So a while back I asked for input on building an unspooler. I got
both software {ideas} and hardware {steel} donations.

Here's an update. http://tinyurl.com/bigtoysformorephun

So the first plan was a clamp for the forklift tines, to hold
the axle. Powering this was a old York forklift. It loves to
stall, thus you need three feet, not two, on any slope, but.....

But the duct suppliers sabotaged me; both the 1.5" gray and
2" orange arrived on reels too large in diameter for the tine
length. We have fork extensions, but they eat into the spacing
such that the reels wouldn't fit in-between. %^&@#$%

So Plan B adapted an orphaned trailer of unknown parentage. It
has a 7" tall/5" wide I-beam, and a ~6" dia tongue. At some
point, it had a 1_7/8" ball receiver pasted on.

We added vertical 2" sq. stock with 3" dia. pipe couplings
holding the axle. We gusseted it with more 2" sq. stock, and
a few added pieces. {Care to guess we found lying around the
shop?}

The height was an issue. Bitten once, we wanted it big enough to
hold the largest reel we might get. But THAT was ~1" too tall
for the York to lift the reel over the vertical and drop it
down.

The first time, with the gray, we backed the trailer, straddling
the verticals around the reel; then lowered it into place. That
was very tricky considering the York's propensity to stall when
you most needed it.

So to swap to the orange, we flipped the trailer backwards,
rolled the reel out, and rolled the new one in. Then we flipped
the trailer down, carefully. We might have made the rear arms
shorter.

The third gadget was a trailer hitch bar for the Kubota. It
clamps onto its forks, and has 1_7/8", 2" and pintle ring
connections. Originally, we were going to use the pintle hook
adapter seen on the van; but that blocked the balls, and we
needed it on van. So we made a plate for a large clevis pin
that's not shown.

It does tend to slide off the forks, and we might add a arm to
the rear.

Added the photo array are some of the other toys around. The
flatbed is hardly stressed with that PVC pipe. The winch was
used to haul both the yellow trencher, and after it burnt a
valve or two, the rented RT45's, up the slopes. The bulldozer
was not needed, but there were times I'd have loved to have
driven it over the Midmark. Lastly, the IH 3840 would have been
a big help with its 27 ft reach, but it's in need of repairs. To
get some idea of the size of the beast, that's a portrait of
George Washington you can see.


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