HomeMade Garden Tractor Scoop

lazypineapple · Nov 28, 2008

My design ain't working back to the drawing board
It Will not lift any weight 100#
I think due to th angle of my lift cylinder and lift arm
This bracket will fit on rear too
Going to try move bucket closer , change cylinder angle

David Devuono · Nov 28, 2008

Johnny Bucket Sr. John Deere 300-400 series

Look at this link.

Dave

David Devuono · Nov 28, 2008

The lift cylinder is huge. This tells me the tractor hydraulics are low pressure and likely why yours does not lift, otherwise your angles are okay. You may get away with two cylinders but I suspect even that will be suspect as this unit has at least a 4-5 Inch cylinder. Yours look like 1.5 inch (12 sq inch vs your 1.75 square inch)

lazypineapple · Nov 28, 2008

these are 2"x8"x16" cylinders,
the problem with the lift was the fulcrum and angle of the arm.
I learned what a Third-Class Lever was,
there is no mechanical advantage,
By flipping my setup over, having the cylinder retract and lifting the arms up
I made some 14" long arms move them (fulcrum) from the top, to the bottom of my bracket.
with my Lifting effort applied 1/2 way between the weight and the fulcrum 1 cylinder would lift 250# full stroke,
I moved the Lifting effort to the end of the 14" arm close to the weight bucket I was able to lift 350# ,
with the tractor just begining to teeter
(No rear weights yet),

The JD316 has 1" front axles,
How much weight will a 1" axle take before it Folds up ?

Groo · Nov 29, 2008

depends on how the axle is designed, but it probably wont bend if its 1".

I'd worry more about the frame and steering.

MrWoodChips · Nov 29, 2008

lazypineapple said:
these are 2"x8"x16" cylinders,
the problem with the lift was the fulcrum and angle of the arm.
I learned what a Third-Class Lever was,
there is no mechanical advantage,
By flipping my setup over, having the cylinder retract and lifting the arms up
I made some 14" long arms move them (fulcrum) from the top, to the bottom of my bracket.
with my Lifting effort applied 1/2 way between the weight and the fulcrum 1 cylinder would lift 250# full stroke,
I moved the Lifting effort to the end of the 14" arm close to the weight bucket I was able to lift 350# ,
with the tractor just begining to teeter
(No rear weights yet),

This looks much better, at least in terms of the distance this is hanging off the front of your tractor. But if your rear wheels are almost off the ground now with a bucket load, they will have little to no traction. Adding weights to the rear end will help, but only to some extent. And lots of weight there will add more stress to your tractor frame.

So I'd be VERY careful about how you use it. For example, if you go downhill with a full load, watch your speed carefully. If you slow down, you will tip forwards. If those rear wheels come off the ground when you are going downhill, your tractor will go completely out of control. It might do an uncontrolled run down the hill, or it might slew sideways, with only your steering wheel to stop that. Once this happens, tipping on its side is a serious risk.

Your bucket will be most useful for light loads. Since these will offer the least stress on your frame, they are the best anyway. Use it for snow removal, mulch, compost. Avoid bucket loads of rock, dirt, gravel, especially on a hill.

John

2manyrocks · Nov 29, 2008

Not familiar with the JD spindles. Apparently, Cub Cadets came with either 3/4 or 1" spindles, and the 1" ones are the ones people look for when they want to add loaders to them. So the cautions offered about the axle size are well intended.

It's hard to get a full scoop of material in a bucket--that will help. The materials used in the construction of this bucket look heavy to me relative to the size of the JD, however.

I haven't seen one in a while, but a few years ago there was a commercially made rear mounted garden tractor scoop that I think was called a "scoop tote." As I recall, it could be used as a rear blade or as a scoop depending on how it was rotated. I think the theory was to get the weight on the rear axle for traction and because of the greater weight capacity of the rear axle. Plus, many of the garden tractors came with rear lifts. So the rear mounted scoop avoided the fabrication that had to be done for this front loading bucket.

Sorry that this doesn't help resolve these issues for lazypineapple, but if someone else is considering doing something similar for their garden tractor, maybe it will be of use to them.

lazypineapple · Nov 29, 2008

Thanks for the inputs guys ,even as safe as I am, you guys pointed out some stuff I had not thought of,
There are several of these type scoops out there on these JD GTs.
they all advertize less than 400# cap.
I was gonna make a rear 3-point bracket too,

MrWoodchips, you must have ESP. because I am goning to be moving rock down hill
thanks for the runaway tip, I don't want to end up in the lake under this thing

MrWoodChips · Nov 29, 2008

lazypineapple said:
MrWoodchips, you must have ESP. because I am goning to be moving rock down hill
thanks for the runaway tip, I don't want to end up in the lake under this thing

Traveling down a hill with a full bucket load is risky if you have a tippy machine. I've done it and almost gotten into a nasty mess. The problem is, when the you know what starts to hit the fan, its too late to do much more than cross your fingers.

Do:

Use rear weights. Have a heavy breakfast too.

Stop when you get tired. Lack of attention will cause problems. Finish the job another day.

Underload the bucket. Taking an extra trip is not a bad idea. Do not look at the small pile of stuff that remains to be brought down and heap up the bucket just a bit more to save a trip, especially because you are tired.

Maintain a safe speed down the hill. If you cannot do so, then you are carrying too much of a load. Make sure you are comfortable maneuvering the tractor on this hill with the given load.

John