Attachments

Skid Steer Forks and Hydraulic Forks for Skid Steer: What to Compare

Skid steer forks split into two families. A plain pallet fork frame pins to the mounting plate and moves only with the loader arms: cheapest, fewest failure points, and fine for setting pallets on firm, level ground. Hydraulic forks for skid steer add powered functions — side shift to line up a pallet without repositioning the machine, fork positioning to change tine spacing from the seat, and clamp or grapple arms to hold loads that will not stay on the tines. Every powered function needs an auxiliary hydraulic circuit on the carrier and couplers that match it, so check the flow and pressure your loader manufacturer publishes before ordering hydraulic skid steer forks.

Mounting is the second gate. Full-size machines largely share one attachment interface; ISO 24410 defines hitch dimensions for skid steer loader attachments, which is why a standard plate swaps across brands. Mini skid steers do not use that plate, and mounts vary between makers. Weight is the third gate: an attachment hangs out past the coupler, so its own mass and the load center both eat into rated operating capacity. Skid steer tools listed in this collection include the Star Industries 130-72 72-inch power rake, a skid-steer brush cutter and a skid-steer trencher.

Pipe Lifting Attachment for Excavator: Hooks, Pipe Lifts and Deckhand-Style Handlers

Deckhand is a brand name buyers often use as shorthand for excavator-mounted pipe handling gear, so a search for a deckhand excavator attachment and a search for a pipe lifting attachment for excavator usually mean the same job: picking up, rotating and setting pipe without slings and without a laborer in the trench. Two approaches dominate. Mechanical pipe hooks use no hydraulics — the Kenco PH12000, PH18000 and PH30000 here are that type — relying on geometry and load weight to hold the pipe, which keeps them simple and cheap to maintain. Powered pipe lifts such as the Kenco PL4500, PL7000 and PL8500 grip actively, so they hold pipe a hook would not and let one operator control placement.

Either way, it is a lifting device, not a digging tool. ASME B30.20 covers below-the-hook lifting devices and addresses their marking, inspection and operating practices; the rated load marked on the device, not the excavator's chart, is the ceiling. Confirm the attachment's listed capacity and confirm the machine has a manufacturer-approved lift point.

Excavator Crane Attachment Work: Thumbs, Grapples and Suspended Loads

Buyers searching for an excavator crane attachment are usually asking one of two things: how to grip material, or how to hoist it. Gripping is what thumbs and grapples do. The Geith progressive linkage hydraulic thumb closes against the bucket for rock, pipe and demolition debris, and the Geith mechanical excavator grapple is built for 18 to 41 ton excavators, so machine class matters more than model name when you shop. A Geith hydraulic angle tilt bucket with dual rams is a grading tool rather than a lifting one, but it competes for the same auxiliary circuit.

Hoisting is a different regulatory picture. OSHA's construction crane rule, 29 CFR 1926 subpart CC, applies to equipment that hoists, lowers and horizontally moves a suspended load, so an excavator rigged to hoist rather than dig can fall under it. Check the rule and your machine manufacturer's guidance before assuming a lifting job sits outside it.

Vacuum Lifters and Slab Handling

Vacuum lifters handle material that clamps mark and slings crush: stone slabs, glass, sheet metal and panels. The Abaco range here runs from the ARVL500 rotary vacuum lifter and the AVL600 through the DVL1000 and the DVL1000-Pro, which is listed with dual independent vacuum systems for redundancy if one system faults, plus wireless remote control. The AFPVL300 is a forklift-mounted powered vacuum lifter for yards already running a truck. For panel installation, the AMITC400 transport cart carries an integrated vacuum lifter with a listed maximum lifting capacity of 400 kg (880 lbs). At the heavy end, the ACBSL5T-M2 container bundle slab loader is listed at up to 5 metric tons (11,023 lbs) and is designed for the confined space inside a shipping container.

Two buying notes. When a vacuum device hangs from a hook it is a below-the-hook lifting device, and ASME B30.20 includes provisions for vacuum lifting devices, so inspection and operator practice are part of the purchase. And seal condition, surface porosity and surface finish decide real holding ability, so size on the material you actually handle.

Forklift Attachments and Capacity Derating

Anything you hang on a forklift changes its capacity, and that is a compliance issue as much as an engineering one. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(4) requires that when a truck carries front-end attachments other than factory-installed ones, the user have the truck marked to identify the attachment and show the approximate weight of the truck and attachment combination at maximum elevation with the load laterally centered; modifications affecting capacity or safe operation need the manufacturer's prior written approval. ANSI/ITSDF B56.1 is the safety standard those trucks and attachments are operated to.

Drum and roll handling is the largest forklift-side group here. Vestil supplies counter-balanced drum lifters with powered lift and power drive, a semi-electric powered drum gripper, stainless steel drum lifters and transporters, a stainless steel hydraulic foot pump roll handler, a steel sheet lifter (SSL), and a fully powered vertical gripper/rotator listed across six models from $250.73 to $19,836.80 — a span that includes accessories such as a hand control and poly drum options, not six complete machines. Vestil drum and bin dumpers are listed at $28,026.50 for the ULM-PBT-BTC-10 complete bin tilter, shown as made in the USA with a 1-year limited warranty. Kenco's ML12000 Multilift and ML12K14T88V1, both listed for grip-range lifting, sit alongside the KL30000 and KL40000 barrier lifts, the KLDL14K8T9 double barrier lifter and the MG12000 Rocklift grapple. Yard and dock items round the group out, including the Ballymore PLDPLUS powered portable loading dock with a 47-inch by 75-inch platform and 1,500 lbs capacity, and the Star Industries 1530 concrete hopper with side chute at 1.96 cubic yards.

Matching the Attachment to the Carrier and the Budget

Three checks prevent most bad purchases. First, the mount: plate style, pin diameter and coupler type have to match the carrier, and adapters add weight and stack tolerances. Second, the hydraulics: powered attachments need the flow, pressure and circuit type the carrier publishes, and a mismatch shows up as slow cycles and heat rather than a clean failure. Third, the capacity math: attachment weight plus load, at the actual load center, checked against the machine's chart and not against the attachment rating alone. Listed prices in this collection run from $1,371 to $51,443, so the gap between a mechanical device and a powered one is real money — weigh it against cycle time, crew size and how many hours a week the attachment will actually run. Operator training and a documented inspection routine belong in the budget too.