What are these holes for?

picker77 · Jul 16, 2010

My new JD 305 loader bucket has two holes in the top (see arrows in photo). Anybody know what these are intended for? Not mentioned in the manual.

pat32rf · Jul 16, 2010

I have the identical bucket (without the holes). After the second day I welded a section of 3" channel (full width) across the newly dented section of top... The channel gave me a solid spot to then weld on some tow/lift hooks.
The holes might be used to hold the bucket during part of the manufacturing/painting process, but that section of the bucket is too flexible to mount a serious bracket on.

beenthere · Jul 16, 2010

The bucket looks new, but with the holes I'd question your dealer to find out if some other use for this bucket was intended previous to your purchase.

Looks like the heavy duty bucket, and if like mine that top piece could take a couple eye bolts for chain attachments. Or possibly a thumb is a Deere option now.
Which FEL model number is it?

NOTV8 · Jul 17, 2010

When I was shopping around on tractor I saw a thumb grapple bolted on it. Like what he said ^^^.

RoyJackson · Jul 17, 2010

If you bought that tractor off the lot, I'm going to guess a previous buyer (who backed out of the deal) was going to have the dealer modify the bucket (probably for a hook).

Although that conjecture about using those holes in the manufacturing process is good thinking, it's probably not correct...otherwise all those buckets would have those holes in them.

Picker77 could ask his dealer...might get an answer.

picker77 · Jul 17, 2010

It's a 305 loader (non-detachable arms, 60" quick-detach bucket). The metal thickness eyeballs at about 3/16", but I haven't measured it. I don't know if JD has an approved thumb grapple for it, but I'll sure find out. If so, I'd dearly love to have one, or an after-market version of same, but I have no idea what would be required to add the necessary hydraulic control valve.

In the meantime, I want hooks but I don't want to weld directly on the bucket. I don't mind drilling a few holes here and there, however. So I'm thinking of welding up a simple L-shaped bracket out of wide flat bar stock, something on the order of my 'engineering' drawing attached. This would allow a bolt-on hook installation (painted JD green, of course!) and using 3/8" flat bar stock should give me mucho plenty support across the top to avoid bending up the top of the bucket. What do you think?

jmc · Jul 17, 2010

picker77 said:
What do you think?

If the angle between the top and back of the bucket were 90 degrees, you could use some angle iron. But that bucket looks like an odd angle. How were you going to bend something 3/8" thick?

After looking at a few John Deere buckets, even on the 5000 series, my impression is that Deere doesn't want hooks on them. Even what appears to be the heavy duty option looks like a double wall of thin stock with a gap between them.

John

picker77 · Jul 17, 2010

What Deere wants and what I want don't always match up. BTW I just looked again more closely and there WAS something originally mounted on the top of that new bucket and removed by the dealer. I can see a couple of little places in the paint on the top about 18" apart that have been touched up. Almost looks like a flat bar of some sort was bolted to it. Wonder what it was? The bucket is otherwise perfectly new looking without a mark. Anyway, I wasn't planning to bend 3/8" flat bar, don't have the shop equipment to do that. I'll just use two pieces and weld them up at the correct angle to match the bucket. I'm just a shade tree welder, but I can make stuff stick together, and none of it has come apart in the past 30 years or so. However, I have the same problem with my welding that I do with my carpenter work, namely everything I build is twice as strong (and therefore twice as heavy) as needed. The end result always works and doesn't break--but it isn't as light and portable as some would build it, LOL!

JohninCT · Jul 17, 2010

picker77 said:
I just looked again more closely and there WAS something originally mounted on the top of that new bucket and removed by the dealer. I can see a couple of little places in the paint on the top about 18" apart that have been touched up. Almost looks like a flat bar of some sort was bolted to it. Wonder what it was?

My guess is that it was a receiver tube to allow moving trailers around. It could also be used for a 2 inch square hitch hook adaptor.

beenthere · Jul 17, 2010

I've the HD bucket, and there is a double plate where those holes are drilled. The two plates are about an inch apart, and give a lot of strength to that piece. But I placed hooks at the straps where each QA attaching point is at.
For center lifting, I drilled a hole in the cutting edge for either a grab hook, a trailer ball, or a clevis.

