King Kutter dirt scoop

[Anonymous Poster]

I bolted my "dump handle" to the trip mechanism on my Howse scoop. I drilled a 3/8" hole near the end of it and have no trouble dumping the scoop with a rope when set up to pull the scoop forward. And it really works great when pushing the sccop backwards.

 

[Soundguy]

My scoop is a howse i believe too ( came from tsc ). Our trip handles dont had a roller or anything to facilitate easy movement for dumping. What I did, was lubricate the pivot point, take a file to the end of it to make less surface area contact, and add a little grease ( migrates, but what the heck ), and also added a weak spring to help the return a little... a very weak spring is all that is needed. I've though about adding a roller or small hanging pulley to help with the rope pull, as well as add a 6" section of pvc 1/2" sch80 to the end of the ( shortened) rope to act as a 'T' handle, etc, etc.

Soundguy

 

[Trev]

I love my KK dirt scoop.

Here are some things I've found:

-Adjust the release roller so it turns freely. This is easy to do.

-Often, you will try to dump a load, and can't move the lever with the rope. What usually works is to lower the scoop to the ground, then pull the rope to release the latch, and hold the rope while raising the scoop. Nine times out of ten this will work for me.

-On occassion the release device releases correctly, but there is a bit more weight in the front than the back of the scoop, so it doesn't dump. In these cases, I just get off the tractor, release the catch, and then just give the scoop a little tug with my hand to get it to dump.

-Once you've dumped your load, you can usually just lower the scoop while driving away and it will re-catch. Or you can just reach back and give it a shove and it will usually latch. It's pretty well-balanced.

-You really need to adjust your top link from time to time to get the proper digging angle. (A hydraulic top link would be great!) I've mostly used mine to move large piles of rocks so far, so can't comment too much on digging, but what I did find is that there is a "sweet spot" in terms of angle set by top link. You need it to be able to get underneath the stuff you are trying to lift, but you also need to keep it level enough so that once you lift your load it will stay inside the scoop. As you go driving away, you will often find some stuff falling off the back. That's just a matter of fine-tuning your top link.

-I've been very happy with mine.. it does what I need, and allows me to keep my front blade mounted permanently.. which is not only handy to have but also provides a perfect counterweight for rear mowers, tillers, etc., and it doesn't stick out far enough to interfere with vision or to cause problems with hitting things when turning. The combination of front blade and rear dirt scoop is also great for snow. Usually you just push the snow.. but if the piles get too deep the dirt scoop can be used to move the piles.

For the price, I don't know how you could beat a good dirt scoop for flexible functionality.

Bob