Adding grab hooks on front bucket, 2 or 3 hooks?

[BukitCase]

Last one for now; TT's assembled for safety rail; I have a few 15' high pole lights (3 lights per pole) - this lets me change bulbs safely while Mrs. Bukit plays "elevator girl" - notice that with the 45* adapter, extensions are parallel with the bucket bottom - Next, TT's set up as a pull point for cylinder rebuild in place - last, TT's set up for 3'x10' scaffold - scaffold plank can get a bit heavy, so one corner has a pin-on "wheelbarrow" wheel (not shown)

I can also set up the TT's to carry a 20' long bundle of steel parallel to direction of travel (no need for 20' wide driveways) - then there's the 2'x6'x8' brush bucket that takes about 2 minutes to add/remove, I can set it down where wifey wants to weed/trim, etc, and use the 580 elsewhere. Fun never ends... Steve

 

[WinterDeere]

Mrs. Bukit plays "elevator girl"

Just be sure things are positioned such that when a hose fails and the bucket drops, no one gets pinched or hurt. I used to think this was such a remote possibility, or that it would happen slowly enough that it wasn't a real concern. But I had a lift cylinder hose burst on me in 2019, and watched that loader bucket fall as fast as a brick in free-fall. Thankfully no one was injured or killed, but it really woke me up to the reality that this does happen, and in my case it happened fast and without warning.

Someone standing on top of that rig is not likely to get crushed to death, but losing a hand between that rig and the building seems like a real likely possibility, as does seriously bonking one's head against the building or grab bar on the way down, in the event of a hydraulics failure.

 

[BukitCase]

There's a couple of reasons why that would be LESS of a concern in my case - one, having spent the last 34 years before retiring in heavy industrial maintenance I NEVER put body parts in areas where a failure might cause the loss (also because I'm also a musician, and some of the instruments I play require all 10 fingers and all 4 limbs) -

But the main one is that I forgot to get a pic just BEFORE I climbed the LADDER seen in the pic - when I use that particular setup, I position the platform where it needs to be, then I put two of these

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under the outer edges of the bucket and run 'em up snug on both sides of the bucket - only then do I climb the ladder to the platform. I have ALL 1A rated ladders, a 6', 2 8', 2 10' and a 12', and have watched probably a couple HUNDRED safety vids JUST on ladder safety.

Good call on safety though, thanks - I doubt if most people are as **** about it as I am... Steve

 

[MH8675309]

"Getting old sucks"

True; only thing that stops me from bitching about it TOO much is that I'm pretty sure NOT getting old is WORSE ... Steve

Its a privilege denied many

 

[dj1701]

When I bought my JD 4320, it didn't take me long to figure out that having bucket hooks would be very handy for lifting stuff. I welded 3 of them on because it made sense to me. It still makes sense to me. The center one gets the most attention.

My situation may be different than others, but I never had a problem.

Dave

 

[Sodo]

I have 5 hooks.
I started with 3 hooks but added 2 in the other direction 'cuz I was needing it.
Also I put a thicker L-angle across the formed lip before welding the hooks on.

Compact tractor Kubota B2710. Two hooks for forward chain pull and 3 hooks for rearward chain pull. Compact tractor has a little more lifting force from the backside of the bucket. That's an L-angle welded across the bent lip at the bucket top.

Here's hooks I added to my BX24. It worked OK. On my next tractor, the B2710, 2 hooks were already welded on so I just went that route. ^This method^ is "OK", but side loads bend the tabs. If anyone wants to do this I'd recommend 3/8" thick, wider tabs welded to the side of that bracket (not same & inline).