Front Loader from a Ford Truck

[MossRoad]

Now I'm thinking my old IH2500b may have had a dump pedal. Now I'll have to go and dig the books out and check....

 

[MossRoad]

Yep, there was a dump pedal behind my left heel.

 

[texasranger556]

My 4400 HST has no clutch, the starter spins both gear pumps and the hydro pump. It always starts although it rarely gets below 20 F here.

 

[nimblemotors]

I replaced the starter and tried to get the engine running. The solenoid was bad too, and replaced that. The fuel pump wasn't working, so I wired it directly,
and discovered the fuel line was spraying everywhere. Seems a dog had chewed on it, so fixed that, but still not running. Had spark, starting fluid got it to run a bit.
Was going to check if the injectors were working, but then I found what looks like my mistake with the cutoff tool I cut all the wires to the ECM. Oops.

So decided to just move on and get running after I reconfigure it. So stripped the cab down and removed it from the frame and cut it in half, and got it mounted
onto the frame to see how far the rearend can be moved inward. Here is a pic of that mockup. So the leaf spring mount works great to put the leaf spring plate on after
I cut it up sufficiently. That was all mocked up, now ready to weld it and get the rearend back on, shorten the driveshaft.

Next up I will go back to getting the engine to run and fix all the broken wires. I was hoping to just trim back all I don't need while it was running, but now I'm going to need
a wiring diagram and wire up just what I need to make it run. These older vehicles have simpler EFI systems, so shouldn't be so hard.

 

[MossRoad]

I replaced the starter and tried to get the engine running. The solenoid was bad too, and replaced that. The fuel pump wasn't working, so I wired it directly,
and discovered the fuel line was spraying everywhere. Seems a dog had chewed on it, so fixed that, but still not running. Had spark, starting fluid got it to run a bit.
Was going to check if the injectors were working, but then I found what looks like my mistake with the cutoff tool I cut all the wires to the ECM. Oops.

So decided to just move on and get running after I reconfigure it. So stripped the cab down and removed it from the frame and cut it in half, and got it mounted
onto the frame to see how far the rearend can be moved inward. Here is a pic of that mockup. So the leaf spring mount works great to put the leaf spring plate on after
I cut it up sufficiently. That was all mocked up, now ready to weld it and get the rearend back on, shorten the driveshaft.

Next up I will go back to getting the engine to run and fix all the broken wires. I was hoping to just trim back all I don't need while it was running, but now I'm going to need
a wiring diagram and wire up just what I need to make it run. These older vehicles have simpler EFI systems, so shouldn't be so hard.

View attachment 578118

Too bad it won't go fast in the direction the cab is facing. That has awesome profile for an off-road buggy! :thumbsup:

 

[Xfaxman]

:thumbsup: thanks for the update and good luck.

 

[nimblemotors]

Here it is with the frame cut and axle attached. Got the driveshaft shortened. Going to mount the fuel tank
in the back, and work on wiring to get engine running.

 

[nimblemotors]

Bought a couple used W8-15 beams, will use one for the loader boom. Specs say at 18ft long it handles 10,000lbs uniform load, so should do 4,000lbs no problem at shorter distance point load,
but i didn't do the math on it. Also getting some big 1/4 plate pieces cheap for reinforcements,etc, and make a bucket out of it too I think.
About to order the hydraulics from surpluscenter, want to get them ordered as it will take a while to arrive. What I'm wondering is how to make the bearing/pivots, where
to find the materials, bushing and rods, suggestions?



Also wanted to share the little trailer I made for a couple hundred bucks out of the truck bed. So the $50 for the truck well worth it just for the trailer bit.

 

[nimblemotors]

Got the sheet steel, was only 1/8 thick, but that is ok. He also gave me other metal, but what i'm wondering is if I can use the kingpins on this 60's F100 truck as pivots for the loader bucket.
They seem to have been redone sometime recently, and have grease fittings on them, 3/4 pins. Strong enough with two of them?

 

[Xfaxman]

Plenty strong, even too strong and heavy, but why waste a good axle?

 

[nimblemotors]

Plenty strong, even too strong and heavy, but why waste a good axle?

