Reinforcing top of loader bucket to add tow hooks

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I want to put some hooks on the top of the loader bucket on my compact tractor so I can secure a rope, strap or chain if I need to. The metal there doesn't look the heaviest, though it is made with a radius curving downward to help it some. Even with that, I'm planning on bending some plate steel to match the radius of the bucket there and then weld it to the inside before I attach the hooks. My plan is to weld a solid bead all the way around the four sides of the new reinforcing plate so as to avoid any gaps being homes for dirt and moisture which could lead to premature rusting. Am I thinking of this right here? Then I'd either weld or bolt big loop hooks on either end and in the middle with a couple of clevis chain hooks midway between the ends and the middle hook. I figure that way anything I'd want to do I could from about any position.

The good news is that with the arc or radius downward at the top of the bucket, it'll avoid contact with any sharp edge if I'm using rope or a strap. While I want hooks near either end I'd never use just one near one end so as not to twist or torque the loader frame. My thought was by having one near either end I could use both ends together when I need a wider 'base' for lifting things like a fuel tank or big toolbox into the bed of the truck. Any thoughts on how I'm planning on doing this or another way to go about it now before I get started?

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), January 20, 2002

Answers

Thats an area where too much is allmost enough, grind the back of the hooks flat to widen the distance of the beads. For added strength drill a button hole where you are going to mount the hooks, fill it in last. Weld with layers, don't scorch it in, that makes it weaker; cover with paint (zinc based) as soon as you chip off the slag.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 20, 2002.

why not just drill boly and weld some hooks to the sides of the bucket,, nea r the top edge, so the joint adds strentgh to it as well?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 20, 2002.

I have a chain in my bucket. Will try to explain.I use a 3/4 inch chain.I drilled a hole almost as high as I could go on each side of the bucket.,Hole needs to be big enough to go through the hole of the chain. Chain needs to be the correct lengh.Mine goes from the top,hangs down a couple inches in the middle,back up to the top.Put the bolts through the holes of the chain.Use the last link on both sides. This way you can use a bigger bolt.I use a an object that is used in the works to run the chocker chains through. I should know the name,I use these myself. I use two of these.It lets me move it from side to side and I can adjust the other chain that I'm hooking up too.I've been using this for 8 years and it works super.The Farm Chesterville,Me

-- Ray Chesterville,Me (thecfarm@midmaine.com), January 20, 2002.

Before you bolt them to the top of theloader, weld a plate about quarter inch thick and at least a foot long and abut the width of the hook base to the back of the bucked. Drill through the whole thickness. Do the same for the front only cut out a notch to go around the base of the hook and weld it on after the hook is bolted in. If you want, now run a bead around the base of the hook too. Works every time.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will II (owill@mail.whittier.edu), January 21, 2002.


Be careful when you're welding a piece that long. Take it kinda slow and weld long tacks at different points along the piece. If you don't do this you run the risk of warping something.

As an aside, I did something similar to my bucket but my machine is an industrial duty machine so no reinforcement was needed but I did get set up for forks on my bucket too. To do that I welded a full length piece of heavy gauge 2" angle iron along the top edge of the bucket. I made the forks out of channel iron with a slip-on clip that fit over the angle iron. Gravity keeps it in place. My loader is rated for 5900 lbs and have hauled cars around with the forks so they seem to be strong enuf.

-- john (natlivent@pcpros.net), January 21, 2002.



Gary: I'd never use just one near one end so as not to twist or torque the loader frame.

Yup. We've all said something like this, haven't we? Takes what, maybe a whole week, before we are using just one side.... ;)

Sounds like you are on the right track. Sometimes these new specially formulated metals weld kinda odd these days, not like old-fashioned steel, but should work out fine for you.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), January 21, 2002.


I have a full length piece of channel iron sized to fit the top of the loader bucket stitch welded (prevents heat warp) with the flat side up, then welded the chain hook to it in the center. Works well for stabilizing loads in the bucket and on forks, light lifting and such. Keep yourself on level ground. Overturn potential is very high. Better still go out and purchase a boom pole to fit the 3 point. Pay attention to the hook load ratings and then use sense. Just look at the way the two lifting options are counterbalanced by your equipment weight and the center of gravity of the attachment and you will use the pole frequently.

-- Doug Steiner (steinerd@mwaa.com), March 18, 2002.

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