Adding grab hooks on front bucket, 2 or 3 hooks?

[ovrszd]

Slinging those chains up on the tires or even lifting them, this method will work on R4 tires as well as R1's;
Mounting tire chains

And you can power roll the tire and do it also.

Much easier to do it my way. Need the tire off the ground to get them tightly fastened.

 

[5030]

This year, no chains at all. If we get a big snowfall, I'll be toasting my tootsies in front of the fire.

 

[WinterDeere]

I like that method LouNY. Will have to give it a try, although could be a little more of a challenge with my R3's.

I honestly never need chains for plowing snow, the turf tires grip very well on asphalt behind a plow. Even tooling thru a foot or two of snow in the yard is no problem, if I'm not towing a trailer.

But when I need to pull the firewood wagon thru deep snow, or any time I need to go into the woods when muddy (maybe 1x per year at most), then I need those chains. I try to make sure to fill that wood wagon before any major snow, and time projects in the woods for dry or frozen times of year, so as to avoid mounting those chains more than once per year. I also like to take them off as soon as I'm done with them, as they're not needed on asphalt, and they do tear up the driveway a bit when plowing.

 

[bigtiller]

I have to install 2-link chains of my grader tires which are 17.5x25. I raise the tire off the ground, hump the end of the chain as high as I can onto the tire, snag the crossbars on tire lugs. Then use the grader to rotate the tire and drag the chain up on it until the two ends are hanging at the bottom.

Back when I wore a younger man's clothes I could throw them on from the side of the tire. Lost that ability about the time I turned 60.....

10 years ago I built a nice plywood box with large handles to put my chains in and store on a shelf.
I can't lift the box now.

 

[5030]

10 years ago I built a nice plywood box with large handles to put my chains in and store on a shelf.
I can't lift the box now.

I have the same issue. Getting old sucks.

 

[WinterDeere]

My chain is broken up into three old 1970's heavy-duty 4-gallon milk crates. I cannot lift any one of them, let alone all four together. They're bulging out in the middle of each side, and the bottoms would likely give way if I even tried to lift them off the concrete. So they stay where they are, being more of a cheap "chain locker" (to use a yachting term) than anything portable. Many, many hundreds of pounds of chain!

It's handy when you stow chain to always hang the hooks on either end of the chain onto the edge of the crate. That way you can always find and withdraw the chain you need, no matter how deep it is buried in the collection. Also, they cannot easily entangle, if both ends are kept up on the crate edge.

 

[BukitCase]

"Getting old sucks"

True; only thing that stops me from bitching about it TOO much is that I'm pretty sure NOT getting old is WORSE ... Steve

 

[BukitCase]

Oh, as to the original question - the correct answer (for ME anyway :=) is either 7, or 12, or NONE - All depends on how you count 'em (and whether your loader can handle over 2 TONS or not)...
All tubes are 2.030" ID, 1/4" wall - note the cutaways on top edges - some of my "tinker toys" weigh in around 100 lbs - it's much easier to NOT have to line up perfectly while holding ALL the weight...

The center part of the bucket got a piece of 10" heavy channel bridge, water tight welded 100%, with a receiver centered on top. ALL receivers (EXCEPT the two that line up with loader arms) can be used front, back, or both - the loader arm mounts interfere with rear clearance on those two (hence "12" and not "14" receivers.

So far, I have 3 pairs of extensions made at 30", 48" and 72" - all inserts/adapters are same material or males are 2" tubing, still 1/4" wall. I've made inserts for 45 or 90 degrees, Tees, male/male, female/female, etc - also various other attachments depending on need. I haven't needed to add any "options" for awhile, buy will if/when the need arises that can't be met with current "toys"...

