I wanted to ad some capacity to my bucket without buying a completely new bulk material bucket. I was also concerned that the dimensions of a larger bucket would limit the roll back / break out force of the loader even further. So my solution was to fabricate a removable spill guard for the top edge of the existing bucket. I simply used a piece of 3/16 x 8" x 48" long plate. Made a 45 deg bend 3" from one edge. Used C clamps to position it on the bucket. Made four 7/16 holes through both the plate and the bucket at the same time using a Hypertherm 45XP plasma cutter and a circular template. I then resized the holes to clean them up using a 1/2 drill bit. My uses for this modification are to allow for a little more capacity when handling lighter material such as snow, sawdust, compost, etc.
I am able to roll the bucket forward enough so as not to interfere with the spill guard during a vertical lift using the chain hooks. But, I still like the option of being able to remove the plate. It takes just a few minutes to remove the four bolts.
Total cost for materials was about $35.00, plus two hours of labor.
I am able to roll the bucket forward enough so as not to interfere with the spill guard during a vertical lift using the chain hooks. But, I still like the option of being able to remove the plate. It takes just a few minutes to remove the four bolts.
Total cost for materials was about $35.00, plus two hours of labor.
