bucket level indicator

[BackRoad]

The Kubota MX series has a bent rod that follows the contour of the loader arm. You can adjust it so the angle meets the top support when level.

Hugely helpful when picking up individual loose sticks and brush with the grapple.

The indicator allows perfectly adjusting the grapple angle to pick up flat rocks 1" thick without tearing up the ground, even when you can't see them directly from the Operator's station...all quite fluid, without even really thinking about it.

I've got hundreds of loader hours...call me a novice if it makes you feel superior, doesn't matter to me...but adjusted correctly, it's quite useful.

Not much more enjoyable than getting into the zone while clearing land...where the grapple works without conscious thought - it just becomes an extension of the mind.

 

[LD1]

I made one for my MX similar to the rod/tube design.

VERY useful even for experienced operators.

I use it mostly when backfilling trenches I have dug with the mini-ex. I can make it perfect every time and not scrape anything but the dirt I dug. Dont miss anything and dont gouge up the undisturbed ground.

The very notion that experienced operators dont need them and those that use them are somehow beneath you....way to toot your own horn. You must be very proud of how stellar of an operator you are. Most of us just see the ignorance in that statement though.

 

[SmallChange]

I certainly use mine! It's not the only sign of where the bucket angle is, but it's the clearest and most accurate. Why ignore that?

 

[WranglerX]

People who don't use their bucket level indicators probably have wrong type of indicator..... The are good designs, and not so good designs....

 

[JDAOWNER]

I LIKE THEM, BUT THE ONE ON MY KIOTI IS NOT VERY GOOD. THE INNER ROD STICKS WAY UP IN THE AIR AND ANY BRANCH WILL BEND IT. I DON'T DO MUCH LOADER WORK OR I WOULD BUILD SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I TOOK IT OFF.

 

[LD1]

I certainly use mine! It's not the only sign of where the bucket angle is, but it's the clearest and most accurate. Why ignore that?

So you can act like everyone else is inferior

 

[Gordon Gould]

I use mine too. Especially setting my snow plow so that the plow frame is level. That way when I angle the blade the cutting edge stays flat on the road. I use it with the grapple too. I put a band of aluminum tape on it that marks the range that I can open/close the log grapple w/o digging up the ground and getting a bunch of dirt or sod. The bucket and snow plow are level at the blk/slvr line. The black heat shrink holds the rod away enough so that the aluminum tape does not get scraped off by the tube edge and is tough enough to stand the rubbing.

gg

 

[ruffdog]

If any device allows the operator to do a better job and be happier doing it, good for them. Life is too short. Now, back to trying to get one on the Toolcat.........

 

[Aquamoose]

I use mine too. Especially setting my snow plow so that the plow frame is level. That way when I angle the blade the cutting edge stays flat on the road. I use it with the grapple too. I put a band of aluminum tape on it that marks the range that I can open/close the log grapple w/o digging up the ground and getting a bunch of dirt or sod. The bucket and snow plow are level at the blk/slvr line. The black heat shrink holds the rod away enough so that the aluminum tape does not get scraped off by the tube edge and is tough enough to stand the rubbing.

View attachment 719628

gg

Genius!

 

[skipmarcy]

My Mahindra (KMW loader) has the tube-in-tube and the outer tube end is cut on an angle so it makes a wide point. When the tractor was new I got it sitting on good, level hard surface and sat the bucket down nice & flat and then hand-filed a groove around the inner rod at that tip level. The inner rod sticks up about 2" or so out of the outer tube when level. That groove is still highly visible almost 3100 hrs. and 22 years later AND I still need/use it. It has been bent a few, make that many times over the years and all I have to do is take it off the loader and with the inner rod still in it I lay it on the railroad rail piece I use for an anvil and beat the outer tube back straight and all is good again.