Your Loader Lift Capacity....More?

[jgbanshee]

One of my main concerns when looking at tractors with loaders is the loader lift capacity to full height. I see that most compacts have on average 1000# to 2000# lift capacity. I ask myself is 2000# enough. Oh, and I am aware that these machines are not full size pieces of equipment.

What is your loader lift capacity?
What do you do with your loader and is the lift capacity enough?

 

[MossRoad]

Mine is about 800 pounds. The tractor only weighs 1500 with me on it. That is plenty. I use the loader mostly for landscaping around the home, moving dirt and mulch. I also use it to maintain small ball diamonds at little leagues and our church/school.

 

[drivadesl]

On my current machine, a Ford 1520, I believe its lift rating is 800-1000lbs. Definitly not enough, though I've been able to dig, lift, and move a lot with it as is. I guess the most interesting item I've lifted was a 10" South Bend tool room lathe. Had to break it down into sections to lift it to drop down into my basement through the Bilco doors. When installing my deck, I lifted the pergola header into place with the loader, couldn't have done it otherwise as I was by myself. The loader is so usefull as we all know, but greater capacity is better, and not only the load rating, but also the reach. This is part of reason why I'm selling my Ford, and have purchased (on order) a NH TN-70, of which the loader is rated at 3500lbs. I'm looking forward to trying that out sometime. My tool philsophy is I like to have a little more than I think I need, so when the time comes to excede it, the rating is there. That way I'm never "outgunned".

 

[BarryinMN]

I have both. My observations are the utility class tractor weighs 10K lbs and the loader lifts #3500 and breakout #5500. Smaller 33hp skidsteer lifts 1200 (tipping 2400) and breaks out 1800. Digging out rocks, machinery or stumps I really miss the tractor breakout power. The SS gets the job done by picking and digging awhile. 15 min tractor task takes 1 hr with the smaller capability.

 

[RFB]

quite a bit

http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/4154/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

my loader is rated around 1600 pounds lift and over 2000 breakout.
I've shifted some impressive piles of limestone to get to the one 1200# rock I wanted while building my retaining walls. (piece of rock about 8" thick and roughly the size & shape of a baby grand)
I also used it to install the french doors on my main floor - using the pallet forks - that was 200# of 6' wide door and 2 construction workers 9' or so in the air plus the 8' wide 5' tall rack I built on to the forks so they had something to stand on and lean back against while lifting.

what exactly are you planning on doing?

 

[Dmace]

My lift capacity to a full height of 88" is 1074lbs at the pins and 1,511 lbs of breakout force. I have found that if I can fit it in the 54" bucket, it can lift it. That alone is more than enough for me, I figure if I am trying to lift anything bigger it would probably be too unsafe. Then again, the 1000 lb propane tank I lifted and carried to it's remote spot for installation would definitly not fit in the bucket.

I also found that without the backhoe attached for ballast, my loader capacity is greatly reduced as it starts to lift the back wheels off the ground.






If you need that much lift capacity in a small package, a skid steel might suit you better.

 

[daTeacha]

My LA(?)114 on the DX29 is supposed to lift 1200. With my 200 on the seat, another 260 on the rear wheels, and 900 on the hitch, it will exert just enough force to bring the rear wheels up when working with a big piece of granite.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

This is one of my soapbox issues and mostly is a concern with aftermarket FEL loaders. IMO it's more important to be mindful of what your frontend capacty is rated for. You may be surprised how little your bucket can handle before overloading the front end. As part of this you also need to be aware of the loader's bucket position in relation to the wheelbase of the tractor. With my setup for every lb in the bucket, the frontend see 2 lbs additional load due to weight transfer. My stk front tires have a rated capacity for the pair of a little less than 2000#. Subtract the weight of the tractor and loader and there is very few lbs of load one can pick up without exceeding the front end capacity of your tractor.

My loader is rated for a little over 2k# but the tires would be blown long before that and no telling what other damage to the front end would result.

 

[davitk]

My loader will lift 2 half-grown reindeer to full height, no problem.

1865 lbs at pins, 102.2".

 

[john_bud]

Mo lift is Mo Betta. Until you don't have traction.

The pucker factor gets extreme if the tractor is really not up to the lift. Have a Ford Industrial tractor 3000 lift to full 10+ ft height and 5000 break out force. It's a greasy ride lifting that much up that high, you start to worry about the upset caused by running over shadows! Even with a 3000# backhoe on it, the traction (2wd) is limited.

 

[IslandTractor]

Mo lift is Mo Betta. Until you don't have traction.

The pucker factor gets extreme if the tractor is really not up to the lift. .

I second these concerns. I have 2700lbs lift at pivot pins on a 4000lb/40hp tractor but have to be careful lifting big things like rocks/concrete barriers because the loader will lift more than can be safely transported given my ballast is usually a mower or even a BH. I almost never lift to full height anyway but usually have heavy loads just a foot or so off the ground.

Where I find lots of loader capacity very useful is in uprooting trees. That way you are using more the curl or lift while the grapple is still in contact with the ground and more of the lift capacity is usable.

 

[Rebel]

The lifting capacity on my 'Bota 723 FEL;
At the pivot pins 1870 lbs
At bucket center 1587 lbs
Breakout 2605 lbs

So far the only thing I haven't been able to lift was a large thick piece of Flagstone, was able to lift one end and drag it to its new location.

 

[MossRoad]

This is one of my soapbox issues and mostly is a concern with aftermarket FEL loaders. IMO it's more important to be mindful of what your frontend capacty is rated for. You may be surprised how little your bucket can handle before overloading the front end. As part of this you also need to be aware of the loader's bucket position in relation to the wheelbase of the tractor. With my setup for every lb in the bucket, the frontend see 2 lbs additional load due to weight transfer. My stk front tires have a rated capacity for the pair of a little less than 2000#. Subtract the weight of the tractor and loader and there is very few lbs of load one can pick up without exceeding the front end capacity of your tractor.

My loader is rated for a little over 2k# but the tires would be blown long before that and no telling what other damage to the front end would result.

Hmm... my little PT425 pictured above just tips on its nose if the bucket is too full.

 

[john_bud]

While funny to watch, it's not real productive!

jb

 

[Cidertom]

JD 400CX loader on a 4520. 2700+ lb concrete pipe using pallet forks. I did not take to full ht. About 6ft though. Even with the rear tires loaded, and the back hoe it was very light on the back end. For the second pipe I put about 400lb of lead bricks in the BH bucket. It was very slow getting the load off the ground, but it did do it.

 

[texasjohn]

With MUCH weight on the rear, I can lift approx 2800 lbs (pay weight since no FEL bucket attached) about 1 foot off the ground... front tires MUST be at max rated pressure to prevent roll off when turning. I have 4wd. I drive slow... and don't need to lift that weight any further.