He Mounts Forklifts On Farm Tractors

He mounts forklifts on farm tractors HITCHES Hitches 15-1-16 "I've sold more than 150 of them. Farmers tell me they're one of the most useful tools they own," says Warren Zelhart, Beaverville, Ill., who adapts industrial forklift masts to tractor 3-pt. hitches. Zelhart buys up used or junked forklifts from industrial equipment dealers. Some-times he can buy just the mast itself. Other times, he buys the whole machine and junks everything except the mast. Recently he bought 61 brand new forklift masts from a manufacturer who had too much inventory. The heavy-duty 2 and 3 stage units lift loads up as high as 20 ft., depending on the model. They fit any Cat II hitch and operate off a single hydraulic outlet. He can also fit the lift with an adapter that'll tip the mast forward and back. "You can lift as much as 3 tons down low to the ground. If you've got a heavy enough tractor, they' 11 raise 1,800 lbs. or more to top height," says Zelhart. He makes a bale spear that mounts between the forks for handling round bales. The forks go under the bale and the spear keeps it from rolling off. Zelhart sells his forks for $600 to $1,000, depending on the model. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Warren Zelhart, Rt. 1, Box 41, Beaverville, Ill. 60912 (ph 815 435-2286).

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