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So I have this beast of a 1963 forklift that says it weighs ~13,760 pounds. It has a six cylinder gas engine and a hydraulic leak that isn't too terrible.
The problem is that the "traction" comes from solid front tires and my property is quite sandy. Getting stuck is a pretty common occurrence.
This forklift gets used a couple times/year. Not in a position to buy pneumatic front tires with good tread. They are quite expensive and solid tires are preferable in many ways.
Figuring that I can apply a chainsaw to the 5" of solid rubber and fiber and get some needed traction. Thought someone here might know a good cut for traction on sand. Keep in mind that I am not a lazer.
Why ask here? The folks in this section tend to have more real world knowledge and common sense than the sports and movie fans...I think.
May be interesting to see HiWY pontificate on the history and applications of warehouse versus rough terrain forklifts. While citing his books regarding forklifts.
Keep in mind...I may be asset rich but definitely income poor.
TLDR: good chainsaw pattern on solid tires for traction on sand?
Could you just get some tire chains that fit the tires?
I once saw a guy cut tires using a grinder with a burr blade. Get a face mask as you'll be covered in hot rubber. Or maybe a little high powered rotozip? May be a little more accurate than a chainsaw and you won't have to compromise your nice saw.
I would stick to the traditional V-Type agricultural style pattern if I was doing this.
May be interesting to see HiWY pontificate on the history and applications of warehouse versus rough terrain forklifts. While citing his books regarding forklifts.
Naw...he'd just tell us about the "oyster fork-lift"!
But it sounds to me like a dandy way to ruin the chain on your saw! Go for it!!!
On sand you want to spread the surface area to give you better traction.
Rather than cutting into the tire I might first start by screwing some cheap dimensional lumber onto the surface extending the boards perhaps 6 inches total over the width of the tires. Essentially extended 3 inches on each side of the tire provided that the turn radius isn't compromised.
I figured the same thing regarding the chains. Bought a nice set. It didn't seem to help which was quite surprising. What the chains did was allow the forklift tires to dig themselves a nice hole and get really stuck.
A chainsaw would allow expedient removal of a lot of material.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.7traveler
Could you just get some tire chains that fit the tires?
I once saw a guy cut tires using a grinder with a burr blade. Get a face mask as you'll be covered in hot rubber. Or maybe a little high powered rotozip? May be a little more accurate than a chainsaw and you won't have to compromise your nice saw.
I would stick to the traditional V-Type agricultural style pattern if I was doing this.
Way back when -- our neighbors had some boggy bottom land that they would brush hog and do some logging on. They were prone to getting stuck with their regular tractor tires so they would go find some very used larger tires (obtained for next to nothing), cut most of the sidewall out and put the larger tires over the smaller ones. I must say it worked surprisingly well.
Yes...I was pretty concerned about the deep cracks on my very old backhoes tires so I bought a replacement $et thinking the same thing about using the tread of the old backhoe tires.
Then a real experienced backhoe guy seen my old tires and said "They always look like that. Those tires are good."
Now I am reluctant to put on the new tires so they can deteriorate like the old tires. The sun is intense up here in the Colorado mountains. For one thing.....the backhoe quit starting the day that I ordered new tires. One of my 333 projects that are cued up. Seems like knocking down one project creates two more projects.
Maybe I should get a tire changer. Running to town for tire work gets....well....tire$ome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grampaTom
Way back when -- our neighbors had some boggy bottom land that they would brush hog and do some logging on. They were prone to getting stuck with their regular tractor tires so they would go find some very used larger tires (obtained for next to nothing), cut most of the sidewall out and put the larger tires over the smaller ones. I must say it worked surprisingly well.
GrandpaTom's suggestion is an interesting one: sounds like you're basically turning the wheeled vehicle into a poor man's tracked vehicle.
I'd worry about cutting into the solids to make "treads." Those treads won't have much material to support them and might just shear off when placed under strain.
No real-world experience with this, but offhand if tire chains don't work, I don't see how cutting a pattern into the tires would work any better than the chains.
I do agree that this would probably ruin your chainsaw chain in short order though.
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