3 pt hitch manure loaders

How high will one lift?

Are they worthless?

: How high will one lift?

: Are they worthless?

Greg: They are definitely not worthless. I still have a Forano rear end loader from the days when I was starting farming and did not have the bucks for a front end loader or at least the loader I wanted. I feel it was ahead of the Howard in that there were no extra hydraulics and it lifted about six and a half feet high. I still have a brochure for the Howard and it went about a foot higher with an assist ram. I used it on a Leyland 255 (rough equivalent of a Massey 65 for size and power) loading a 100 bushel Schultz spreader and it would load the spreader to overfull. I loaded all the manure from 500 hogs for two years and it worked fine. Looking backwards was a real bore, though and when we expanded our operation we got a front end loader. If you have a limited amount to do, and don't need huge capacity, they are great. Most people will sneer at them and call them toys, but mine cost 250 bucks nearly new, loaded manure for two years and didn't cost a dime for repairs. I would definitely do it again. Tom.

How long ago did you buy yours? The Howard and Knight loaders that this dealer has have set out a while and are faded and starting to rust a little and he wants $900 (USA dollars).

Both use a single acting cylinder to lift the boom that the manure trip bucket is attached to. Did the Forano use any cylinders or was it strictly from the lift of the 3 pt hitch? The dealer said that both brands were rated for 1750 lbs. Did the Forano have a similiar rating?

: How long ago did you buy yours? The Howard and Knight loaders that this dealer has have set out a while and are faded and starting to rust a little and he wants $900 (USA dollars).

: Both use a single acting cylinder to lift the boom that the manure trip bucket is attached to. Did the Forano use any cylinders or was it strictly from the lift of the 3 pt hitch? The dealer said that both brands were rated for 1750 lbs. Did the Forano have a similiar rating?

Greg: The Forano had no extra lift cylinder and I bought it 18 years ago. As far as lift rating, when I first got it I shoved the tines into the manure pile, pulled the hitch all the way up, the loader stayed in the pile, and the tractor front reached for the sky. I accidentally dumped the clutch, the tractor jumped in reverse, the loader pulled a huge wad out of the pile, the front end of the tractor crashed back down, the wad of manure was catapulted about ten feet in the air and came down on top of me. My Dad was standing there watching all this, including the wad of ___ that went up and came down, he carefully walked over to a wood block sitting on the ground, sat on it, then fell over laughing on the ground. I never ever worried about the lift capacity or durability of this thing. Tom