fel bucket expanders

[Don87]

Anyone mess around with expanding their present compact tractor buckets for things like saw dust or snow removal? I know there is a company that specializes in Kubota BX stuff. I could be mistaken but I do not believe anybody is making anything for the typical 60" compact tractor bucket.

In most circumstances, you will be ok. But I had the experience last winter , with my 48" bucket, where the wet snow in the bucket 'almost' caused me to roll over. I didn't expect it, and my backside puckered bigtime when the wheels came off the ground.

Be careful out there.

 

[chim]

Pictures of this thing would be helpful Chim if you don't mind. Thanks

I'll see if I can fight my way back through the shed tomorrow and snap a pic.

 

[tessiers]

I did see one of these but the thing was enormous and weighed in at 700lbs. It was 3' high and 43" deep and of varying widths which I believe the smallest was 6'. Ok for a skid steer but more like a size 10 shoe on a 3 yr old for my compact.

Mine are 5' wide, 1 is 1/2 yard and the other is 3/4 yard. The smaller one came with my skid steer, the other I picked up for scrap price, used but functional. My regular bucket is 1/3 yard.

 

[arrow]

If you weld, or have a friend who does, please post pix of YOUR specific bucket, from front, side, and rear - I've just finished a "brush" bucket for my full size Case, but have a simpler, lighter idea for yours.

Oh, and please state just how MUCH of an increase in size you're thinking... Steve

I'm not sure of the size I want or what the tractor will handle but the bucket presently is 7.8 cu. ft struck. The tractor weighs in at 3750 lbs the way you see it. It is probably wise to stick with the 60" width for wet, heavy snow and snow would be my primary reason for the alteration in the first place. I'm thinking along the lines of 25" high and 32"-34" deep. With a 460lb rear blade adding ballast should be no problem.

 

[Xfaxman]

I wondered about a Snow Pusher, but they are too heavy.

FFC 117 Series Snow Push, Low Profile, Light Weight

Looks like Ted needs to "race car" a Snow Push and make a Wicked Snow Push! :laughing:

 

[BukitCase]

Can we ***-u-me that, because you posted the pix, you DO either weld, or have a friend that does?

I have an idea that would give you a bucket INSERT that would slide in, lock in place with no welding required on your existing bucket, and replace your (otherwise) lost cutting edge - but I need to know what your welding AND machining capabilities are (however you get them done) - my idea would take a fair amount of drawing time, and I'm about 387 projects behind so far So I don't want to use that time unless it'll get at least CONSIDERED ... Steve

My plan would add about 80 pounds to your bucket weight, maybe 100 at most.

 

[arrow]

Can we ***-u-me that, because you posted the pix, you DO either weld, or have a friend that does?

I have an idea that would give you a bucket INSERT that would slide in, lock in place with no welding required on your existing bucket, and replace your (otherwise) lost cutting edge - but I need to know what your welding AND machining capabilities are (however you get them done) - my idea would take a fair amount of drawing time, and I'm about 387 projects behind so far So I don't want to use that time unless it'll get at least CONSIDERED ... Steve

My plan would add about 80 pounds to your bucket weight, maybe 100 at most.

Steve, I wouldn't have progressed this far if I were not going to at least consider your thoughts. Don't go crazy on the drawing. I have an art back ground and can pick up on visuals pretty quickly. Try not to spend more than ten minutes on a drawing as I do not want to put you out too badly. I appreciate your involvement already. My welding skills for extensive fabrication get to the "tack" stage. In other words I buy the stock from a local welder, cut it to size, and then tack it together. I then bring it in and he welds the rest of it. Now please remember, this is mainly for snow. I rarely use a bucket for dirt around here any more so I'm thinking I can go to some extremes size wise. My snow removal is for expansive wide areas as opposed to "plowing" which is only done in the 125' driveway which the rear blade handles quite nicely under 14". That is why a snow pusher type assembly works better for me. Allow me to draw up what's in my head for comparison on a later post.

