Hooks on FEL Bucket

   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #81  
New tractor coming and I want hooks....any difference between weld-on and bolt-on...? Rather do bolt-on than have to pay a mobile welder....
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #82  
New tractor coming and I want hooks....any difference between weld-on and bolt-on...? Rather do bolt-on than have to pay a mobile welder....
Your dealer's service department could probably do it, if you prefer welded on
If you go with the bolt-on, you might want to add a doubler plate on the inside of your bucket
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #83  
Biggest difference would be how it spreads the load into the part of the bucket the hook is attached to. Lots of variables there. One good thing about bolts vs welds is sometimes things just 'look' welded but the weld is poor and sudden catastrophic failure of the weld is possible. If a bolt is going through a hole it isn't fooling you.. it's bolted and it's about as strong as it's gonna be. So a bolted connection is better than a POORLY welded connection.. but with good welding the welded hook is probably overall stronger as it will spread the load into the bucket over a larger/wider area rather than pulling up just on the areas right around the bolts.

In practical terms though the buckets strength where the hook is attached is going to be an issue way more often than whether it's bolted or welded.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #84  
What I did was to use a standard 3/8" hook that I modified to look like the special weld on ones and I then welded that hook onto a 3 x 4 solid plate* (1/4" flat) and then welded that plate onto my FEL bucket.
Total cost? $0.00 as I had a spare hook on hand.
That's probably 12 or more years ago and I shur have worked it often to the point of lifting my rear off the ground.

* thought was to spread the load.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #85  
New tractor coming and I want hooks....any difference between weld-on and bolt-on...? Rather do bolt-on than have to pay a mobile welder....
No welding required.... 2x2x1/4 angle iron, hacksaw, grinder, 'lectric drill....

slots-3-jpg.684517
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #86  
New tractor coming and I want hooks....any difference between weld-on and bolt-on...? Rather do bolt-on than have to pay a mobile welder....
You can just get a 1/4” piece of flat steel that is the length of the top of your bucket lip. Take that to a welding shop and have them attach hooks to the steel. Then drill and attach the bar to your bucket lip with grade 8 bolts. This is a better approach than just welding or bolting the hooks to your bucket because it strengthens the entire bucket lip. I actually used angle iron instead of flat bar, but either provides some additional strength.
 
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   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #87  
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #90  
Mine came with a single hook in the center of the bucket. Quite often I wish that I had two, especially when lifting things out of the back of the truck.
sometimes things just 'look' welded but the weld is poor and sudden catastrophic failure of the weld is possible.

You must have seen my welding skills. For that reason I'll be buying a pair of bolt on hooks, mounting them above the loader arms. My bucket is stout enough so that bending it is the least of my concerns, but I don't want a load that far out on my bucket.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #91  
As long as they're used the right way, bucket hooks can be pretty handy. I think anyone that thinks they convert their tractor to a tow truck should watch this.
His argument against hooks apply to just about every FEL use 🤣

The front axle load is easily addressed with proper rear ballast on the 3PH, which he doesn’t mention at all.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #92  
Personally, I wouldn't use the loader to tow or pull anything...that's what the drawbar is for. I would think pulling would put excessive strain on the bucket, bucket mounts (if a QA bucket) and the loader mounts
I do use it for lifting...more so then as a "loader"...using the bucket hooks or pallet forks, depending on what I'm lifting. My most recent use of the bucket hooks was pulling about a dozen fence posts. The pull was straight up.
Good point about using ballast on the rear...
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #95  
IF you need to tow something from front end.... Go right to tractor chassis. As my SCUT didn't have anything on front to attach to, solution was simple....

dsc02246-2-jpg.694616


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I agree with that. Like you said IF you need to tow from the front, that's seems a lot safer. Tractor time with Tim just did a video about weight on the front axle, using the loader. I would like to see how much pulling from the front changes the weight distribution. If the chain connection is at a point higher than the axle, in my simple mind, it has to increase the weight. Even with rear ballast.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #96  
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #97  
I agree with that. Like you said IF you need to tow from the front, that's seems a lot safer. Tractor time with Tim just did a video about weight on the front axle, using the loader. I would like to see how much pulling from the front changes the weight distribution. If the chain connection is at a point higher than the axle, in my simple mind, it has to increase the weight. Even with rear ballast.
I agree...but the rear axle is much more robust...and, as mentioned in the video, the front axle pivots on one point.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #98  
Somebody paid for that free lunch...probably the taxpayers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain't_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch
But it was free for me. Sure buddy, i get that old quote. Giving u a hard time. But some things really are free for some people.

i had a tenant in the section-8 housing program. She was also getting food stamps. She also got a free cell phone and plan (called it an obama-phone). She was a real loser but got a lot of free stuff.
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #99  
But it was free for me. Sure buddy, i get that old quote. Giving u a hard time. But some things really are free for some people.

i had a tenant in the section-8 housing program. She was also getting food stamps. She also got a free cell phone and plan (called it an obama-phone). She was a real loser but got a lot of free stuff.
Yup, and who gave her all that "free" stuff?
 
   / Hooks on FEL Bucket #100  
Probably a bunch of people with unexamined and unacknowledged privilege who think they earned 100% of their middle class 'success' while the actual rich were getting richer and richer taking more money off their backs then all the welfare recipients in the whole country combined times ten?

Im all for fairness but the big problems there are not at the bottom. The average household loses track of more money out of their personal finances (like, i have no idea where that money went and id have to print out a bunch of statements and look at it for 2 hours to figure it out) than the government takes off them to create social safety nets.

Or in tractor terms, you might say that people without enough land to qualify for any agricultural tax exemptions pay a large property tax burden (to schools who give lunch, for example) while those who can afford enough land for an ag exemption (the people who usually own tractors) pay next to nothing for their land OR the programs those property taxes fund and usually dont have to prove a damn thing about their actual 'production' to enjoy the privilege of those exemptions. Hmm..
 

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