kubota FEL chain hooks

[20 20]

Hey folks, quick question, I am going to be welding some chain hooks onto a bx3200 kubota FEL and wondered if anyone had any pictures? I have welded hooks onto FELs before and have allways added reinforcement steel 1st. I would also like to add the reinforcement steel on this machine. Any pictures and/or info would be appreciated. The plan is to have 2 hooks. I was thinking of running a 2" piece of angle iron all the way accross then place the hooks on that??? Thanks again for any help.

 

[Westendorf-RR]

Just be sure and weld the hook "in-line" or with the loader's arms. If you weld them on the outside edges - you leave your loader vulnerable to greater side pressures which can result in twisting the bucket or the loader.

 

[LQPAPPY]

There is a 3-4 page thread about the same questions and I hope I have the link attached. Also have a pic of the weld-on type hooks and reinforcment on my B3030.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/132894-hooks-front-end-loader.html

 

[dex3361]

Make sure and preheat the hook before welding. The forged type hook will crack if it isn't preheated. Just a heads up.

 

[Dargo]

Just be sure and weld the hook "in-line" or with the loader's arms. If you weld them on the outside edges - you leave your loader vulnerable to greater side pressures which can result in twisting the bucket or the loader.

Yup, that's as important as making sure your have the hooks securely attached if not more. Secure hooks mounted on the outer edges of your loader is a great recipe for twisting our loader arms and/or turning our tractor over. Welding on "pin on" hooks and placing them on the outer edges of the loader bucket are the most common mistakes I see here on TBN. Rather than correct their errors, they try to justify them like "I ain't hurt nuthin' yet" or something similar. That's akin to saying I leave the tavern completely liquored up everyday and I haven't gotten caught or gotten hurt yet. It's a bad idea and, generally, it's just a matter of time. It's a good idea to strengthen most bucket top edges like shown in the one pic, but I'd certainly not mount the hooks on the outer edges as shown. I've cut dozens of those off and relocated them in line with the lift arms for guys. Some before they twisted their loader arms, some after.

 

[bpattie]

only thing I would add is that I have considered adding 2 hooks facing opposite direction. there have been times when wrapping a load that I did not have anything to hook the chain to to do a complete wrap, like slash, etc.

 

[Chilly807]

I welded one on mine so far, dead center on the rear face of the bucket near the bottom edge. For pulling fence post ends, etc. It's the strongest part of the bucket, and centered between the loader arms. I'm glad I read this thread though, the next ones I add will be in line with the loader arms.

Good idea Bill, if I use the one on the back of the bucket and one on the top lip that'll give me the wrap.

Chilly

 

[son69]

Here's mine

 

[jimainiac]

To the original poster, I hope you'll consider adding a third hook in the middle of the bucket, as some others have said. When we bought our tractor new I asked the dealer to put on three hooks but he was reluctant to add any but the center one because of the very real possibility of racking the loader. I convinced him that I understood the danger and intended to use the center hook for pulling and the outside hooks for securing loads for transport in the bucket.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I had one added to my B3200 and had it placed in the center. May have to zoom to see. This was day one with my B3200. Forks are also in front bucket.
The FEL arms got out of sync on my L3240HST when using Skid Steer QA forks and it was a bad experience. Had to return to dealer for warranty repair since it was only a couple of months old. Weight needs to be centered between fel arms as much as possible but don't become obssessed with it.

 

[Egon]

My hooks with a guard to prevent objects coming to sit on my lap.

Next year the paint will arrive.

 

[20 20]

WOW !!! thanks everyone for all the pictures and advice, never thought I'd get so many responces so quick{awsome}.

I am going to weld 2 one at{inline} each arm, but now that everyone is mentioning it I'll throw in a 3rd at the middle. I'm doing this for a friend and want to make sure he is happy. I've got 5 on my tractor but I think this would be overkill for what he wants. I'm concerned as to how to weld a nice looking reinforcement on. The way the buckets angled compared to angle iron, I'm afraid it may not look that great. I'm wondering if flat stock might be easier{look better}? I was also wondering which way would be best to mount the hooks? Mounted on top would be more out of the way but also may slip chains when lose. Mounted on the front the chains would rest nicely but may be in the way???? Looks like most here prefer top mount.

When I mounted mine I put the angle iron down so that it made an upside down V. This way the hooks were still mounted on top but they also had enough of an angle that the lose chains stay in place. His tractor doesn't have enough room to do this. Tahnks again for all the GREAT advice, please keep it comming.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Here are mine, and they work very well:

 

[gwdixon]

Here are the ones I use and my Kubota dealer stocks. They are designed to be welded and are not cast.

I mount them to a 3" x 4" piece of 3/8" flatplate and then weld them to the bucket. It is much stronger that way and spreads the torque.

TrucknTow - Weld-On Grab Hooks (Pellican Hooks)

Here is another style that is slightly offset:

http://www.awdirect.com/weld-on-grab-hooks-grade-70-3-8quot-11-38wgh/hardware/

The regular chain grab hooks that are used on the end of chains can be used to weld on curved surfaces like the back of a bucket if a flat place can't be found. My L3650 had a HD bucket with a round pipe on the top edge and the curved chain style grab hooks wrapped around nicely for a 100% weld. No backing plate but the pipe was quite thick.

Pictures later.

 

[Hill-Billy]

Home made hooks on top of the FEL, store bought 3/8" grab hooks on back.

 

[DonT-B7500]

Here is a post on how I handled adding hooks, I made an interchangeable system so I can go from chain hooks to D-dings and anything else you can immagine, they are also adjustable side to side as needed
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/157704-interchangable-bucket-hook-system.html

 

[thavil]

Here are my grab hooks from BXpanded. They can be removed or repositioned in seconds. Not sure if they fit on other models besides the BX models, maybe Harry can chime in if he knows if they will fit on other FEL's.