Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators!

   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #21  
I fiddled around with the bucket level on my L4060 for a year or two, then just gave up. I can see the bucket's flat top, and my eye is much more accurate than the steel rod, marked or not.
That's what I do. The Kubota bucket has two pieces of strap steel welded onto the top of the FEL bucket so that they set at exactly the same angle as the bottom of the bucket.
Ours have reflective tape, and Kubota positioned them where they are easy to see past the hood.

Much easier to see than an indicator rod, quieter, and I find it easier to tell the angle of the bucket.
Kubota with bucket levels on bucket.jpgM59 bucket from seat .jpg
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #22  
I've never had one and never thought of needing one. Am I missing out on something?????

Seems all my buckets and fork cage have welded edges like this so I just look at either side of bucket to see if bucket running parallel to the ground, or trailer deck or heaped piles or whatever i want to match or adjust angle to. going to pay more attention to this tomorrow as I go push some snow.
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   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #23  
I could not find any indicator that I liked so I built my own. The curved face is linked to the bucket and rotates as the bucket is tilted. There are two pointers to indicate position. The one closest to the curved face is linked to the loader frame and shows the current level condition of the bucket. The other one is fixed position to show where the loader will be when lowered to ground level.

The dimensions required to make it work accurately are a bit tricky and would be different for each loader so some experimenting is required.
View attachment 2053393
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It would be nice to see more pics of your set up. What is the purpose of the lower rod on the left?
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #24  
View attachment 2056922

It would be nice to see more pics of your set up. What is the purpose of the lower rod on the left?
That rod moves the inner pointer which indicates the bucket level at the current lift arm position. It is primarily for finding level when using a fork attachment or grading something above ground level.

Here is a front view which shows most of the linkage.
Front View.JPG
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #25  
I find a bucket level indicator extremely useful. Mine is the standard pipe and rod set up. On the Massey 20C you cannot see the bottom of the bucket at all and very little of the top. A square hood, metal cab panels and poorly placed loader arms give you no visibility so I made a bucket level indicator. When operating a verity of equipment you do not always have time to develop the 'feel" for level for each machine. A level indicator is a quick way to operate more efficiently. I like the bent rod style as it gives you a better indication of how much out of level you are and they do not freeze up like the tube style does.

I like a level indicator as it lets me get the bucket level prior to setting it on the ground. This saves time as you do not have to stop to level the bucket prior to digging into a pile, or when you have to lift the boom to swing over an obstacle prior to digging. I do have to keep it out of the brush and make sure no trees snag it when mowing, but its worth it to me.

For pallet forks, once they are in the air I can eyeball level fairly well. When picking up a pallet getting the forks level that I struggle with and the level rod helps with that. I am lucky that my main set forks, and my main bucket have the same angle so I do not have to adjust the level rod much. The other set of forks are 6' long so most of the time you can see the tips.
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #26  
Use one almost exclusively..... Made my own and its simply a rod from bucket through a tube and when rod is flush with end of tube, bucket is level...

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And don't laugh about a round peg in a square hole, it a scrap pile supply build...

But really like the one mentioned above that reads like a dial....
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #27  
Mine has never come out of the tube it slides in but then I never cut it off either and it's never in the way.

FYI, Kubota dealers sell a retrofit level indicator complete for under 35 bucks. You do have to drill a hole in the loader dog bone and use the supplied screw to mount the rod however. really a 10 minute upgrade.

Don't know who came up with the lame welded on indicator on the top of the bucket but it's totally useless.
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #28  
I think up its pretty useful on my T25

IMG_0872-compressed.jpeg
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #29  
Hi all, first-time poster here! (I’ve been lurking for about a year.)

Last year, I got my first tractor (a Kubota L3560) and have loved just about everything about it, except the bucket level indicator. I’ve found it fragile (broke it the first time using it), only mildly accurate, and not super helpful when switching between implements (I know, I should mark the rod). There are also times, especially with pallet forks on, I’ve wished I could see level relative to gravity versus the ground.

I’ve been having fun tinkering with a digital solution to try and address some of my personal gripes, but it got me wondering:

For those of you who use bucket level indicators (and I know many don’t):
  • What are the use cases you rely on them for?
  • What are the biggest frustrations or limitations you’ve run into?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts—what works, what doesn’t, and what you wish bucket level indicators did better (or did at all!).
Welcome to TBN!

My first tractor, an IH2500B tractor loader had a bucket level indicator. It was very useful because I could not see the bucket from the cab when it was down.

My current machine does not have an indicator, but I can see the entire bucket from the operator seat, so it is not needed.

So, overall, I liked it on the machine that needed it. Very useful when you need to maintain a level cut, lift a pallet on forks, keep something level, etc... and also useful if you want to tip the cutting edge up or down.
 
   / Fragile, Inaccurate, or Useful? Let’s Talk Bucket Level Indicators! #30  
I could not find any indicator that I liked so I built my own. The curved face is linked to the bucket and rotates as the bucket is tilted. There are two pointers to indicate position. The one closest to the curved face is linked to the loader frame and shows the current level condition of the bucket. The other one is fixed position to show where the loader will be when lowered to ground level.

The dimensions required to make it work accurately are a bit tricky and would be different for each loader so some experimenting is required.
View attachment 2053393
My IH2500B had a similar indicator. Not just the rod through the tube. Very handy. (y)
 

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