Front end loaders

Wile E

Well-known Member
I am toying with the idea of making a front end loader for my tractor. The loader for my tractor new is $3,400 I think, from the dealer. A woods brand generic might be $2,600, I dont know.
But I could make my own loader for $1,500, I have a good buddy that is a great welder. I can make the arms/brackets/linkage pieces. The tractor is already plumbed with hydraulic quick connect ports so I got most of that covered.

Ok.....Am I nuts?
 
Lots of really good welders around. Some are even farmers. Not too many home made loaders around though. Building a loader is more involved than you would think.
 
I don't have any pictures, but I built one for my dad's little John Deere tractor about 25-years ago. Got the hydraulic cylinders and valve from Surplus Center. Used rectangular tubing for the arms, heavy wall seamless tube for the hinge pins bushings, 1-inch drill rod for the pins, and a piece of 24-inch pipe for the bucket with a piece of flatbar welded to it for the cutting edge.
Lot of work, but really not a lot of out of pocket money.
 
Wile E,
When I was a kid, dad had an IH H, 1940. The loader cracked the tractor in half. It had very slow one way hydraulics, no power steering, trip bucket, JUNK!

You will find the hoe is just as important as a loader. Save your money and get a backhoe. I love my little toy and work it hard.

It may be hard to tell from the pic, but last weekend I made a tobaggon run for the grandkids. Hope we get snow to try it. The first 20 feet is straight down. Over a 30 ft drop. Made it in the side of an old gravel pit in back yard. Hill is to steep I could only drive up it to the little tree on right. Tractor wanted to flip over past that point. Used hoe as a wheelie bar to keep it safe.
George
a104255.jpg

a104255.jpg
 
Think you would be farther ahead to try and find a used loader at an auction, or yard sale. Unless your welder is a great engineer, there"s going to be w weak spot that is going to come back and haunt you!
 
I see them for sale off and on all the time and have been able to buy them from $7 yep $7 up to well over $2500. The one I know of for $7 sold at an auction I was at and I still kick my self on that one if was for a Farmall cub. A whole lot depends on what tractor you have as to how hard it is to find a good deal on a used one
 
I say go for it. I build alot of stuff my self because I can do it cheaper than buying one. I am in the process of building a gooseneck dump trailer right now. I am taking alot of pictures and I will post them when I get it done.
 
What kind of loader are you talking about? For a sub compact tractor? Around here you couldn't buy good cylinders for a loader for 1500 never mind build a loader. Then buy close to a ton of steel at a buck or more per pound...
I think if I could buy a factory loader for ~3500 bucks I'd buy if before the salesman realizes his mistake.

Rod
 
Maybe Lanse will comment on this.

I'd look for a good used loader and pay a weld shop to adapt the loader brackets to fit your tractor. You may be lucky if your buddy can spare the time to repair or rebuild the bucket on a used loader and only charge you for his direct costs.

Production of simple pipe loaders with hydraulic buckets ended around 1960. Take a good look at a modern loader, they are heavily engineered with a lot of custom formed metal pieces in tapered shapes. The pieces are aligned in special made assembly jigs and clamped together before they are welded. To make the same loader from flat stock and standard steel sections will require a lot of metal cutting, hours and hours of assembly layout and a lot of extra welding compared to the welds in a mass produced loader. It could be easy to make a loader way too heavy in some areas and still be too weak in other places. Manufacturers also buy their mechanical and hydraulic components in volume with OEM discounts and no sales taxes.

Sketch up the loader you want including mounting brackets and a bucket. Count up the pieces, then add up the total lengths of the cuts required and the lengths of the welds required. I'd guess you'll easily have 300 to 500 linear feet of cuts and welds. Ask your buddy how much time it would take him to fabricate all the pieces, prep the welded areas, assemble and align the pieces by hand, clamp them together, and then weld them. Ask what he would normally charge for that amount of work at his shop rate. The welding labor alone could be worth more than the cost of a used loader.

Honest payback to a friend like that would probably include reshingling several roofs, pouring a lot of concrete, and several landscaping projects. Bring your loader.

I hope I am wrong about the costs, it would be a fun project if you could weld it yourself.
 
I know you're going to build a more sophisticated loader than this one with two-way lift rams and a tilt bucket.
However, My Dad built this loader from scratch in '59 or '60.
He built everything including the rams which he made from black iron pipe and saw mandrel shaft.
I use it all the time and right now it has a 6' snow bucket on it which he also built.
He had a welder but no torches, no lathe, no portable grinder and no power hacksaw.
He did have an excellent work ethic and tremendous ambition!
a104288.jpg
 
You're coming out of left field. A backhoe isn't a replacement for a loader. If you want to dig a hole, get a backhoe, If you want move stuff from point A to point B, a loader is a better choice. It's pretty hard to have a backhoe without a loader on the front anyway.
 

Two of my old Fords came with pretty nice loaders on them that I had no use for. one had trip bucket the other hydraulic. One was a Farmhand, both were step through. I sold one for $600 the other for $500. Both were adapted onto very different tractors. So I would be looking around.
 
Stick Welding,
All do respect, I think I'm more in center field when I say putting a loader on a tractor is hard on the tractor, the front end especially, no power stearing. The trip buckets are junk. Very slow hydraulics.

I saw where guys put a loader on a tractor backward, putting the lifting weight on the rear wheels, like a fork lift. Might be hard to drive, bet it can lift more and easier on the tractor.

I was going to buy just a loader. Glad I bought a backhoe. Didn't realize just how handy the back half is.

Not trying to upset anyone, just voicing my $.02.
George
 
I say "Screw it, lets do it!!"

Building something like Brian's loader doesnt look all too complicated, I'd probably TIG weld those pipes (for control and looks), and MIG or STICK the bucket, and brackets...

I think it'd be a really fun project :)
 
I think if I was going to build a loader I would try to get some prints to go by, even if they were not for your particular tractor.

I built a posthole digger for my tractor and had taken tape measurments from a commercial unit.

I was surprised when I finished the unit and it did not lift properly. it would start to move and then would pretty much go out of control until it reached the limit of it's range.

I finally got it to work correctly with the help of a friend who has been working on farm machinery for many years. The adjustments to make it work were within the range of what was built in but would seem 'backwards' to at least my eye.

I would seem that there is some sophisticated geometry involved with these machines.

Brad
a104309.jpg

a104310.jpg

a104310.jpg
 
I think it will cost more then you realize ?

You might try and find a good used loader the correct frame size and then you could rework the brackets to fit your tractor. I'd rather rework one to fit then start from scratch.
 
It's all relative. There's people that could tear up a machine with a Q-tip. My 135 has a loader and no power steering and I haven't had a problem in 25 years. I don't use the loader a lot but it's still on the tractor. When the tractor was having a new clutch put in they suggested putting 2 bushings in the front axle for the loader. A rear loader will still need counterweight on the front. I thought it odd that a guy asks about a loader and you start talking about a backhoe. I don't think he wanted a trip bucket.
 
Puddle's, there's one big difference. You're a master fabricator and set up with the shop and know how to build a functional loader. If everything isn't lined up right would cause all kinds of problems.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top