xlr82v2
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2004
- Messages
- 703
- Location
- Southwestern Illinois
- Tractor
- 2007 Mahindra 3525, 1952 Ford 8N
I would for once just like to hear the actual explanation of this oft repeated "engineer's recommendation"... from the actual engineer from Green, Blue, Orange, Red, Yellow... whoever is the "official engineer" making this recommendation. No second- or seventh hand hearsay, like what we always hear.
This "recommendation" gets thrown about here by many just like it's the gospel truth, but I've seen LOTS and LOTS of pictures with hooks "incorrectly" installed, including my own, and I don't recall EVER seeing any photo's or any kind of proof that anybody has ever damaged their loader with hooks so arranged.
That being said, the only thing I can think of that could possibly hurt the loader is abusing it, like using a single chain on the corner of the bucket, and jerking a load by backing the tractor up with a slack chain... like trying to pull a stump. If you're doing something not too intelligent like that, the hook being in line with the loader arm will give a little more protection against springing the loader frame, but not much, IMHO. And anyway, that's ABUSE. The loader is designed to lift and push... not to pull. If there's any attachment routinely added to FEL's that I could see having the potential to really do some damage that nobody EVER says anything about, it's adding a reciever hitch to move trailers. The side loads imposed on the loader when pushing or pulling and turning a heavy trailer I'm sure were never accounted for in the design of the loader... Straight line is OK, but when you go to turn, and get more Jacknifed... that's a lot of sideload. But, that's material for a different thread
I just can't visualize how properly using bucket hooks could possibly damage anything, no matter where the hooks are placed. Bucket hooks are for lifting and carrying ONLY. If you're using a single line to lift, you use the center hook. If you're using more than one line, that's when you use the hooks on the ends of the bucket. At least that's the rules I follow with my hooks on my loader.
Other than that, I can't see what the difference is between the hooks and using the corner of the bucket to do things such as dig up roots/stumps that you can't get hold of with the center of the bucket. The twisting moments should be similar in either situation, and I've never heard of any damage from EITHER operation as far as I can remember.
With the talent pool available here on TBN, if it was really as big of a deal as a few make it out to be, I'm sure we'd have lots of damage reports resulting from "improper placement of bucket hooks" by now. But we don't.
Until any REAL evidence to the contrary comes in, I'm of the opinion that it's a non-issue.
This "recommendation" gets thrown about here by many just like it's the gospel truth, but I've seen LOTS and LOTS of pictures with hooks "incorrectly" installed, including my own, and I don't recall EVER seeing any photo's or any kind of proof that anybody has ever damaged their loader with hooks so arranged.
That being said, the only thing I can think of that could possibly hurt the loader is abusing it, like using a single chain on the corner of the bucket, and jerking a load by backing the tractor up with a slack chain... like trying to pull a stump. If you're doing something not too intelligent like that, the hook being in line with the loader arm will give a little more protection against springing the loader frame, but not much, IMHO. And anyway, that's ABUSE. The loader is designed to lift and push... not to pull. If there's any attachment routinely added to FEL's that I could see having the potential to really do some damage that nobody EVER says anything about, it's adding a reciever hitch to move trailers. The side loads imposed on the loader when pushing or pulling and turning a heavy trailer I'm sure were never accounted for in the design of the loader... Straight line is OK, but when you go to turn, and get more Jacknifed... that's a lot of sideload. But, that's material for a different thread
I just can't visualize how properly using bucket hooks could possibly damage anything, no matter where the hooks are placed. Bucket hooks are for lifting and carrying ONLY. If you're using a single line to lift, you use the center hook. If you're using more than one line, that's when you use the hooks on the ends of the bucket. At least that's the rules I follow with my hooks on my loader.
Other than that, I can't see what the difference is between the hooks and using the corner of the bucket to do things such as dig up roots/stumps that you can't get hold of with the center of the bucket. The twisting moments should be similar in either situation, and I've never heard of any damage from EITHER operation as far as I can remember.
With the talent pool available here on TBN, if it was really as big of a deal as a few make it out to be, I'm sure we'd have lots of damage reports resulting from "improper placement of bucket hooks" by now. But we don't.
Until any REAL evidence to the contrary comes in, I'm of the opinion that it's a non-issue.
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