"Beehive" Forklift Built From Zero-Turn Riding Mower

Beehive Forklift Built From Zero-Turn Riding Mower FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Commercial forklifts designed to move beehives cost thousands of dollars John Graf and his dad saved a lot of money by building their own out of an old Bobcat zero-turn riding mower “It works great and can easily move 2 beehives at a time The best part is that I can move all my beehives by myself without any help ” says Graf They cut away the front half of the Bobcat keeping the engine hydrostatic transmission frame seat and wheels They flipped the seat around so they could drive the machine in reverse They also used lengths of pipe to extend the front caster wheels “We tried mounting the forklift on front and running the machine as it was originally designed but the forklift took too much weight off the rear wheels and they would spin without gaining any traction ” says Graf “Now all the weight is over the engine and rear drive wheels so traction is never a problem The forklift makes the machine a little front-heavy so we mounted a concrete box on back to help balance the load ” They used schedule 40 pipe to build both the forklift and mast The forklift carriage bolts to a metal bracket that’s welded to the mower frame The forklift is raised and lowered by an electric-operated ATV winch The winch mounts on top of a steel cage that surrounds the driver with cable extending down over a pulley at the bottom of the mast The forklift is hinged at the bottom allowing an electric actuator to tilt the forklift forward or backward Switches mounted on the mower’s control levers are used to raise and lower the mast and to tilt the forklift “Handling beehives that weigh from 150 to 200 lbs when filled with honey is a tough job Our forklift makes the job a lot easier ” says Graf “We bought the winch electric actuator and 4 new tires Our total cost was about $300 Commercial forklifts designed to move beehives can move 4 hives at a time but they cost thousands of dollars ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Graf 9470 Zambito Ave Jacksonville Fla 32210 ph 904 610-3470; grassworks09@yahoo com

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