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[email protected]

With the size of these pumpkins getting increasingly bigger, I think sites and clubs really need to evaluate the equipment they are using to get the fruit unloaded and weighed. I know it took quite some time for us to get a couple fruit unloaded. Forklifts undersized forks too short, lifting apparatuses under rated. Last thing we need is someone getting hurt or damaging someone's pumpkins

10/9/2018 11:57:05 AM

Westmoreland, KS

Agreed but getting the equipment could be an issue for some of the smaller clubs. Especially when a monster pumpkin shows up out of the blue.

10/9/2018 1:04:32 PM

[email protected]

Agreed and we didn't even think about this until we showed up at the site and ran into issues.

10/9/2018 1:25:04 PM

Anoka, MN

Excavator/ track hoe is the way to go. No better option. We have a mid size track hoe, skid loader with forks and pallet jack provided by the city of Anoka. Kyle Davis' king ring is plenty stout and if our excavator isn't big enough we have access to a larger one. If a weight site can not provide safe options they need to think about if they should be hosting a event or not. Maybe gpc should have rules or guidelines on this topic. "Safe lifting and moving practices"
As far as I know Anoka was first to use excavator and it is the future of pumpkin lifting.

Just my 2cents

-Tony

10/9/2018 2:03:03 PM

Cheshire Ma USA

A “Lull” type fork lift would be a great option. All wheel drive, 4 wheel steering, all terrain and able to extend into an enclosed trailer. Many masonry contractors have them

10/9/2018 2:39:31 PM

Bloomington, IN USA

It depends on the size of your excavator.
I have a friend that has a Bobcat excavator & he offered to lift my AG with it.
I accepted his offer because it was the biggest one I have ever had (weighed 1468 lb) but we nearly had a disaster.
He did not get very close to the punkin & when he started lifting, the excavator started tipping toward the fruit.
He hurriedly let it down (Ok, it basically fell about 9” I would say) & then the bucket struck the lifting ring which struck the top of the Pumpkin which fortunately had a folded up blanket on it.
We were amazed that it was undamaged.
He moved the excavator, lifted & we slipped the trailer under it.
Of course, we also had 3/4” of rain 1 hour prior to the lift which made things sloppy.
Undoubtedly, an inexperienced operator was a major factor.
Way too much excitement, should have just gone with the old reliable lifting tripod!

10/9/2018 2:47:30 PM

Bloomington, IN USA

Sorry, just realized my story has to do with the lift at home and doesn’t really apply to the original post.
At the Fair Oaks weighoff we did have a really excellent Lull-type forklift that worked very well.
It was a huge improvement from the tractor with a forklift attachment that we had at that site the year before.

10/9/2018 2:58:59 PM

Bristol,RI,USA.

At the SNGPG weighoff we use skid steers with forks and they are more than enough and should be great out to 3500lbs

10/9/2018 4:03:00 PM

[email protected]

Materdoc this is about at home TOO
We have our weigh off inside an arena on cement so an excavator is not an option.
I have a T190 track bobcat and we were at max with mine.

10/9/2018 4:10:24 PM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

Because of the facility for the weigh-off in Anamosa, I don't see how they could use anything but a standard forklift. This year, they did have to remove the rack from the top of the lift so it didn't hit the top of the doorway. As long as they have enough lifting rings to get pumpkins rigged ahead of time, it works just fine. Even for the monsters that come from Wisconsin. It is a great place for the event, out of the weather, great kitchen, seating and restroom facilities. It is a whole community celebration with a parade, vendors and all kinds of activities along main street and other parts of town

Sheriff Davis at Bloomfield had 3 scales going for his weigh-off. One for the giant pumpkins, and bushel gourds, one for the field pumpkins and watermelons and a small one for tomatoes. That seemed to speed up the process. He also had a forklift and a skid loader going. His event was held in a big building on the fairgrounds. It is turning into a big event for the town. They had a car show and other activities going on the courthouse square this year.

