Go BottomReinforcing 420 loader bucket top for hooks
 | Gary in Indiana
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2002-01-19 34750
I want to put some hooks on the top of my 420 loader bucket on my John Deere 4200 MFWD so I can secure a rope, strap or chain if I need to. The metal there doesn't look the heaviest so I'm planning on bending some plate steel to match the radius of the bucket there and weld to the inside before I attach the hooks. My plan is to weld a solid bead all the way around the four sides of the new reinforcing plate so as to avoid any gaps being homes for dirt and moisture which could lead to premature rusting. Am I thinking of this right here? Then I'd either weld or bolt big loop hooks on either end and in the middle with a couple of clevis chain hooks midway between the ends and the middle hook. I figure that way anything I'd want to do I could from about any position. Any thoughts on doing this or another way to go about it now before I get started?
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 | cutter
Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 1307 The South Shore of Lake Ontario, New York 
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2002-01-19 34755
Gary,
My company purchases a hook with a steel mounting plate attached. They then weld this product to the inside of the bucket near the top and center. This works well and you avoid having your line or strap making that abrupt turn over a possibly sharp upper bucket lip. I have kicked several ideas around and am debating the use of a pintle hook in this area. It would give me a positive closing on my strap plus allow me to move my pole trailer around easily. I am just a bit leery as to the effect of debree on the thing over time. I will probably end up with some sort of hook or loop that I can lace a D hook over when in use and remove it when done. I plan on using a steel backing plate and drilling and bolting it into place. I will calk it up good for moisture defense when I mount it. I have serious doubts about welding this type of thing to thin steel. Heat could possible weaken the spot or case harden it and make it brittle, as well as deform it. But then, the newer welders are less prone to doing that I have heard. Just my opinion of course, plenty of engineers on this board that can help you more than I! ....
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| cordspa
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 4 Phoenix
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2002-01-19 34762
Cutter is right with the hook and plate. Don't mount hooks at the ends of the loader. when you pick something up from the end of bucket it will bend or twist the loader frame. I think mounting on the top outside is best. That way the chain can't come out when you roll the bucket. It is also easier to reach when your rigging. just stay in center. A chain hook matched to the chain you use is best. Weld it upside down and then you can hook chain in it. That is the most secure system you can get. (weld must be good)Be careful about long welds on thin metal, it will warp easily. A technique called backstepping is better. Start ahead and weld back to yourself about 8-12 inches at a time repeat the step ahead and weld back etc. ....
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| Gary in Indiana
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-01-19 34765
Thanks for your responses. I think I'm going to have to stay with mounting the hooks on the outside (top) if for no other reason than this particular bucket has a radius turn on the top down (to the inside) which precludes mounting on the inside. With the arc or radius downward at the top of the bucket, I see no other way to go. The good news is that it'll avoid contact with any sharp edge. I still want the full width reinforcement, but might go with shorter welds and caulking to weather seal it if any of the engineers here think I should be concerned with longer welds. While I want hooks near either end I'd never use just one near one end. My thought was by having one near either end I could use both ends together when I need a wider 'base' for lifting things like a fuel tank or big toolbox into the bed of the truck. I hope that makes sense the way I explained it. Is my thinking logical on this? ....
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| jyoutz
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 48
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2002-01-20 34767
Gary, I welded my grab hooks to a piece of 1/4 inch thick angle iron (3x3"). Then I bolted this to the top outside bucket edge with grade 8 bolts. On the inside bucket edge, I backed the nuts with a 1/4" flat 3" plate of steel. This is very easy to do, reinforces the bucket edge, and its cheap. ....
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| steve arnold
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-01-22 34848
Gary, I welded and bolted U.S. made forged tow hooks on the ouside top of bucket as close to the welded joint of the side plates as I could with a slight inward angle (10 or 20 degrees) from tractor centerline.
I have a jd 970 it may or may not have heavier steel but additional 1/4 inch plates would not have hurt.
the tow hooks are the same ones for 4x4 trucks. I stay away from chinese cast iron (pintle hooks, tow hooks, bench vises etc.)
At the time I worked for a seat belt company and had an excess of 5000# obsolete webbing to work with so I figured these wide mouthed hooks would work better and they did. they also work with 3/8 chain but I sometimes now I wish they were 3/8 chain hooks instead. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-01-23 34858
Just a comment on Grade 70 clevis grab hooks. I have several U.S. made 5/16th grab hooks. I bought several more from the same tractor supply a year later, but they were Chinese made. The Chinese made hooks didn't have as much clearance around the clevis as the U.S. made hooks and they cannot be forced from one side of the link to the other on new 5/16th chain. The hooks always stick out at an angle from the chain.
I'd hang onto U.S. made ones when you find them. My Chinese hooks are on tow chain that stays in the truck where I may never have to use them. Who knows, maybe the hooks would work properly after the chain is stretched once.
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2002-01-25 34920
I have a JD 4100 and a 410 loader. I have one big forged tow hook in the middle of the bucket pointing up and attached with 2, grade 8, 3/8 inch bolts. To my mind this is much stronger than welding, and if I had a concern about rust underneath it I would hose it down on a regular basis with WD 40. So far it has been one of the most useful attachments to my tractor. I have used it to lift and position heavy three point implements and an antique ore car that had to weigh 800 lbs. I have pulled down trees and skidded logs through the brush. I am currently using it to pull down or extract the posts on an old horse corral. Doesn’t sound like much until you know that the posts are all railroad ties and phone poles. Did the upper lip of the bucket bend with all this work? Yes. It compressed 1/8 inch as compared to the edges of the bucket and stayed there. I guess if I had reinforced the top lip I could have limited the deformation to 1/16 or so but I doubt that I could have limited the deformation to zero. I can live with the 1/8 inch.
A big open forged hook allows the use of rope or chain and will also grab the top pin on your three point tools or the loop of a heavy tow strap. It is a most useful tool and I wouldn’t be without it.
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