Forklift tool mount | The Tools of the Trade | Forum

I needed a boom for my forklift to lift 14' long bars out of tractor trailers. I also needed to be able to get up to 25' long bars into the shop through a 10' wide door. Then SGensh showed his Hossfeld hanging from his forklift while bending and it got me thinking. Here is what I built a while ago. I still need to do a few things to make it a little better but this is the basics. It is made with 2 1/2 " tubing with a slightly thinner than 1/4" wall so that 2" tubing fits inside. My lifting boom is made from 2" x1/4" tubing. I can now fit tools onto the front or sides of this frame, by attaching them to a piece of 2" tubing. I also have some of the 2 1/2" tubing mounted on benches so I can fit tools onto them. I don't have enough room in my shop to swing a long handle on my Hossfeld so it is now easy to pull out on my driveway to do heavy bending. The bend in the picture is only 3/4" pipe but the 3" CLR makes it a hard bend.

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I use it like this to bring long items in and out of the shop. I do keep the load low and relatively light when on the side like this because the forklift is not designed for side loads and I do not want to tip it over. I was going to put short hooked forks onto these inserts but the slings seem to work well so I think I will just put a better hook on the end.

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Getting tractor trailers in or out to the last building on a dead end street can be difficult but the lack of traffic directly in front of the shop has its advantages.