Skip to content
À LA PELLE, the specialist in hydraulic excavator attachments
01 84 16 55 49 · enquiries and quotes, 7 days a week, 7h–22h01 84 16 55 50 · local authorities and public bodies
Who is Arnaud Dufour
EN

The site is written in French.
The languages marked here are translated by us:
the French version prevails.

Français Русский English Italiano Deutsch Español
Handling and lifting

Pallet forks and lifting hook

On the left, the forks bring the pallet where a forklift truck cannot go. On the right, the hook with its safety catch slings a pipe or a precast manhole. Computer-generated image.
Left: the forks bring the pallet where a forklift truck cannot go. Right: the hook with its safety catch slings a pipe or a precast manhole. Computer-generated image.

Two simple tools, with no hydraulics, that turn the excavator into a handling machine.
And two tools where the regulations count for more than the technique.

Other names for these tools: handling forks, fork carrier frame, pallet forks, kerb grabs.
For lifting:
lifting hook, lifting ring, lifting eye, safety-catch hook.

The essentials
Family
Handling and lifting
Classes (t)
2 to 31 t
Coupler
All, by plate
Power source
None — passive tool
Framework
Lifting regulations

The lifting rules →

01 Use

What they are for

On the left, the forks bring the pallet where a forklift truck cannot go. On the right, the hook with its safety catch slings a pipe or a precast manhole. Computer-generated image.
the forks bring the pallet where a forklift truck cannot go the hook with its safety catch slings a pipe or a precast manhole
Left: the forks bring the pallet where a forklift truck cannot go.
Right: the hook with its safety catch slings a pipe or a precast manhole.
What sets them apart:
they bring the load where a forklift truck will not go — but they change the nature of the work.
Computer-generated image.

The forks take up a palletised load and bring it where a forklift truck will not go:
soft ground, a slope, the bottom of an excavation.
On a worksite with no dedicated handling machine, the excavator does the work.

The hook, for its part, is used to sling:
a pipe section, a precast chamber, a formwork element.
It carries a safety catch that stops the sling jumping off, and it is marked with its maximum working load.

These tools tip the worksite into the framework of lifting, and that is not a formality. The machine must be equipped for lifting — not all of them are, including recent ones.
The periodic general inspections apply.
And the permissible load is read on the manufacturer's load chart, never on the tool alone. See the lifting section.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

They exist for machines from 6 to 31 t.
They attach to all quick couplers, via a mounting plate, or directly on the pins.

What the tool does

They are used to handle pallets and lift loads.
For example, for forks of 1 200 mm: lifting capacity from 1 800 to 9 000 kg, width from 1 500 to 2 000 mm.
Their use falls under lifting regulations.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

They need no hydraulic connection.

Figures taken from 9 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model, the heaviest load and the reach at which you have to hold it.
With these tools, the study bears as much on conformity as on the equipment.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Not to be confused
  • Lifting hook Principle — a single piece: the marked slinging point with a safety catch, on the tool, on the coupler or at the end of the dipper arm.
    Use — its page shows how the position of the hook changes what the machine can lift.
  • Pallet fork and loader carriage Principle — the same fork carriage, coupled to a farm loader, a telehandler or a tractor.
    Use — it does not fit on an excavator; it turns the loader into a forklift for the pallet, the crate or the bale.
Mini-excavator fitted with a fork carriage, carrying a strapped pallet of concrete blocks on a worksite
The pallet is strapped, and that is the detail that counts:
carrying is not lifting. As soon as a load is suspended, it is the rules of lifting that apply, not those of earthmoving.
Synthetic image.
A site telehandler, wheels sunk into the mud, forks loaded with a pallet of concrete blocks and bags, on waterlogged ground.
The same work, done by a machine built for it.
On bearing ground, a telehandler goes faster and higher:
forks on an excavator serve where the telehandler cannot get through, or when there is none on the site.
Synthetic image.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

  • 01 — The real load to be handled Not the tool's maximum load:
    that of your pallets or your elements, at their heaviest.
  • 02 — The reach at which you work This is the decisive point.
    An excavator's permissible load falls off with reach:
    a load held close to the machine and the same load at full arm's stretch have nothing in common.
  • 03 — The spacing and length of the forks They follow the format of the pallets or the loads.
    An adjustable spacing covers several formats.
  • 04 — Marking and traceability A hook not marked with its maximum load cannot be used for lifting.
    This is not a preference, it is a condition.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • That the machine is equipped for lifting This is the first check, and it can cancel the project.
    It is made on the machine's documentation.
  • The load chart, at the real working reach And not the maximum load stated without condition.
  • The periodic general inspections They apply to lifting appliances and accessories, under the conditions set by the French order of 1 March 2004.
  • The marking of the accessory Maximum working load, presence of the safety catch, identification.
  • The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
In the same family
The regulatory framework
On the interface
To go further
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos