Hooks: Weld or Bolt?

[Stmar]

Have a few questions about adding hooks to my bucket:
1. Weld or Bolt on, have a neighbor that will weld, and where to buy materials? I saw the Ken's hooks and they seem reasonably priced for each type.
2. Positions and number? Thinking 3 mounted middle and each end, have the SSQA so limited on where I can mount the end ones. Should I go outside the lift arms or inside since I don't think I can go even with the arms.
3. Paint if I weld: Is it worth getting it from Kubota to keep consistent color and for future touch up?
4. Size of hook: 5/16" or 3/8"? Seems like 5/16 is the norm for my size machine, B2650, so is there any reason to go to 3/8?

 

[Creature Meadow]

Here is what I did and it seems to work nicely for me. Welded hooks to plates and bolted on and my rings just drilled hole and bolted. I di paint mine as you can see just looked better to me.

 

[Loner16]

I made my own for my B-7800. Pictured here not yet painted. I welded boxed tubing cut on an angle to alleviate the angle of the bucket and clear the raised lip.
They turned out nicely, but Ken makes some nice stuff, and really is the way to go.

 

[rkidd]

This is the way I did mine on my B2650. With experience from being a heavy equipment operator all of my life, I like an excavator hook in the middle to be able to use chains, nylon or cable slings to hook up. I welded 3/8 hooks inline with the loader arms for chains that will accept 5/16 or 3/8 chains. There is no problem with the SSQA levers set up this way. The bucket has a nice 1/4 plate on top to weld too. Just have to cut out a 1/4 plate for the middle excavator hook to weld too as the top plate is not wide enough for it. Works great. I have done mine, and another B2650 I ordered from Kens, and I have to order another set from him to do my neighbors L3800 the same way. And yes I just get a spray can of bright orange paint from the Kubota dealer for the touch up. Matches perfectly. Good luck.









View attachment 29980

 

[85Hokie]

Have a few questions about adding hooks to my bucket:
1. Weld or Bolt on, have a neighbor that will weld, and where to buy materials? I saw the Ken's hooks and they seem reasonably priced for each type.
2. Positions and number? Thinking 3 mounted middle and each end, have the SSQA so limited on where I can mount the end ones. Should I go outside the lift arms or inside since I don't think I can go even with the arms.
3. Paint if I weld: Is it worth getting it from Kubota to keep consistent color and for future touch up?
4. Size of hook: 5/16" or 3/8"? Seems like 5/16 is the norm for my size machine, B2650, so is there any reason to go to 3/8?

I prefer bolt on......easier to remove and replace and easier to paint too - even if paint does not match perfectly it looks better. Heat on the bucket steel is not good either. And if bolted correctly, will hold up longer than weld on ones.

Get three - near the cylinder lines and then middle, rarely do you want to pull from ONLY one on ends!

as for size......get 5/16....why? it will hook to 1/4 and 3/8 chain perfectly, and if you are using any of the three, you will be in perfect shape!

 

[hodge]

I prefer bolt on......easier to remove and replace and easier to paint too - even if paint does not match perfectly it looks better. Heat on the bucket steel is not good either. And if bolted correctly, will hold up longer than weld on ones.

Get three - near the cylinder lines and then middle, rarely do you want to pull from ONLY one on ends!

as for size......get 5/16....why? it will hook to 1/4 and 3/8 chain perfectly, and if you are using any of the three, you will be in perfect shape!

Heat on the bucket won't hurt anything- it was welded when manufactured. Otherwise, I agree that bolt on works great- you don't have as many paint issues, and it is easier to alter or replace later.
Because Kubota Orange is so easy to obtain, there's no reason not to paint it the correct shade of orange. Tractor Supply carries a number of brands of Kubota Orange.

 

[rkidd]

I prefer bolt on......easier to remove and replace and easier to paint too - even if paint does not match perfectly it looks better. Heat on the bucket steel is not good either. And if bolted correctly, will hold up longer than weld on ones.

Get three - near the cylinder lines and then middle, rarely do you want to pull from ONLY one on ends!

as for size......get 5/16....why? it will hook to 1/4 and 3/8 chain perfectly, and if you are using any of the three, you will be in perfect shape!

I certainly agree that there is no problem using bolt on or welded on hook. For alot of people it is just what you are able to install on your bucket. As far as bolt on hooks holding up better than welded on hooks, whenever you get a machine from Cat or John Deere or Komtatsu, and they have liabilty issues to contend with, the hooks are welded on from the factory not bolted on, and I have run alot of equipment that is 30 plus years old, and the hooks are still on there often suffering alot of abuse and doing alot of things that they werent really meant to do. I have never seen one fail in 38 plus years either. That is also a good point on using the 5/16 hooks to bolt or weld on.

 

[wiltff]

I have weld on chain hooks on the outside of the bucket and homemade lugs on the inside. The outside ones are welded nearest to the loader arms for strength. If I'm pulling hard I use 2 shackles in the outside lugs in a 'V' pattern to spread out the force. It also lets me connect chains easier for carrying logs with the bucket.

 

[chim]

I used bolted-on heavy angle and cut slots in it for the chain to drop into on my last two tractors. Slots are easy to do by drilling a hole at the bottom of the slot and sawing into it to form a long skinny "U". The angle bucks up against the back of the top lip of the bucket and is much stronger than needed. The slots work for 3/8" and smaller chains.

They provide a wide selection of where to make a hookup. I've picked longer things by forming two loops to go down around them and the extra slots store the unused part of the chain to keep it out of the way. Another nice feature is the capability to disconnect the load by dumping the bucket, lowering it and backing away. It eliminates some hopping off and on the tractor when moving stuff around.

Loads can be connected with chains dropped over the front or the back of the bucket. The picture with the ratchet strap is the fastening means for my brush forks. The ratchet strap pulls a chain bridle that runs under the bucket to hold the forks on.

 

[Al2]

Just a reminder to those bolting on the hooks. Use a good grade of bolt for extra safety. Most hardware stores sell grade 2 bolts and not sure how well they work in a heavy load lift.
Al

 

[sdk1968]

got mine form the member here on the site who sells them..

bolted on. easy to do ... takes less than 30 mins... great kit with good hardware!

give it a shot!

 

[Stmar]

Thanks, lots of good ideas to choose from. Ingenious bunch on this forum.

 

[Stmar]

got mine form the member here on the site who sells them..

bolted on. easy to do ... takes less than 30 mins... great kit with good hardware!

give it a shot!

How do I find him?

 

[Kennyd4110]

How do I find him?

He may be taking about me

 

[Kennyd4110]

Just a reminder to those bolting on the hooks. Use a good grade of bolt for extra safety. Most hardware stores sell grade 2 bolts and not sure how well they work in a heavy load lift.
Al

We sell ours with high quality grade 8 hardware.

 

[Mike aka Fishwerks]

I use the bucket a lot for moving trailers. 3560 with b/h. The parts are HF and effective and inexpensive for the task. Did the welding with the bucket detached to avoid any issues with the electronics on the tractor.

 

[NF6X]

I just bolted on a pair of Ken's grab hooks today. They appear to be very well-made. I may paint them later. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to try them out, so I ended up doing a little bit of tractorin' right at sundown.

Right after I checked out, I remembered that I should have checked for a Tractor Time With Tim discount code. Doh! Oh well, there's always next time. I may end up ordering a shackle mount or two for the center of the loader bucket and/or the backhoe bucket. I have an actual crane, but it's nice to have multiple options for moving things around.

 

[BX23S-1]

I use the bucket a lot for moving trailers. 3560 with b/h. The parts are HF and effective and inexpensive for the task. Did the welding with the bucket detached to avoid any issues with the electronics on the tractor.

Mike, thats got to be one of the greatest mods i`ve seen in a long time...just plain AWESOME. Perfect welding job too..!

 

[rexey]

I just bolted on a pair of Ken's grab hooks today. They appear to be very well-made. I may paint them later. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to try them out, so I ended up doing a little bit of tractorin' right at sundown.

Right after I checked out, I remembered that I should have checked for a Tractor Time With Tim discount code. Doh! Oh well, there's always next time. I may end up ordering a shackle mount or two for the center of the loader bucket and/or the backhoe bucket. I have an actual crane, but it's nice to have multiple options for moving things around.

Where might one find that discount code? I was on their web site and didn't see it. Lol. Have some purchases of my own to make lol. Wanna post a link [emoji16]


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[NF6X]

I don't know for sure that there is a discount code. I recall that Heavy Hitch has a discount code for viewers of Tractor Time with Tim, and right after I finished my order I remembered that I should have checked to see if Ken has a discount for Tim's fans, too.

If you want the codes, you need to be a Tractor Time with Tim fan... no cheating!

But seriously, I do like the TTWT videos a lot, even though he's one of those green guys.