Loader

Mith

Active member
Well, I got the loader I am building operational. Still got a few bits and bobs to do, upgrade a few hydraulic lines, welding, painting, and making some buckets and forks. But it lifts, dumps and generally works!

Good fun too, spend a good 15 minutes crushing stuff with it :mrgreen: Pushed a small tree over.

Lifts over 6', it'll probably lift 500+lb, but I haven't tried it yet (welding not finished, I was taking it pretty easy).

I can see why you guys rave about how great a loader is. Great fun!
 

Attachments

  • 18-06-07_1723.jpg
    18-06-07_1723.jpg
    38.2 KB · Views: 75
  • 18-06-07_1811.jpg
    18-06-07_1811.jpg
    39.5 KB · Views: 73

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Awesome Mith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice Job!!!!! :beer: :beer:

Your fun has just begun. :D
 

Mith

Active member
Thanks guys

Jim, the only other pics are of building it. I'll snag some more of it working when its all welded and painted.
 

Mith

Active member
Got it completed today. Tried it out by ripping out a dead tree from the front garden. I was surprised in that it just pulled it straight out, didn't even put up a fight!
Boy this loader thing is good fun :D
Need some more weight though.....

15-07-07_1400.jpg
 

Jim_S

Super Moderator
SUPER Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Need some more weight though.....

LOOKS GREAT!

I don't have a weight box so I leave my box blade on the back. It's the shortest heavy implement I have.

Jim
 

Mith

Active member
Thanks guys

Jim, I was going to load the tyres, if that isn't enough I'll find some steel plate to bolt on. The tractor has no implement lift on the back unfortunately.

PB, yep, the yellow is a keeper, I like the colour :D Eventually I'll finish painting the tractor black too. Should look good, yellow and black, and the pikeys wont be so keen on stealing it.
 

Mark777

Member
Mith,

I've been following your loader (and ROPS) posts for quite a long while. I am very impressed with the design and engineering. Looks every bit as good as any of the big FEL manufacturers IMO.

Mark


...and who was it that said "Youth is Wasted on the Young" ??
 

Mark777

Member
Mith, If I may express a few concerns?

This is the same tractor I saw you build a full sub-frame for on your web-site right?

Your vertical towers are positioned further back than any others I've seen. This just has to be due to utilizing the absolute center of gravity in balancing (distributing) the front load and a short wheel base power plant...correct? And if so, do you find accessing and egress cumbersome to the operator platform?

Now, I did see you build a full ROPS for this tractor didn't I? I would estimate the future bucket attachment at 36" to 42" wide (approximately)?

.........I think you see where I'm going with this......

IMHO, you need the ROPS to be a FOPS...or at minimum a light but structurally reinforced canopy that will protect you from bouncing rocks off your 'noggin....or heaven forbid, an end-over or full roll over. Honestly I'd hate to see you hurt (or worse).

I must say though, I'm re-inspired by your designs and would like to use many of your ideas along with the 'Frey Loader' that uses 90° loader arms. Their (Frey) design puts the bucket only inches from the front wheels/tires.

Again, very, VERY nice job Mith.

Mark
 

Mith

Active member
Mark, no, it isnt the same tractor that I built the full sub frame for. I stopped building the loader on that tractor, and built it on this one instead as this tractor is stronger.

Yes, the vertical towers are further back, for 3 reasons, first it lets me put in longer rams, so they are at a better angle and it can lift far more, and also I can put in longer arms giving me the better lift height, and also, as you say, the load is closer in, meaning that I don't need much rear weight (I can lift a full bucket with no rear weight, the weight is just needed for better traction).
Getting on and off isn't too bad, the hardest bit is lifting your leg over the transmission tunnel, which I haven't changed.

Yes, I built a roll bar, ROPS I'm not sure, as I never finished bracing it properly to be safe in a roll over. As you suggest a FOPS is in the future. I installed the mounts at the front under the bonnet, just haven't built the bars going from it to the roll bar yet, its on my to-do list. I'll put mesh on the front to stop logs dropping over the bucket into my lap :D
Bucket is 40" wide. Seeing how it handles that I may make a 56" one for lighter materials too.

Surprisingly I think I am more likely to roll over backwards than forwards, at full lift height the tractor is very light on the front with nothing in the bucket. Either way, a FOPS is the way to go. no only in case of roll over, but also its nice to keep branches out of my face.

Got any pics of the 'Frey Loader'? I'd be interested to see how they manage to keep the bucket so close to the wheels, but also keep it far enough away at full lift to allow for dumping into a pick-up for example.

There certainly is alot to think about designing a loader. Very hard to get it perfect, over a compromise.
My loader could do with a little more roll back on the bucket. I should have worked on the geometry for that a little longer. I'm very happy with the arms though.

Thanks again

I'll attach 2 pics, the first is the mounting for a FOPS that I installed, it goes down on a post and attaches to the chassis. The second is a mockup I did a while back with some scrap and drew on it on the computer to see what it would be like.
 

Attachments

  • 13-05-07_1510.jpg
    13-05-07_1510.jpg
    34.2 KB · Views: 47
  • 02-05-07_1920.jpg
    02-05-07_1920.jpg
    29.9 KB · Views: 48

Mark777

Member
Here you go Mith!

Buck Bond, who is the owner of EFC construction, is a VERY large dealer of gray market tractors. He also designs and builds his own mounting platform and hardware to accompany the 'Frey' manufactured loaders. I should include that Buck is an honest dealer with impeccable references...so anyone in the PNW who is considering a tractor (with a three year warranty!!!) would do well to look at his product. (www.efcconstruction.com)

I should also add that I had another picture of his Frey conversion on a Shibaura 4WD (I think) and can't find it. The loader is much closer to the front axle. He does have the option to build his loader mounts in any position he desires.

If you haven't noticed already, the loader arms are nearly 90° rather than the casual 45° most other manufacturers build. The lengthy and obvious position of the dump/curl front rams are a dead give-away.

Mark
 

Attachments

  • Frey Loader.jpg
    Frey Loader.jpg
    76.1 KB · Views: 58

Mith

Active member
That's a pretty interesting design, very compact.
2 thoughts on it, lift height mill be limited (but it may still be a decent height) and also that the angle of the bucket curl rams will mean that there isn't much curl power on the bucket when it is curled back like in the picture.
But he's fitted some decent rams in there, and the loader sits in front of the operator platform, that's a major plus.

From the research I did, the 'common' angle for the loader arms is about 140 degrees, mine are at 120, and that looks like 90-100 degrees.
I'll bet that loader has an awful lot of lift capacity, and doesn't need much rear weight.
 

Mark777

Member
That's a pretty interesting design, very compact........

From the research I did, the 'common' angle for the loader arms is about 140 degrees, mine are at 120, and that looks like 90-100 degrees.

Typo...I keep entering 45° when I mean to enter 145° :< .
 
Top