bucket mod

[4shorts]

Well considering I'm going to be plowing snow and snow only with my tractor I've never liked the fact that the back side of the bucket wasn't very high. All the equipment I've ever operated that had a bucket always had an extension on the top of the bucket to reduce the chance of snow falling off the bucket and either hitting the engine hood or the windshield. I decided to change my bucket and this is how it turned out.

 

[4shorts]

Completed pics

 

[Lunk]

Nice piece of work!

I wish I could weld / fabricate like that. I just had a buddy fab a 12" high expanded mesh extension like yours, surrounded and braced by 2"W x 1/4" thick flat steel. I have a 6' SS utility bucket for snow use, and wanted to make my 5' factory dirt bucket more versatile in the brush pushing and piling department.

It also acts as a decent brush guard when tooling around the woods and swamp, and I can still see through it fairly well for close-in work.

 

[digger2]

Really nice job.Looks like a factory option.

I know how long it takes to do a job like this and come out looking that good.Someday(when i get some time off work)i'm also going to make something like this but out of expanded metal mesh(as already mentioned)
but i want to make mine removable,just in case.I also would like to make a matching guard out of expanded metal that adds a little more protection to the grill and radiator than the stock guard.
Anyway,nice job.......Digger2

 

[Texas Dodge]

Very nice

 

[JDeerekid]

Looks great. I wish I had the talent you have and the tools. Now you have to make sides so you can get twice the amount of snow in that bucket

 

[clenhart]

That's a great looking job, but your blocking the view of your Kioti Killer badge

It must be nice to actually work with bright , shiny, new steel. Everything I build comes out of the scrap pile and requires a good dose of wire wheel and elbow grease to make it even presentable Maybe one of these days...

 

[4shorts]

Thanks guys. Glad you like it. When I curl the bucket back now I'll have some protection from meterial falling off the back top side of it. You guys got some good ideas. See through mesh would be good as well for your application. I try and use new steel where I can. If I use old stuff I got to either sandblast it or sand it and that takes time so I try and use new to save time. JDeerekid thats a very nice looking tractor in your avatar. I've never seen one around these parts like that. Thanks for posting guys!

 

[Egon]

Nice job. Material falling on the hood is always a pain.

 

[coreshot]

That's a darn good idea, I may have to copy your design. Hope you don't mind.

 

[4shorts]

That's a darn good idea, I may have to copy your design. Hope you don't mind.

Go for it my friend. Glad you liked it. It's funny because folks walk right by the bucket and don't even notice it was modified. Ideas is why we post on here so that it might help others.

 

[JDeerekid]

Thanks guys. Glad you like it. When I curl the bucket back now I'll have some protection from meterial falling off the back top side of it. You guys got some good ideas. See through mesh would be good as well for your application. I try and use new steel where I can. If I use old stuff I got to either sandblast it or sand it and that takes time so I try and use new to save time. JDeerekid thats a very nice looking tractor in your avatar. I've never seen one around these parts like that. Thanks for posting guys!

Thanks 4shorts, It is a Montana 4340C with the king kutter tiller on it playing in a field that is a little to muddy. I always wanted a deere but could never afford one so this is what I got after years of research. I would have like to go a littl bigger but funds didnt let me. Glad you liked it.

 

[4shorts]

Thanks 4shorts, Glad you liked it.

That's the understatement of the day "Like" Love is closer. She's real nice!

 

[Lunk]

I had a chance to test out my bucket mod this last weekend. Did a lot of bush-hogging, and found a couple dead elms had blown across one of my lanes.

The extra foot of 2" steel/expanded mesh worked great to help lift and push the trees off to the side. The trunks were 16-20" in diameter, and the limbs went in every direction. It really helped protect the front of the tractor from stray limbs, etc.

I wish I could post pictures. A bolt-on toothbar will be next...

 

[Timber]

A tooth bar is about 1 of the best things you can add to you loader bucket. Aside from the increased digging ability the most valuable thing it does is add incredible strength to the lower edge of the bucket.

 

[4shorts]

A tooth bar is about 1 of the best things you can add to you loader bucket. Aside from the increased digging ability the most valuable thing it does is add incredible strength to the lower edge of the bucket.

You could be right but in my case only using the tractor for snow clearing the tooth bar would be brutal on pavment

 

[RoMad]

I copied this from a post I made a while back describing the one I made.
When I went back to the old post the picture was gone. If you like I can take another one tomorrow to show you.

Not long after I got my tractor my son was carrying a small stump a little to high with the front end loader. he backed up, stopped and the stump hit the grill. I told him about always carrying loads low to the ground but also decided I needed a brush guard. After looking at some on here and pricing some new ones I decided to make one. I kept it pretty simple. I bought a 20 foot stick of 1/4 x 2 inch flat bar for $20 deliverd to where I work. We basically built a rectanular frame and welded it to an old piece of 1/4 x 6 inch flat bar that we bolted to the front of the tractor. We then bent a small radius in the top piece. It was pretty close tolerence between the loader cross bar stiffner one side and the hood on the other but they both clear it just fine.