Mini Loader Built For Cub Cadet Garden Tractor

Mini Loader Built For Cub Cadet Garden Tractor AG WORLD “I wanted a front-end loader for my Cub Cadet 1440 garden tractor but couldn’t find anything So I built my own from scratch ” says 81-year-old Carman Fedele of Tidioute Penn     He used 1/8-in thick steel to build the bucket and 2-in flat strap that’s 3/16 in thick to build the cutting blade The bucket measures 37 in wide and 15 in deep and can be raised up to 50 in high to load a pickup bed A local welding shop sheared and bent the metal for the bucket and then Fedele welded the end plates on The loader frame is made from 1 1/2 by 3-in rectangular tubing and attaches to the tractor’s frame with 8 bolts Fedele used 2-in wide 3/8-in thick strap iron to build a mounting base on each side of the tractor The base supports uprights that attach to the loader arms A hydraulic pump shaft-driven off the tractor’s engine operates the bucket cylinders which came off an old semi truck equipped with a cab-over-engine Fedele added a 2-spool hydraulic control valve to dump the bucket and raise and lower the loader “It’s fun to operate and easy to handle ” says Fedele “I spent less than $1 000 to build it The bucket has a capacity of 400 lbs so it isn’t designed for heavy work but it comes in handy for a variety of jobs that would otherwise have to be performed by a large tractor Some examples are to remove snow from driveways to scrape and spread gravel on the driveway and to clean out ditches along the edge of a road in front of our home The bucket is 1 in wider than the tractor’s front wheels so it won’t interfere with them when driving through snow or mud ” He welded three hooks on top of the bucket reinforcing them with a length of welded-on rectangular tubing “By attaching chains to the hooks I can easily pick up things around my shop such as gas or oxygen tanks ” says Fedele “The tractor came with exhaust stacks alongside the hood so the loader doesn’t interfere with the mower or opening the tractor’s hood I added a counterweight on back of the tractor to counterbalance the extra weight up front ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Carman Fedele Sr 1 Main Street Tidioute Penn 16351 ph 814 730-9377

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