Simple Winch-Powered Garden Tractor Loader

Simple Winch-Powered Garden Tractor Loader TRACTORS Loaders “I looked around for a front-end loader for my 2000 Huskee garden tractor but couldn’t find anything So I built my own ” says Bob Evans Harrison Ark The dump bucket can be raised up to 52 in high – enough to load a pickup bed The bucket measures 42 in wide 12 in deep and 12 in high A 12-volt electric winch that hooks up directly to the tractor’s battery operates the bucket Hand-operated controls on one side of the tractor dump the bucket and controls on the other side pull the bucket back into position A 2-button control box is used to operate the winch The loader frame is made from 1-in sq 1/8-in thick tubing and attaches to the tractor’s frame with 6 bolts Evans used 2-in wide 3/8-in thick strap iron to build a U-shaped mounting base on each side of the tractor The base supports uprights that attach to the loader arms The bucket itself is made from 1/8-in thick steel while the cutting blade is made from 3/4-in flat strap that’s 1/8 in thick “It’s fun to operate and easy to handle ” says Evans “The bucket has a capacity of just 100 lbs so it isn’t designed for heavy work but it comes in handy for a variety of jobs that would otherwise have to be performed by a large tractor Some examples are to remove snow from driveways to scrape and spread gravel on the driveway and to load a pickup or trailer “The loader can be attached or detached in 3 to 4 min which is important because I don’t like to cut grass with the loader on as it bounces around a lot The loader’s mounting brackets don’t interfere with a belly-mounted mower so I don’t have to remove the mower to use the loader ” Before Evans built the loader he used 1/8-in thick by 1-in wide plywood strips to work out the design “I didn’t cut any steel until I had everything working right ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bob Evans 6337 Whispering Pine Rd Harrison Ark 72601 ph 870 743-0555; bobevans@windstream net

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