Garden tractor loader

StoneHeartFarm · Jun 20, 2002

Just saw a link tonight on the simple tractors website that links over to ebay for a tractor/loader. The guys believe it is a Homelite tractor. Current bid when I checked is $750 with a buy it now of around $1,700-1,800.00.

The loader is a 2 arm job and appears to have hydraulic dump on the bucket. If the loader would fit your tractor, there might be more cost benefit to buying the Homelite and scavanging the loader/hydraulics. If not, at least its worth a look since it's a really clear picture of the red loader against the darker tractor. Prices I've seen on the loader at CADPlans would make this one seem reasonable.

SHF

qwerty15 · Jun 20, 2002

I saw that before i came to this site to check the posts. Dont want to spend the money on shipping and i just dont have the money to buy the tractor. i plan on buying materials for the loader as i get the money.

qwerty15 · Jun 21, 2002

I have another question. I am not sure where to put the hyraulic tank and should i have a hydraulic oil cooler also. Capacity of the tank?

StoneHeartFarm · Jun 22, 2002

Have you considered building the tank into the frame. ie, the tank is part of the frame.

SHF

hosejockey2002 · Jun 23, 2002

The guy next door to me has an old Sears lawn tractor with a factory loader. It's a neat looking little setup. It's self leveling, has a belt driven pump and the tank is built into the frame of the loader. It has a posted capacity of 500 pounds which is impressive because my Yanmar compact struggles with that much weight. I don't know how well the machine works because he's had it torn apart for years to rebuild the transaxle and hasn't got it back together yet.

qwerty15 · Jun 23, 2002

Would the frame hold enough hyraulic fluid to put up with constant use without having the oil get too hot.

StoneHeartFarm · Jun 23, 2002

Well, The frame is a pretty big area when you think about it. You can pour a lot of fluid into spaces that just don't look like they should take much.

SHF

qwerty15 · Jun 24, 2002

I think a separate tank would be better so i can add more hydraulics later for some thing like power steering or a rear lift.

StoneHeartFarm · Jun 24, 2002

I guess what you need to do is try to figure out how much fluid you need to hold. If you think about it, the tank on a car isn't that big and they get used hard. They do make a cooler for PS fluid and I understand they are frequently found on police cars. But, from the pictures I've seen of them, they don't appear to be very big.

SHF

try going here for an explaination: www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7666

we're discussing using a PS pump for a loader.

qwerty15 · Jul 10, 2002

I want to put a joystick control valve onto my loader so i would need a 4 way 4 position spring centered with detent float valve? Like the one on northerntool.com part #201614