Manure, wet dirt, and other sticky materials aren't as likely to stick onto a front-end loader bucket if it's lined with plastic, says Dan Thiel, Badger Plastic & Supply, Plover, Wis., who's come up with a bolt-on plastic liner for front-end loader buckets. He showed it at the recent Electric Power & Farm Equipment Show in Madison, Wis.

The plastic liner comes in sections that are screwed onto the back, sides, and bottom of the bucket and then "welded" together at the joints. "We're not quite ready to market it yet but there has been a lot of interest in it," says Thiel. "One customer has had the liner on his 7-yard loader bucket for two years, using it to haul sand, gravel, and rocks. It works great for him and has shown very little wear. I think the same idea could be used on payloaders and earth-moving equipment."