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Giant Add-On Bucket For 35 Hp Deere Tractor
“It can carry an amazing amount of lightweight mulch or snow and also works great as a scaffolding platform. It bolts on and off in only about 2 min.,” says Kevin Daniels, Wallingford, Ct., about the giant add-on bucket he built for his Deere 1070 35 hp, 4-WD tractor.
    The oversize, slip-in loader bucket is built in one piece and attaches to the loader’s original 5-ft. bucket. The sides measure 30 in. high and the floor extends 2 ft. in front of the original bucket and has a 6-in. deep, 1/4 in. thick steel plate welded to the front. A pair of chain binders are attached to “tie-down” hooks welded onto the floor with 8-in. long chains attached to keep everything rigid.
    The add-on bucket comes on and off in just a couple of minutes. The operator drives the original bucket’s floor into 4 U-shaped metal brackets welded on back of the add-on bucket, then installs a bolt on each side.
    “I thought it would be flimsy and clumsy and was shocked at how strong it is and how well it works,” says Daniels. “I also was worried it might be too heavy, but it’s not at all. The chain binders are the key because they keep the front of the bucket from bending under a heavy load. They make both buckets feel like they’re welded solidly together.
    “I built it because I got tired of making deep wheel ruts driving the tractor over my yard. I use the tractor to haul mulch from a big pile to my garden and to landscaping areas in my yard. By filling the big bucket completely full I don’t have to make nearly as many trips. I bought the material used to build it at a junk yard. It was the best $100 I ever spent.”
    According to Daniels, the trick was to keep the add-on bucket light but strong. “To achieve the light part I used expanded metal, which provides strength without the weight. Most of the metal I used is only 3/16 in. thick, which helps keep down the weight. I used square steel tubing as reinforcement to keep the sway down, and the chain binders really make the bucket rigid.”
    He built the bucket last summer and used it after a big snowstorm last January to help his neighbors out. “I was the hero of the neighborhood. I was able to push way more snow than I could have with just the standard bucket,” says Daniels.
    “I don’t try to dig into anything solid with this bucket because it’s built too light for that. It also makes a great scaffold because the floor is much bigger than on a standard bucket, so I don’t have to worry as much about falling off.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kevin Daniels, 18 Marie Lane, Wallingford, Ct. 06492 (ph 314 503-6955; kjdaniels7@gmail.com).



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2016 - Volume #40, Issue #2