New Hitch for FEL

[akpilot]

I added a receiver hitch to my FEL, Man is it handy. I stole....err borrowed the idea from some one on TBN, just don't remember what tread I saw it on. So thanks to who ever it was
I put a combo hitch so I can move trailers and i'm building a "dump" box that I will use the pintel on, plus it's a handy place to throw chain over for a simple job.

 

[texasjohn]

Good job...looks STURDY!

 

[bob_wood]

Very nice indeed AK !! Great job and very useful Im sure. Thanks for posting.

Bob

 

[Gizmo2]

Nothing for nothing but I was always told NOT to us a FEL for pulling, yet everyone seems to. Makes sense to me not to do it?????

 

[rcrcomputing]

I tacked one on top of my bucket. What made you put it inside the bucket? Just curious..

 

[akpilot]

Your probably right, Gizmo. The QA on the FEL isn't really designed to be pulled on, so I'm fairly careful when pulling, I try to push more than I pull.

"RC" I saw someone else on TBN mount theirs this way, seemed easy to make it real sturdy mounted on the inside and I have one trailer that is fairly low, so putting it on top could have been a problem. It probably would be easier to see the ball if it were on top, however I extended mine out a little, so that isn't a problem.

 

[MJPetersen]

Mark, That looks very nice. I take it you can get it low enough even for your flat bed? I see that you have been playing in the mud. Were you down by the lake?

Mike

 

[akpilot]

Mark, That looks very nice. I take it you can get it low enough even for your flat bed? I see that you have been playing in the mud. Were you down by the lake?

Mike

Thanks Mike. Yes I have been screening topsoil (mixed with some peet) and sand for landscaping projects. Here is a pic of one of my topsoil sand projects.

 

[LBrown59]

I put a combo hitch so I can move trailers and i'm building a "dump" box that I will use the pintel on, plus it's a handy place to throw chain over for a simple job.

Tell me more about the dump box.

 

[akpilot]

Tell me more about the dump box.

I'm making a PU box trailer to help reduce one bucket at a time trips and I called it a "dump" trailer because I plan on picking the hitch up and dumping it. I learned this trick from other smart people on TBN

 

[bx24]

I added a receiver hitch to my FEL, Man is it handy. I stole....err borrowed the idea from some one on TBN, just don't remember what tread I saw it on. So thanks to who ever it was

Hey .... That looks familiar! If it was mine, your welcome, if it wasn't, it was a blatant ripoff of mine

One thing I did find with mine (although you are using a pintle hitch), I use the 1 7/8 ball to move my 2" hitch trailer and it works great. If I ever bought another tractor, this would be one of the first projects I would do on it .... Like you said, it is VERY handy if you move trailers around a lot.

 

[akpilot]

Hey .... That looks familiar! If it was mine, your welcome, if it wasn't, it was a blatant ripoff of mine

One thing I did find with mine (although you are using a pintle hitch), I use the 1 7/8 ball to move my 2" hitch trailer and it works great. If I ever bought another tractor, this would be one of the first projects I would do on it .... Like you said, it is VERY handy if you move trailers around a lot.

Thats it!!!! I must throw myself on your mercy for stealing your great idea.

 

[fiddler kelly]

so do you have some sort of plug to fit in the hitch block, to prevent it getting filled up with ie. gravel, when using the bucket . I have been tinkering with this idea myself ,already have the trailor pretty well finished with the pintel ring,I assume it is called, just figuring out which end to hall/push the trailor from. The front looks good as I can then look forward as I direct my load to dump.

I used a 200 gallon oil tank for the container,low maintenance and easy to get a abandoned one with the cost of oil.Had to add some height to it so I could get a good dumping angle as axle is just behind center mark.

 

[Runner]

"The QA on the FEL isn't really designed to be pulled on, so I'm fairly careful when pulling, I try to push more than I pull."

I never considered that you could actually tweak the loader by pulling with it. Does anyone know how likely it might be to break the loader this way?

I'm planning on building a similar front hitch for the loader, but I don't want to do it if it's going to screw something up. The biggest thing I have to move is a boat that weighs approximately 5,000 lbs.

Oh, and nice job AK.

 

[bx24]

so do you have some sort of plug to fit in the hitch block, to prevent it getting filled up with ie. gravel, when using the bucket .

I did take a 4"x4" 1/8" plate and welded it on a short piece of 2" square stock to "block" the receiver to keep the crud out, but I have only used it once. I leave the ball in it all the time. I have loaded literally tons of crushed limestone, dirt and other materials with the ball in with no problems. If you are going the pintle route, I would definitely lean towards a blank plate because of all the moving parts on your hitch.

There are more pics of my setup if you click on my avatar and look at my past posts but in a nutshell, I mounted mine on the top part of the bucket because I remove and install the tooth bar fairly often and if it were on the bottom, it would get in the way. I have also found that it is much easier to see things with it up high.

I would re-post a few of the picks, but as you see in the background, there are two fairly good size rows of stacked firewood that was nice and dry. With the recent floods here in central IN, all of the wood is now GONE!!!! (it all got swept away .... nothing that cannot be replaced, but what a pain) When I went to get the image above it reminded me of all that work!

BTW Cool trailer!

 

[MJPetersen]

Thanks Mike. Yes I have been screening topsoil (mixed with some peet) and sand for landscaping projects. Here is a pic of one of my topsoil sand projects.

That looks great!! Having a shop and being able to "spread out a bit helps!!" Have you cleaned up down by the lake too? Looks like you are keeping busy on your times off!

Mike

 

[akpilot]

BX
Sorry to here about the flooding in your area, I trust you and your family are ok!

fiddler kelly
Like BX did, I plan on making a cover, I think it will be fairly heavy duty with a welded on hook, as I haven't welded any on my bucket yet, another project, another day..

MJPetersen
Yes.. I love the new shop!! I've started clearing out down by the lake, I still have a long way to go!!

Runner
My boat is about the same and the tractor pulls it very easily. I have pulled fairly hard (way harder than moving the boat) and have not had any problems. pulling form the top of the bucket puts more force on the top "wedge" rather than on the lock down pins, I like that asspect, bending those pins would be a bummer

 

[fiddler kelly]

RCRComputing can you show a picture of th hitch on the FEL of your tractor. If I put one there I will need one that is adjustable up and down or at least one that drops down a bit for the lower trailor hitches.

 

[rcrcomputing]

RCRComputing can you show a picture of th hitch on the FEL of your tractor. If I put one there I will need one that is adjustable up and down or at least one that drops down a bit for the lower trailor hitches.

I'll see if I can get you one. Though, I'm sure to have to remove it when I get a grapple for the bucket. Right now, I use a drop-down of about 8 inches. Works nicely!

 

[irvingj]

Well, bx24, another copy! Mine's black on a red tractor, but the idea was too good to pass up.

I used an 1-1/4" receiver as all my moving around is pretty light duty, and had to contstruct a rather intricate pattern for the reinforcing web due to the "extra" angle & turn-down on the GC2310's FEL bucket.

It worked out very well, except that I have neither the experience nor the equipment to weld so I had to pay someone else to do it. (One of these days....)

The nice thing about the smaller receiver is that it doesn't intrude into the bucket space much at all. I used a U-Haul 2" to 1-1/4" adapter, cut down on the rear to mate to the angle at the back of the bucket, with the aforementioned web for additional support. Receiver is pretty much level with bucket floor.

Sure makes moving things around a whole lot easier-- Thanks for the idea!! (What a great site this is!)