5th wheel attachment for a forklift....need some help

jareddustin

jareddustin

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i have a 2009 weekend warrior 3505 5th wheel, 35ft triple axel. i keep in one of my warehouses at work. was thinking it would be easier to move in and out with my forklift rather than my truck, plus my truck is not my daily driver. thought if i could get an attachment for cheap that would be ideal. has anyone used something like this before, i know the RV lots use lifts all the time. my lift is hyster rated at 5000 lbs, propane, solid (cushion) tire lift. saw this one on amazon and thought its basically what im looking for and at $350 its not bad, cheaper would be better but not sure what the price range normally is. would something like this work? im thinking i would have to drill small holes in the fork to get it to stay attached unless there is another way that is done. any help would be appreciated i dont know anything about these. 

 Amazon.com: Titan Attachments 3-In-1 Forklift Mounted Hitch, 8000 LB Tow Capacity, 2" Ball Hitch, 2" Receiver Hitch, 2" Ball Kingpin Hitch Receiver, Clamp-On Fork Mount for Forklifts, Skid Steers, or Telehandlers : Automotive

 
I have multiple forklift attachments but not one dedicated for my fifth wheel.  I did however weld a 4 inch tube about 6 inches tall on the end of one of my attachments.  I use that to capture the fifth wheel pintle.  I have 38 Monaco dune chaser with full slides and my 5-6K toyota forklifts cant do it. It lifts the rear tires off the ground. I have a 12k forklift and it does great. 

Hope this helps.

 
Grease Monkey said:
I have multiple forklift attachments but not one dedicated for my fifth wheel.  I did however weld a 4 inch tube about 6 inches tall on the end of one of my attachments.  I use that to capture the fifth wheel pintle.  I have 38 Monaco dune chaser with full slides and my 5-6K toyota forklifts cant do it. It lifts the rear tires off the ground. I have a 12k forklift and it does great. 

Hope this helps.
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thank you very much for the replay. im sure there is not much difference between your toyota lift and my hyster. so dont think my lift is big enough for the trailer, 

 
jareddustin said:
thank you very much for the replay. im sure there is not much difference between your toyota lift and my hyster. so dont think my lift is big enough for the trailer, 
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It would be worth a shot to find out, push the forks all the way in and try it. 

 
Grease Monkey said:
I agree, I didn't know until I tried it. But..... when your pushing the 5er, be very tender on the forklift brakes. 
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i have a spare fork from my old 5k lift, if i had a tube welded on to the fork like you did on your set up do you think that would that be too much pressure on one fork? 

 
jareddustin said:
i have a spare fork from my old 5k lift, if i had a tube welded on to the fork like you did on your set up do you think that would that be too much pressure on one fork? 
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I'm not to sure about welding to those forks.  They are harden steel and it may fatigue it.  Id find some rectangle steel stock and make it fit over both forks. Then weld the tube on the steel stock.  

Just my opinion.

 
Grease Monkey said:
I'm not to sure about welding to those forks.  They are harden steel and it may fatigue it.  Id find some rectangle steel stock and make it fit over both forks. Then weld the tube on the steel stock.  

Just my opinion.
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thank you! i dont know much about steel or welding so the response is greatly appreciated. 

 
What if you had a set of dedicated forks and shortened them as much as you can but still clear the front of the trailer? It would or could move the lift point closer to the forklift which may help. My $.02 

 
matt86m said:
What if you had a set of dedicated forks and shortened them as much as you can but still clear the front of the trailer? It would or could move the lift point closer to the forklift which may help. My $.02 
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worth a try for sure, i have one spare fork i can look for another, i dont need to move the trailer far at all, just in and out of a warehouse but i does need to make a 90deg turn to get into the warehouse. once i had the landing gear set too low, and i was able to lift up the front of the trailer enough with the forklift to get a block under the landing gear, but just lifting and moving it are 2 different things

 
matt86m said:
What if you had a set of dedicated forks and shortened them as much as you can but still clear the front of the trailer? It would or could move the lift point closer to the forklift which may help. My $.02 
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He wont have the turning radius.  Even with 4 ft forks it wont turn 90 deg. maybe 45 at best. I can pull mine into the back shop yard no problem but if i need to cut it hard its a set down and reposition the lift to do it.

 
Grease Monkey said:
He wont have the turning radius.  Even with 4 ft forks it wont turn 90 deg. maybe 45 at best. I can pull mine into the back shop yard no problem but if i need to cut it hard its a set down and reposition the lift to do it.
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its not a hard cut, i have room to make the turn gradually, here is a pic of the area, the yellow arrow is the warehouse door the trailer is in. 

storage.jpg

 
jareddustin said:
its not a hard cut, i have room to make the turn gradually, here is a pic of the area, the yellow arrow is the warehouse door the trailer is in. 

View attachment 80894
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My old boss had less room and a bigger trailer, Hell he would even move his loaded stacker with the forklift.  He did move the 5th wheel pin as close to the mast of the lift as he could and still get some articulation.  THe thing is that he could disconnect and reposition the fork lift so quick not having the articulation wasn't a big deal and after three sets of bent forks it was a lot cheaper.

 
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