Home-Built Pickup Loader

Home-Built Pickup Loader PICKUPS Modifications 24-1-19 "It lets us retrieve and load round bales in far less time than we could with a conventional loader tractor and it cost very little to build," says Dan Sullivan, McIntosh, Minn., who mounted a Farmhand F-11 loader on the back of a 1974 Ford 3/4-ton 2-WD pickup. His sons Dan and Dave helped him do the job. He first removed the cab and box from the pickup. The original steering wheel is still in place. To operate the loader, Sullivan sits on a seat next to the steering wheel that faces backward, and runs the transmission in reverse. To drive on the highway he drives forward and sits on a "jump seat" behind the steering wheel. To support the loader, Sullivan welded a pair of heavy channel irons onto the pickup frame just above the rear axle and welded a 5-in. sq., 1/2-in. thick steel tube across the top of the frame. The vertical posts at the back of the loader bolt to steel brackets that clamp onto the tube. He removed the pickup's original power steering pump and replaced it with a larger hydraulic pump off a Massey Ferguson 510 combine. The pump operates the loader hydraulics as well as the power steering. To make an accelerator pedal for loader work he mounted a big barn door hinge on the floor in front of the rear-facing seat. A cable runs from the top of the hinge under the frame to the pickup's original accelerator. To provide brakes for loader work he mounted a pair of brake foot pedals next to the add-on accelerator, then connected the master brake cylinders off the Massey combine to the rear axle. The pickup still has its original brake and accelerator pedals for driving on the highway. "It turned out even better than I thought it would," says Sullivan. "I use it mainly to haul bales to the edge of the field where I can later load them onto trailers. I travel up to 35 mph in the field with no problem. I paid $100 for the pickup which was in relatively good condition. I already had the loader. My total cost was only about $750. "I can go at 60 mph on the highway which is important because I have some fields that are up to 12 miles away. It rides better than it did before the conversion because it's better balanced with the loader on back. The pickup's original rear suspension springs are still in place over the rear axle. I steer the loader by reaching down with one hand and grabbing the steering wheel knob. I can stack bales up to four high. To help support the weight of the bale I replaced the pickup's original rear wheels with 10.00 by 16.5 skid steer tires. I also bolted a length of angle iron at an angle onto each side of the frame, between the rear driving axle and the top of the loader arms." For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dan Sullivan, Sullivan Farms, Box 99, McIntosh, Minn. 56556 (ph 218 687-3238).

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