I think the bucket will take any punishment the tractor and FEL can dish out.

Here is some rock hauling I was doing, and can see the placement of the hooks.

picker77 · Jul 17, 2010

That is a serious chunk of rock, beenthere. I'm not at all sure this little 3032E/305 of mine could pick it up!

sixdogs · Jul 17, 2010

picker77 said:
.

In the meantime, I want hooks but I don't want to weld directly on the bucket. I don't mind drilling a few holes here and there, however. So I'm thinking of welding up a simple L-shaped bracket out of wide flat bar stock, something on the order of my 'engineering' drawing attached. This would allow a bolt-on hook installation (painted JD green, of course!) and using 3/8" flat bar stock should give me mucho plenty support across the top to avoid bending up the top of the bucket. What do you think?

I didn't want to weld a hook directly to my bucker either--I think it could rip the metal easily. What has worked for me over the years is to weld a plate to the bucket (maybe 8 " by 6") and then weld the hook to the plate. It looks like it belongs and is very strong. Easy to touch-up paint.
I have posted photos before but could do it again.

pat32rf · Jul 17, 2010

My bucket is the smaller one, same OA width as the front wheels, but it definitely didn't have the reinforcing plate under the top lip. Got a rock like that wedged in and bent the top lip of the bucket when I dumped it out. Thats why I welded the 3" channel across the top to reinforce things. Lifting hooks on the bucket itself would have just bent everything out of line...

picker77 · Jul 20, 2010

I finally decided to go the KISS route on bucket hooks, went down a picked up a 24" length of 4" x 3/8" cold rolled plate, plus a couple of 4" x 5" x 3/8" pieces of same. Drilled them to fit the top of the bucket, and ordered five 5/16" Grade 40 weld-on hooks from AW Direct. I might take the plates and the hooks to a professional welding shop to get them welded on, since I sort of hate to have anybody look at my weld beads.

AW Direct has some excellent stuff, they are suppliers to the wrecker and tow truck market. Could have saved a few dollars by buying $2.99 TSC clevis hooks instead and welding them on myself, but after all this is a new tractor and I want it to work good AND look nice.

Now I just need to decide if I want to add some sort of backing plate on the underside of the hook mounting plates instead of just big flat washers. Not sure that backing is really needed since 3/8" cold-rolled plate is pretty stiff, but I suppose it couldn't hurt. I'm putting five hooks on. The three on the long middle plate will be one in the center and two to either side of it about 10" or so, and there will be two out at the ends mounted on 4" x 5" x 3/8" bolted plates. With grade 40 hooks rated at 3900 lb working load and all plates bolted on using grade 8 hardware, I doubt this little 305 loader will ever be able to overstress anything.

RoyJackson · Jul 20, 2010

So, did you ever ask your dealer about those holes?

picker77 · Jul 20, 2010

Nope, never did, Roy. Since I re-used the same holes anyway for my hook mounting plates (and added a few of my own for good measure), I just ignored the situation. I actually used the tractor for the first time today, to carry away and dump a bunch of 3'-5' cut sections of a couple of large downed trees. Would have been brutal work by hand with a cart or trailer. Got it all done with the loader in about 45 minutes and was back in the house drinking coffee. Life is good. I'm a little jerky with the loader joystick yet, but practice makes perfect, I guess.

RoyJackson · Jul 21, 2010

picker77 said:
Nope, never did, Roy. Since I re-used the same holes anyway for my hook mounting plates (and added a few of my own for good measure), I just ignored the situation. I actually used the tractor for the first time today, to carry away and dump a bunch of 3'-5' cut sections of a couple of large downed trees. Would have been brutal work by hand with a cart or trailer. Got it all done with the loader in about 45 minutes and was back in the house drinking coffee. Life is good. I'm a little jerky with the loader joystick yet, but practice makes perfect, I guess.

Thanks for the answer...I was just curious what his answer would have been.

Yep...working with the loader and you will get better. It was moving a bunch of snow that got me better (but far from an expert) using the loader. Now I'm pretty smooth and coordinated.