 

[BukitCase]

Next - Some of the add-ons - First four, flying parts of a 24' x 24' roof for small container - 5-6, - some of the "fittings" - last, a temporary gin pole to set a bundle of gang sawn tubes for the roof modules (all modules can be removed in sections using MORE tinker toys)

 

[BukitCase]

More of the tinker toys - some adapters, setup to move a tree (2 poles act like bale spears, 2 longer ones lift the 12" trunk), toy shelf, 100# toy vise, 3'x10' scaffold setup, outer section of roof is 3 identical 8'x12' bolt together modules - Last pic, HF AC winch set up for single or double line. My descriptions are in the order I uploaded; obviously the site had other ideas, oh well - or maybe not...

 

[BukitCase]

Last one for now; TT's assembled for safety rail; I have a few 15' high pole lights (3 lights per pole) - this lets me change bulbs safely while Mrs. Bukit plays "elevator girl" - notice that with the 45* adapter, extensions are parallel with the bucket bottom - Next, TT's set up as a pull point for cylinder rebuild in place - last, TT's set up for 3'x10' scaffold - scaffold plank can get a bit heavy, so one corner has a pin-on "wheelbarrow" wheel (not shown)

I can also set up the TT's to carry a 20' long bundle of steel parallel to direction of travel (no need for 20' wide driveways) - then there's the 2'x6'x8' brush bucket that takes about 2 minutes to add/remove, I can set it down where wifey wants to weed/trim, etc, and use the 580 elsewhere. Fun never ends... Steve

 

[WinterDeere]

Mrs. Bukit plays "elevator girl"

Just be sure things are positioned such that when a hose fails and the bucket drops, no one gets pinched or hurt. I used to think this was such a remote possibility, or that it would happen slowly enough that it wasn't a real concern. But I had a lift cylinder hose burst on me in 2019, and watched that loader bucket fall as fast as a brick in free-fall. Thankfully no one was injured or killed, but it really woke me up to the reality that this does happen, and in my case it happened fast and without warning.

Someone standing on top of that rig is not likely to get crushed to death, but losing a hand between that rig and the building seems like a real likely possibility, as does seriously bonking one's head against the building or grab bar on the way down, in the event of a hydraulics failure.

 

[BukitCase]

There's a couple of reasons why that would be LESS of a concern in my case - one, having spent the last 34 years before retiring in heavy industrial maintenance I NEVER put body parts in areas where a failure might cause the loss (also because I'm also a musician, and some of the instruments I play require all 10 fingers and all 4 limbs) -

But the main one is that I forgot to get a pic just BEFORE I climbed the LADDER seen in the pic - when I use that particular setup, I position the platform where it needs to be, then I put two of these

2 Ton Capacity Underhoist Safety Stand

Amazing deals on this 2T Underhoist Safety Stand at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

under the outer edges of the bucket and run 'em up snug on both sides of the bucket - only then do I climb the ladder to the platform. I have ALL 1A rated ladders, a 6', 2 8', 2 10' and a 12', and have watched probably a couple HUNDRED safety vids JUST on ladder safety.

Good call on safety though, thanks - I doubt if most people are as **** about it as I am... Steve

 

[MH8675309]

"Getting old sucks"

True; only thing that stops me from bitching about it TOO much is that I'm pretty sure NOT getting old is WORSE ... Steve

Its a privilege denied many

 

[dj1701]

When I bought my JD 4320, it didn't take me long to figure out that having bucket hooks would be very handy for lifting stuff. I welded 3 of them on because it made sense to me. It still makes sense to me. The center one gets the most attention.

My situation may be different than others, but I never had a problem.

Dave

 

[Sodo]

I have 5 hooks.
I started with 3 hooks but added 2 in the other direction 'cuz I was needing it.
Also I put a thicker L-angle across the formed lip before welding the hooks on.

Compact tractor Kubota B2710. Two hooks for forward chain pull and 3 hooks for rearward chain pull. Compact tractor has a little more lifting force from the backside of the bucket. That's an L-angle welded across the bent lip at the bucket top.

Here's hooks I added to my BX24. It worked OK. On my next tractor, the B2710, 2 hooks were already welded on so I just went that route. ^This method^ is "OK", but side loads bend the tabs. If anyone wants to do this I'd recommend 3/8" thick, wider tabs welded to the side of that bracket (not same & inline).