I wouldn't call it wasted, it WAS being wasted sitting in a shed for 10 years. The guy had a lot of old trucks, so he would
have kept it if was needed/valuable. He gave me a trailer with another drop axle, get this, they WELDED the wheels to the axle. lol

So I ordered some 2in pins and bushings from mcmaster-carr for the boom pivot, they have almost everything on that website, but not surplus/junkpile/cheap at $200ish,

 

[nimblemotors]

My $1200 order of hydraulic parts should arrive on monday.
However, now I have been thinking of trying to build a smaller machine, more like a mini-skidsteer kind of machine.
I used one a few weeks ago, and just renting one this weekend to skim off dirt and spread gravel.
My thinking is I would be able to rent it easier if it was smaller. The 3ft wide feature makes it fit in tight spaces,
even though I don't particularly need this feature myself, a renter probably would.

I don't like the skidsteer drive, the work I did a few weeks ago, the tracks left skid marks all over the customers concrete driveway, he was not happy with that,
and today the skids digup the soft ground I'm working on pretty badly. So I'm thinking a different design would be better, one with rear wheels that pivot full rotation.
The truck steering can't do that.

What do you all think? BTW, I am planning to do a youtube series on building this thing, seems that is the way of the world now. lol

 

[aczlan]

So you want to build this and rent it out? Talk to your insurance broker first, you will need to see how much they will charge you to cover your liability in case one of your welds breaks and your renter's house loses a wall.

Aaron Z

 

[4570Man]

I’d never rent a real skid steer or any other equipment. Renting a homemade piece is a sure enough terrible idea imo.

 

[rScotty]

So you want to build this and rent it out? Talk to your insurance broker first, you will need to see how much they will charge you to cover your liability in case one of your welds breaks and your renter's house loses a wall.
Aaron Z

That may have something to do with where you live and what the local philosophies are there. Your concern seems a foreign and somewhat strange worry to me. .... or maybe it is generational.

All I know is that when and where I grew up you you couldn't avoid homebuilt and owner-repaired equipment. Heavy equipment of any kind is inherently dangerous. Anyone using any kind of power equipment was aware of the possibilities. It is up to the user to evaluate his own risk.
Otherwise no small farmer or contractor could get much accomplished.
I'd like to think that philosophy is still common.

OTOH, I am very careful who I lend equipment to - and I certainly wouldn't rent it out. But that has more to do with how I want it treated than any legalities.
rScotty

 

[texasranger556]

IMO, if you continue with the build, build it do what you want/need it to do. Use, break, fix, re-design, repeat. Then if you have close friends or family that have similar needs you could rent it to them, or what I would do is offer to perform the work because your limited budget is going to lead to compromises in safety, reliability, and intuitive operation that equipment manufacturers spend a lot of time and money developing.

 

[nimblemotors]

I agree renting would be much better served buying equipment, almost bought an old Gravely small skidsteer with a trencher and auger attachments at $8k.
The Boxer I rented was brand new, this place nearby is now getting into renting equipment, as the local homedepot stopped their renting operation,
so there isn't anything close by. The boxer on high-speed is dangerous! The controls should self-feather, you can whip it around and kill yourself.

Probably just continue with the truck, however, I did find the front u-joints are toast, axle broken one side, and one hub (maybe both) are toast. Hey, it was $50, not complaining, but the parts are not so easy to find now. I could remove the hydraulics later if I want to build something different.

 

[MossRoad]

If you build it and rent it out, you're nuts. You're taking on a HUGE liability. I doubt you'd be able to get insurance. Now if you hired out your services and used your homemade machine yourself, that's a different scenario. But you still better have good insurance.

 

[LD1]

This whole thread is nuts. I thought the idea of making a loader with a Ford ranger power train was crazy....but though....could be done if someone really has nothing better to do.

But now the notion of wanting to build it so it can be rented....just nuts

 

[4570Man]

This whole thread is nuts. I thought the idea of making a loader with a Ford ranger power train was crazy....but though....could be done if someone really has nothing better to do.

But now the notion of wanting to build it so it can be rented....just nuts

That’s exactly what I thought although I originally kept the negative thoughts to myself.