Front-End Loader Difference in FEL's?

Redneck_Randy · Aug 28, 2006

dfkrug said:
Your additional visibility is gained by the sloped hood, not the loader arm
design. If your NH had a Woods loader, your fwd visibility would prob
be the same.

The Woods loader arms would obstruct your view. (ie blind spots) The combination of the slopped hood and the curved loader arms work in conjunction for better visibility.

PineRidge · Aug 28, 2006

dfkrug said:
Your additional visibility is gained by the sloped hood, not the loader arm
design. If your NH had a Woods loader, your fwd visibility would prob
be the same.

While you are entitled to your opinion there are a few of us that own or have owned curved arm loaders that I'm sure don't agree with your comparison.

roxynoodle · Aug 28, 2006

I agree with Redneck Randy, the sloped hood and curved loader arms work in conjunction to provide better visibility. I have curved arms on my old Yanmar but it has a straight boxy hood and visibility is limited by that. I do like the hoods on those NHs.

schmism · Aug 29, 2006

I have a new "sloped" hood NH with a "boxy" rhino loader....

i can see over the hood fine, seeing the bucket on the other hand.... not as easy.

but as others have said... curved arms put the bucket farther out front FOR BETTER visibility.

if you look at the rhino literture it looks like they make the same loader that NH sold as "theres"

between the old square kind and new curved arms they are essentally the same capacity with diffrent dimentions... with the biggest diff being they bumped the psi rating on the curved versions 500psi to make up for it being farther out front if you ask me.

i still find my bucket to be "in the way" with it as close to me as it is... cant imiagine what it would be like with it farther out front, or even FURTHER out front if i had supersteer.

would i trade better visiblity for worse "in my way" performace... no way. Pluss with all other things equal (psi wise) i think mine will lift more because its closer to me... (less stress on the arms, mounts etc)

asley2010 · Apr 26, 2010

Bob_Skurka said:
I'd say there is a huge difference in the actual use of the curved loaders versus the straight/dogleg loader arms. And people who have experience on both types will typically tell you that you get used to either one, but most seem to prefer the curved arms after using both. I happen to have both, I can tell you that I can get work done faster with the curved arms, the visiblity is vastly improved. Much of the advantage of the curved arms comes from not just the curved arms, but also the curved & sloped hoods of the tractors. They work together as a system to improve the visibility so much that you can actually see your work, that seems like a small thing but in actual use I have found it to be a time saver (and time/labor savings is why I own tractors).

The photo comparision may not be perfect, but it illustrates the point. It should be pointed out that the Kubota/NH have very similar FEL capacities. The Kubota blocks your view to signifcantly farther out, you also can't see the bucket corners on the Kubota. The Kubota grill guard blocks the view to just under 7' in front of the cutting edge of the bucket. On the NH, the ground is visible at just under 3' in front of the bucket. The photo of the green tractor (photo 3) is a Montana. This is not a good comparison because the bucket is NOT flat on the ground, however the loader arms really bock the view because they are mounted much higher so you lose much of the sight advantage with the Montana. I also don't like the plumbing on the Montana, I much prefer rigid pipe over hose on a loader, costs more to pipe it but never has to be replaced and is harder to damage (in my experience).

I'd also point out that not all curved arm/sloped hood tractors are created equal. Some (like Deere, Montana & Kioti) don't have hoods that curve down as steeply or curve side-to-side as New Holland or Case which I believe offers the best view. Kioti is probably the next best hood shape, Montana probably the most traditional of the hood shapes and offers less of a view. Deere offers a good view over the hoods of their new tractors (good not great) but their loader arms are 2 part curved arms and offer a more obstructed view.

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magicheater · Apr 27, 2010

There also is a trend of moving the loader arms closer to the engine compartment. This was evident on the LA402 and LA504 Kubota loaders. Personally I prefer the wider set loader arms as I believe they offer more strength for the bucket and I often use the area between the arms and the engine compartment to see what I am doing when using Loader Buddy. As far as the curved boom on the backhoe goes, I do not think this is a visibility enhancement. It allows you to dig closer to your tractor when the hoe is deeper thus creating more of a vertical hole close in vs. the slanted hole of the straight boom models. This may be important for some but not all situations.

Specop_007 · Apr 27, 2010

schmism said:
I have a new "sloped" hood NH with a "boxy" rhino loader....

i can see over the hood fine, seeing the bucket on the other hand.... not as easy.

but as others have said... curved arms put the bucket farther out front FOR BETTER visibility.

if you look at the rhino literture it looks like they make the same loader that NH sold as "theres"

between the old square kind and new curved arms they are essentally the same capacity with diffrent dimentions... with the biggest diff being they bumped the psi rating on the curved versions 500psi to make up for it being farther out front if you ask me.

i still find my bucket to be "in the way" with it as close to me as it is... cant imiagine what it would be like with it farther out front, or even FURTHER out front if i had supersteer.

would i trade better visiblity for worse "in my way" performace... no way. Pluss with all other things equal (psi wise) i think mine will lift more because its closer to me... (less stress on the arms, mounts etc)

The design of the system should be such to account for the additional stress of having a bucket farther out. I dont think concern over additional stresses is well founded.

Also most new loaders are designed for "quick detach". Now I havent personally used these systems but it feels as if it wouldnt be too much of a hassle to drop the loader when you arent using it which eliminates the bucket problem altogether.

From the perspective of visibility to the bucket obviously anytime you can see the work you can work with more precision and accuracy. If that means getting th ebucket farther out and sloping the hood and arms then so be it, provided theres an easy option to get the bucket out f the way when you dont need it....ie....quick detach.

Now the properties of this design cannot be argued. Its capabilities mirror more traditional designs and it allows better control of the work and more visibility.

However the advantages of that certainly can be argued. To some this wouldnt matter one whit, to others it would be very clear benefit.