Easy-To-Use 3-Pt. Dirt Bucket

Easy-To-Use 3-Pt Dirt Bucket MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Earth Movers Ron Vogelsmeier got more than he bargained for when he rebuilt a front-end loader bucket to fit his tractor’s 3-pt hitch It loads hauls dumps and more “I can lift it up tilt it all the way forward and drag it like a box blade ” says Vogelsmeier He wanted to be able to move dirt without putting weight on the front end When he found a slightly used 6-ft wide loader bucket at a local New Holland dealer he figured out a way to adapt it for his 3-pt hitch “The bucket was only $200 as it was pin-on Most loaders now are quick-attach ” says Vogelsmeier “I used scrap steel to reinforce it and other parts salvaged off old pieces of farm equipment I bought a cylinder and new hoses as well as sleeve material for pivot points The whole thing only cost around $400 ” Vogelsmeier built a rectangular frame with 2 by 2-in heavy wall tubing Steel plate welded to the underside of the tubing was bolted to a standard Cat II drawbar purchased at Tractor Supply Co He connected the top link to the front crossbar of the frame with the lower arms attaching just ahead of the bucket Sleeves welded to the rear end of the frame accepted the pin-on bucket More steel plate on the top side of the frame was welded in place as a base for the 23-in stroke cylinder Heavy steel gussets reinforced the drawbar/frame connection as well as the cylinder mount Exactly where to mount the cylinder was the biggest challenge Vogelsmeier ran into with the project “The issue was how to make it dump yet maintain height for dumping ” he says “I tried to mimic the geometry of the original loader bucket and it worked ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ron Vogelsmeier 10269 153rd Rd Sweet Springs Mo 65351 ph 559 289-7926; ronv@unverferth com

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