10/9/2018 6:01:36 PM

Anoka, MN

Eddy,
The Kubota kx80 excavator we use should be capable of 3k before we need get nervous and has rubber tracks. We could probably pick close to 5k by moving pumpkin and hoe closer to scale but that would be pushing the limits. A T190 is great for moving pallets and can probably move a few thousand around close to the ground but is only rated at 1900 #s to the top, and the distance of the ring and straps and you lose quite a bit of leverage. I know not every weigh off can have the perfect equipment but they should research the capabilities of their units keeping in mind you will loose leverage in certain situation. It's a mater of safety for everyone including the pumpkin. Or what if someone travels some distance to get to an event only to have their pumpkin not get weighed, damage to their vehicle or worse a injury. Just something to think about.

With all this being said....in my opinion the cap on pumpkin weights will not be genetic limitation, structural integrity of fruit or anything else along those lines.....it will be when the common backyard gardener has no means to bring their pumpkin to a weigh off, but if the prize money is there they have the means to rent proper equipment.

10/9/2018 8:29:27 PM

Anoka, MN

As for the telehandlers (lull style forklift) they are a great option. Easier To operate, more affordable, several sizes of lifting capabilities and has the reach if needed. They have a lower cab height and more likely to fit indoors. However there is downsides too.... More movement of equipment around ground men. They also need quite a bit of room to move. The less movement of heavy equipment is always better. Especially when around people who are unfamiliar. You could stage the telehandler in one spot and have a skid loader or other means bring the pallet/pumpkin to the work area.
With a skid loader, tractor, telehandler, gantry or whatever you are limited to working with one pumpkin at a time. With a excavator you can stage as many pumpkins as you have rings for to speed up weighing if there is many entries.

10/9/2018 8:46:13 PM

stoughton WI

at quite a few weigh offs they have small areas with large numbers of pumpkin, which prohibits movement with a boom type loader. what would be more ideal,would be fork extensions.some weigh offs have these already. for the larger sized pumpkins we are getting these days.

10/9/2018 9:17:51 PM

Grittyville, WA

Maybe there could be padding placed between the forklift and the pumpkin. Easier than a total overhaul. The farther out the load is carried the lower the weight it can handle before the whole forklift tips forward.

10/9/2018 9:47:41 PM

Anoka, MN

Why didn't we think of this earlier....we can use drones!

-Tony

10/9/2018 11:32:17 PM

Syracuse, NY

i'm half-alseep, but what about lifting the pumpkins right AT the grower's trailer, straight up, no more taking it off the trailer, placing it on the scale and then putting it on display for a few hours, then doing that all over again? trust me, i am in no weigh in any need of any different weighing techniques, that's for sure, but all accepted practices were IDEAS to begin with----eg

10/10/2018 1:48:47 AM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

I have been to some weigh-offs where they unload all the pumpkins first, them weigh them one at a time. In Anamosa, we can't have the forklift doing that much running around on the community center floor. They take them straight from the truck/trailer to the scale. If they are small enough, the high school wrestling team uses a pallet jack to move them from the scale to the display. They weigh them in he order they arrive. Since the top 4 ride on the parade float, thru have to display them so they can get the top 4 out without too much juggling. We are fortunate in that the wrestling team shows up to provide the muscle to get the field pumpkins and watermelons to the scale, and they rig up the giants for lifting, with supervision from experienced people. The local REC provides the forklift and parade float, John Dirks the Pumpkin Master runs the forklift, a scale company donates the use of the scale. We have a person from the Iowa Division of Weights and Measures to certify the weights and and serve as announcer. He does the same job at Bloomfield and the state fair. It takes a big crew to pull it off.

10/10/2018 10:47:43 AM

Lloydminster/AB

Eddy, our supplier in town has a jcb tlt 35 lift. It has a telescopic boom and is still very small.https://www.jcb.com/en-us/products/teletruk/tlt-35d

10/10/2018 12:05:53 PM