Bucket Buddy instead of Weld on Hooks

[JB4310]

I bought a couple of weld on hooks but went a different route, I show the acs. that I use but I'm sure some of you will come up with your own ideas, I have seen similar set ups but not the same as this, has been perfect for my needs.
I show the full ballast box suspended by chain to show there's no deflection in the top edge of bucket, was easy to install the trick is bushings/sleeves between the upper and lower walls that make the top of the bucket.
EDIT; made pics a little smaller

[Champy]

Nice set up JB......versatile combo receivers to do anything you want. Why didn't you weld the housing onto the bucket? Which JD bucket are you using?

Thanks for posting pics

[JB4310]

Never thought of welding it, guess I wasn't sure myself if it would be any good since it was just an idea I had, but I don't think it would be any stronger because it's thru bolted now and uses the bottom plate of the top of the bucket for added strength via the spacer between.
I suppose you could just weld the tube to the top of the bucket, I thought I might need a long plate on the top but it wasn't necessary.
I have a 61" HD bucket on my 4310 300cx, sorry about the huge picture size I'll add a few smaller ones here.

[prosperity]

Excellent - I've been wanting to put some hooks on my bucket, but this is much more versatile. Plus, I have a nice selection of hitch parts in the barn.

One question - did you place any kind of backup plate underneath inside the bucket?

[SPYDERLK]

Neat dump bed!
Larry

[JB4310]

No I didn't need a backer plate as it's strong enough for the loaders capacity, I wanted more options than just the 3/8 chain, like slings, rope, trailer jockeying etc.
With the hooks on each side you have to attach to both for stable lifting and with just one in the middle it would be the same stress on the bucket as my set up, actually I think with the hooks welded on the top it's not the best because you have to have the bucket in full dump position to hook the chain on and that's the weakest position for the bucket geometry, though you could curl the bucket back and have the chain on the cutting blade.
I think now, the easier and maybe stronger way to go would be just weld a piece of receiver tube on as Champy mentioned, if it didn't work out for me I wanted to be able to remove it, now I know I'll never take it off.
I'll bet some of you will come up with good ideas since there's so many acs. for the receiver tube, I've even seen a toilet seat insert!

[prosperity]

Thanks for the added explanation and pics.
I don't even own a welder, or could weld if I had one, so the bolt on method will work fine for me.

Thanks again!

[hiflyer]

JB4310.... Was the bucket buddy attachment something you purchased , or made up. Great Idea, and certainly what I will do for my 4310. Been dragging my feet to install the chain hooks because of the limited use. Thanks for sharing...........

[JB4310]

Just made up that name,
I came up with the idea and had some one weld the tube to the angle iron, I drilled and bolted it on, again not knowing if it would work.
In the time it would take to weld the tube to the angle iron you could just weld the tube to the bucket, also about the same time it would take to weld on a couple of hooks.

[weldingisfun]

I bought a couple of weld on hooks but went a different route, I show the acs. that I use but I'm sure some of you will come up with your own ideas, I have seen similar set ups but not the same as this, has been perfect for my needs.
I show the full ballast box suspended by chain to show there's no deflection in the top edge of bucket, was easy to install the trick is bushings/sleeves between the upper and lower walls that make the top of the bucket.
EDIT; made pics a little smaller

Where did you find the weld on hooks? I have been looking for them all over the place. It seems everyone knows what I talking about, but no one stocks them, not even Northern Tool and Equipment. Can you beleive that?
If you wouldn't mind sharing the info with a Mahindra owner, I sure would appreciate it.