 

[arrow]

Some of the problems with my design is A. Its heavy made out of 1/4" stock. B. It has to be bolted on so easy and quick transferal is not in the picture. C. It can only be used for snow which is not too problematic.

 

[BukitCase]

What you drew is similar to what I had in mind, only I'd probably have made it to fit INSIDE your existing bucket, deep enough for the tops to run close and parallel to that top "ledge" - bottom edge to run parallel to existing bucket floor.

To extend the top, I would probably use medium to light walled square tubing across between end pieces, close enough to the top rails of your QA hookup - a pair of oversized "suitcase latches could grab the top edge of the QA adapter, and with the insert being INSIDE the bucket and parallel to surfaces top and bottom, that top latch on either side wouldn't let the insert come out.

I would have made it of 1/8" mild, 1/4 isn't necessary - any area that proved to be a bit "floppy" could get a piece of channel or square tube stitched to it for stiffener.

On the other hand, since you DO have a QA setup and since you would ALMOST be building a new bucket anyway, I'm leaning toward the idea of just building a new SSQA compatible bucket - you could do the entire thing out of 1/8 mild, except for a front wear edge and 3 or 4 "runners" on the bottom which should be of AR400 steel or similar.

The QA parts would need to be thicker, maybe 3/8 - but your weld shop guy should be able to dupe that part just by looking at your original bucket, even if he's never built one.

You wouldn't need to get fancy and build a curved bucket, a lot of skid steer stuff is just angles. 2 or 3 6" wide strips welded together at angles to "go around the corner" is fine.

A bucket that size out of 1/8 should weigh maybe 175 pounds including the attachments, possibly a bit more with the 1/4" AR steel -

Hopefully either you or your weld guy has a plasma cutter though - otherwise, forget the AR steel or have it precut (extra cost for cuts most likely)

Going that way might cost a bit more, but you couldn't GET more simple changes - just drive up, drop whichever bucket that's on, move over, pick up the other one, and get busy... Steve

 

[arrow]

On the other hand, since you DO have a QA setup and since you would ALMOST be building a new bucket anyway, I'm leaning toward the idea of just building a new SSQA compatible bucket - you could do the entire thing out of 1/8 mild, except for a front wear edge and 3 or 4 "runners" on the bottom which should be of AR400 steel or similar.

The QA parts would need to be thicker, maybe 3/8 - but your weld shop guy should be able to dupe that part just by looking at your original bucket, even if he's never built one.

You wouldn't need to get fancy and build a curved bucket, a lot of skid steer stuff is just angles. 2 or 3 6" wide strips welded together at angles to "go around the corner" is fine.

A bucket that size out of 1/8 should weigh maybe 175 pounds including the attachments, possibly a bit more with the 1/4" AR steel -

Hopefully either you or your weld guy has a plasma cutter though - otherwise, forget the AR steel or have it precut (extra cost for cuts most likely)

Going that way might cost a bit more, but you couldn't GET more simple changes - just drive up, drop whichever bucket that's on, move over, pick up the other one, and get busy... Steve

Thats the gist of having a "quicktach" I made mine into a "slowtach" which defeats the purpose entirely. I get a bit miffed that I shall not use the bucket much anyway and to save money, use it as a platform to get what i want. The only two attachments for the front that I would need is a rock or root bucket to pick up stems and move slash and something to move snow. I even once attempted to design an all in one bucket to do everything however without bolt on extensions for the snow part, it didn't work out too well.

I saw something on You tube that I was puzzled by. A guy was picking up and dropping off attachments w/o getting out of his cab at all. This is my first foray into quicktach stuff and mine takes quite the effort to pull up and push down. Don't know if the units get sloppy with age but I thought it was kind of neat and very efficient. He just jiggled the bucket and the handles went up and he dropped the attachment. He moved to the next tool , picked it up, jiggled the bucket once more and the handles went down.