"Tractor Lift" Made From Forklift Parts

"Tractor Lift" Made From Forklift Parts FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 27-5-28 Using an old forklift mast and hydraulics, John Rissler, New Enterprise, Penn., built his own "service lift" for riding mowers. Rissler started with an electric forklift that didn't work any more. The mast, pump and valves were still in good condition. He added heavy wall square tubing to his own forks, which he mounted on the forklift mast. Each fork consists of two lengths of tubing spaced about 6 in. apart. The mower's front and rear wheels rest between the two lengths of tubing. He used more tubing to build floor supports at the base of the mast that extend out as far as the forks. "It works slick and didn't cost much to build," says Rissler. "A trucker friend picked up the mast and forklift on the East Coast and paid $100 for them. I paid him $250. My total cost was about $700. I had to build a short ramp onto both sets of forks so I can get the mower decks over them. "The forklift pump was originally operated by a DC electric motor which I replaced with a 110-volt AC motor. Otherwise I used all the forklift's original hoses, controls, and hydraulic reservoir," notes Rissler. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Aaron Rissler, 3409 Brumbaugh Rd., New Enterprise, Penn. 16664 (ph 814 766-2117).

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