Ron Kile wanted to put a loader on his 4WD Case 2470 tractor. But the big tractor had duals all the way around and crab steering, which would have bumped into any kind of loader he tried to put on it.

Kile decided the best way to turn the 200-hp tractor into a loader tractor would be to convert it to articulated steering with an oscillating hinge.

By using another articulated tractor as a guide, he accomplished the task in about a month's time. He built the loader, too, and that took an equal amount of time.

With cutting torch in hand, the Rosalia, Wash., man split the 1970's era rig in half, cutting it right behind the cab. He had to do some calculations on a drawing board to figure out exactly where to put the pivot point.

He reworked the two halves of the tractor so that the front and rear wheels are locked in a straight forward position. And he had to install a universal joint in the drive line and cylinders on each side of the pivot point.

"To accommodate the articulation point, I had to lengthen the frame of the tractor 24 in. This actually allows a tighter turn radius. You can go to a 40 degree angle on both the left and right side. The tractor originally had crab steer capability but all it did was dig trenches," Kile says. "Articulated steering works much better."

His "made it myself" quick detach loader has a self-leveling bucket. The bucket is 10 ft. wide, 30 in. tall and 34 in. deep. The lift height is 15 ft.

"It works good and I use it a lot," he says.