Another Bucket leveler

KubotainNH · Mar 24, 2006

The issue I see with Ford960's gravity setup is if you are on a slight incline but want to dig parallel with the incline it would not be accurate but would dig in. It would be level though. I could be misunderstanding his idea. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif This does pose a mechanical challenge because of all the shapes of FELs. I'd like to see some drawings of ideas.

JerryG · Mar 24, 2006

Rob,
Here is what you need. It is a little expensive.

3RRL · Mar 25, 2006

That's accurate enough to replace my sine plate! LOL /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

3RRL · Mar 25, 2006

I understand Ford960's concept and it would indicate levelness to the ground but not to the incline. One could mount a shaft perpendicular to the frame and line it up with the shaft on the bucket to get the bucket level with the incline. (Have both indicators)

The only problem I see with this is being able to line up the shafts visually because their movement is "in line of sight" forward and backward, not side to side. I guess you could get pretty good at it though, maybe good enough for what I do? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Maybe you could translate the forward and backwards movement to "side to side" movements by using miter gears. Hmmm...that sounds like it might work? I'll have to check that out some more.

john_bud · Mar 26, 2006

Guys,

After reading this thread, I am wondering why you want to know if the bucket is level at some place other than at ground level? That's the only place I really care about it. Helps in pealing a consistent 3-5" of soil per pass, digging at a constant down angle and in back dragging. Other that that, I don't really care if it's level as the bucket is usually in full back mode to keep the dirt from spilling.

So, what am I missing?

jb

3RRL · Mar 26, 2006

john,
Apparantly henro has a need for such...
( Anyone have a level indicator that will allow one to set level of the bucket at any height of the loader arms?)

I was also interested. In my case, not so much for the bucket itself but when using fork lift attachment to confirm eyeballing.

As far as having the bucket level on a slope or incline, the mark on standard level indicator can be used. Such as skimming you road that is on an incline. However, if you needed to have your bucket level to the Earth (not the incline) such as unloading with forks while on an incline, I could see use for that. Example: if freight carrier is on a spot level to earth but your tractor is on a hump or incline while approching the the truck, you would need to keep the forks level with the truck bed.

Mostly just peaked my interest for a mechanical device to do this.

I would still like to see what texbaylea has come up with in his description.

bigdad · Mar 26, 2006

john_bud......

I kind of wondered the same thing. I am very new at this tractor thing so I am soaking in all of the wisdom. I ran a skid steer for years and was very spoiled with it's loader because I could see everything in front. The first time I used the loader on my tractor it wasn't pretty, and I figured out why some type of leveler is important.

Thanks all (again). This is very enjoyable.

PineRidge · Mar 26, 2006

( Guys,

After reading this thread, I am wondering why you want to know if the bucket is level at some place other than at ground level? That's the only place I really care about it. Helps in pealing a consistent 3-5" of soil per pass, digging at a constant down angle and in back dragging. Other that that, I don't really care if it's level as the bucket is usually in full back mode to keep the dirt from spilling.

So, what am I missing?

jb
)

If you ever put a set of pallet forks on your FEL you'll immediately know why it's most important to know when things are level at a raised position. In many instances when unloading trucks I can't see the tips of the forks so its impossible to know when to move toward the pallet.

In my case I learned to raise the forks higher than the pallet, tilt the forks forward which then lets me see the tips. At that point you can line up with a pallet and make final adjustments for the lift. Working with pallets is a good use for a self leveling FEL, unfortunately they aren't available for all FELs.

texbaylea · Mar 26, 2006

3RRL

I was out looking at my tractor today and it happened to have the pallet forks on. I realized that I would have to have two marks for my "plumb bob" or "pendulum" to be aligned against. The pivot pins are aligned nearly vertically when the pallet forks are on while the upper pivot is forward when the bucket is on. I need to work on the "line of sight" problem also. It is going to be hard to align the indicator with a mark when you are looking at an angle.

Vernon

3RRL · Mar 27, 2006

I thought so too after reading ford960's post. That makes sense. I could not figure out how to get a level reading without using 2 markers, one being the "plumb bob" either.

I haven't done anything with it yet, but I think translating the movement from "front to back" to "side to side" via small miter gears could give a visual, readable scale to the operator. No doubt getting a little crazy here, but interesting nevertheless. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I'm beginning to think that meter shown by JerryG is an easy solution...probably cheaper in the long run! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif