Loader w/out power steering

   / Loader w/out power steering #1  

diulin

New member
Joined
Jan 3, 2018
Messages
14
Location
Bradford
Tractor
Massey Ferguson 1705, Ford 1700
I've been trying to find a loader to put on my Ford 1700, but I was just told by a Ford tractor repair shop that it's a bad idea to put a loader on a tractor without power steering. The Ford 1700 came with power steering as an option, but I guess my grandpa didn't see the need. Seems to me that tractors have had loaders for longer than power steering has been an option, but I'm pretty new at this game. Should I stop trying to find a loader? I'm guessing that a retrofit with power steering would be a really big job. I could just trade in the tractor, but it was my grandfather's, and it's in pretty good shape.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #2  
Power steering like day and night,bucket of materials traveling over rough or even ground make sure your hands on the outside of steering wheel more so if frontend tires are narrow.
I had Kubota over 15years with no power steering with turf tires.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #3  
I've done loader work with no power steering.

It is a lot harder to do the job since you can't turn the wheels when stopped. You have to be rolling and plan where your wheels need to be positioned before you stop.

Not impossible, life is just better with power steering.

Personal experience is it's usually very expensive to put a loader on an older tractor that didn't have one unless you luck into a salvage deal where you can get loader, mounts and hydraulic connections off the same tractor model.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I've done loader work with no power steering.

It is a lot harder to do the job since you can't turn the wheels when stopped. You have to be rolling and plan where your wheels need to be positioned before you stop.

Not impossible, life is just better with power steering.

Personal experience is it's usually very expensive to put a loader on an older tractor that didn't have one unless you luck into a salvage deal where you can get loader, mounts and hydraulic connections off the same tractor model.
Thanks. That's definitely not what I want to hear, but I'd rather hear it now than spend a lot of money only to be left with a tractor (or, worse, a pile of parts) that I can't use!
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #5  
I have just finished fitting a loader to a Massey Ferguson 35. It has no power steering or live hydraulic pump, so it's hard, slow work using it.
I would agree that fitting a loader to an older tractor is a questionable exercise. I wish I had saved my time and money for the time when I will buy a newer tractor with a loader already fitted.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #6  
My first tractor -1982 Ford 1700-4WD-NO power steering - had a factory FEL. I was 40 years younger and didn't know any better. Now my 2009 Kubota M6040 HAS power steering. What a difference.

Like Farmer495 said - at a dead stop, with a full bucket - you waited until you were moving again before attempting to turn the wheel. You might get lucky and find a Ford FEL - however, I would guess it will like looking for hen's teeth.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I have just finished fitting a loader to a Massey Ferguson 35. It has no power steering or live hydraulic pump, so it's hard, slow work using it.
I would agree that fitting a loader to an older tractor is a questionable exercise. I wish I had saved my time and money for the time when I will buy a newer tractor with a loader already fitted.
Thanks for sharing that. I'm sorry you had that experience, but I appreciate being able to benefit from it! (btw, my other tractor is a Massey, so I guess we own a similar combination.)
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #8  
Thanks for sharing that. I'm sorry you had that experience, but I appreciate being able to benefit from it! (btw, my other tractor is a Massey, so I guess we own a similar combination.)
'67 Ford 3000 diesel is my other. I find it "harder working" and more comfortable for longer tasks than the MF 35 from '62.
Happy tractoring!
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #9  
I have two small Kubotas with loaders and no power steering. Even with all the work ive done with them, i haven't spent too much time thinking about converting them to power steering because at the end of the day, it's just.. not that bad!

BUT, there are a bunch of contributing factors. First thing is weight hanging behind the rear axle transfers weight OFF the front axle. One of my Kubotas has a backhoe on it and that tractor is much easier to steer than my other one, on which i mostly use a ~450lb box blade as counterweight. Pound for pound, the further behind the rear axle it is, the more difference it will make in steering effort improvement. So for example, tire fill will not change steering effort noticeably, but putting the same amount of weight on the 3pt will show some improvement.

Another thing is front tire/wheel details. When you don't have power steering, changes to front tires or wheels can make a huge difference in steering effort. It mostly has to do with tire scrub and scrub radius. You can think of your tires' contact patch on the ground as a circle or oval. Ideally you would like that circle to be somewhat near the point where the imaginary line of your steering axis touches the ground (ie if you drew a straight line through your kingin or upper and lower pivots, to the ground). The further your contact patch is outside of that point, the more the tire must roll backward and forward as it turns, which adds effort and makes the tire susceptible to everything in that area of the ground. You can imagine if your tire had to roll UP an incline or bump during its arc, that you would essentially be using the steering system to slightly jack up the entire front of the tractor (huge effort). At least if it spins mostly in place the effort will be more consistent. The other thing is how wide the tires are. Narrower is generally better for steering effort unless it is sinking into the ground. That's going to depend on ground conditions but if you are operating on fairly hard surfaces narrow will be better. Another thing is air pressure and tire stiffness. As you add a bunch of weight to the front tires they will squish down a bit and the contact patch will grow, making the 'swept' or scrubbed area larger, requiring more effort to turn the wheel. So, you should generally run your front tires at max rated pressure for loader work (many go above that but that's a separate topic). If you replace the front tires you would generally prefer a higher ply count, ply rating (not actually the same thing), higher load capacity, or higher max inflation pressure. Those traits all have a lot of overlap as to what they mean about the tire, so you go by whatever specs you can find.

Another thing to remember is this: Most loaders can push the front wheels of the tractor off the ground a little bit even when the bucket is fully curled and holding something. You usually have the option to push the front tires up, spin them effortlessly over the other direction, and put them back down. This is handy when you need to do a lot of steering in a short distance.

Power steering conversions are also possible, but they are usually pretty advanced DIY projects (a lot harder than adding hydraulic remotes, for example) unless you swap on a factory-style setup or someone makes a 'kit' for your tractor.
 
   / Loader w/out power steering #10  
I had tractors for years with loaders and no power steering. THE THING TO FOCUS ON IS HAVING A LOADER AND NO POWER STEERING SURE BEATS NOT HAVING A LOADER AT ALL.

You learn how to compensate.... Things like steering on the bumps or carrying less. Also learn about lowering the bucket to the ground, moving the wheel a few degrees, lifting the bucket, and continue...

I used to go to bed dreaming about schemes to add power steering. But adding PS is pretty advanced mechanically and I wasn't at the time. Then one day we bought a tractor with power steering & the whole world changed.

It was the same with cars and trucks. PS used to be rare even in large trucks - and pretty much non-existant in the average Ford or Chevy passenger car. We got along. Sure beats hoofing it.

rScotty
 
 
 
Top