.
 
Last edited:

billrigsby

Well-known member

Equipment
L1500DT Too many implements, or is there such a thing?
Mar 17, 2015
1,021
208
63
Florissant CO USA 8213'
www.facebook.com
So what is the lifting capacity of a l185 loader? I have a 500-600 lb generator that I what to use the tractor forks for.
Not sure about the L185 Loader, but my L1500 (L175) with a Great Bend M10
has a capacity of 560#,


Also keep in mind that with the forks the load will be
extended and the maximum capacity will drop, I would
be cautious with a load that heavy on a smaller tractor/loader.
You will also definitely need rear ballast.
 

Attachments

Jpatrick

Member

Equipment
BX1850, L210, Various 3 point implements
Apr 4, 2017
100
1
18
Buckingham, Pa
Not sure if this applies to your situation or not. I use an 8000 watt generator to power electric tools in remote locations. What I do is put the generator in a utility trailer and then tow the trailer with the tractor.
 

Piker

Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2320, 2002 Honda Rubicon
Dec 1, 2010
164
0
11
Riverview, NB, Canada
Made forks for bucket on my B2320, think I got the idea from an older post here. They are the handiest implement I own. I added a center brace but atill have problems bending the bar that passes through the bucket. Going to check on sched 80 pipe. Switched from pipe to solid 1" bar & it still bends if I don't pay close attention to what I'm doing. If bottom corner of forks was trimmed at 45 deg. forks could swing up when contacting ground. Gonna try it when I replace pipe.
 

Attachments

Piker

Member

Equipment
2012 Kubota 2320, 2002 Honda Rubicon
Dec 1, 2010
164
0
11
Riverview, NB, Canada
Nope. Made a new wear strip of 3/8" × 4" mild steel (when tractor was first purchased) that extends past the wimpy strip welded to bucket that showed a lot of wear when scraping driveway after clearing snow. Front edge of bucket is strong! I just lifted my 4' king kutter bush hog easily out of my trailer last weekendj. Easily lifts logs to cut for firewood.
Just got back from buying a 48" length of 1" stress proof round bar. Welded washer on 1 end & drilled for lynch pin on other end. SIL has my tractor for the winter so have to travel 1 hr. to replace the bar. Grandkids need a hugging anyway.
 
Last edited:

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
Today I picked up a set of forks for $100. From CL. they are 3" wide 21.5 tall and 46 long they are not to heavy. I was thinking of making a quick disconnect for the tractor. At the auction they have QD plates for $90. I have looked at some QD machines. There a nice system. This is a winter project so a little at a time.
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
I picked up a carriage for the forks, it has notches on the top rail for the forks to lock into. So now I have forks and the carriage, now to figure out a quick mount.
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
Update on forks,
I decided to make 3 point fork setup for the rear.
I made a bracket for the top link to hold the top of the forks. Found 7/8 id sleeves to weld on the back of the fork carriage. Hope to get it done this week.
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
So I'm getting ready to weld the sleeves on the carriage for the 3 pt hitch. So since I've never done this before here's how I am setting it up. I parked the tractor on a flat surface. Then I put the forks on the carriage and backed the tractor up to it. I Ajusted the 3 pt hitch bars until the were the same height. So the center of the 3 pt hitch end links are 10-1/2 inches off the ground. So I'm thinking of putting the sleeves at 11 inches. That would give me a 1/2 inch of play. Should I give it more than that ? Any feedback will help. Thanks
 

shooter56

New member

Equipment
kubota L185 w/fel
Sep 25, 2015
150
0
0
CT.
With some asking at John Deere dealer ,because the kubota dealer had no answer.
When you make a attachments with the 3pt hitch, you measure the distance across the 3pt hitch which is 26 inches then measure up to your level top link making a triangle so 3 sides are equal at 26 in. Then measure down from the top link it should be 18 inches. So now I learned how to setup and make a 3pt hitch attachments that will not bind .