Loader arm length (was Re: [AT] My New Toy

[Mike Sloane]

I suspect that the reason for the long arms is often a trade off between 
  traction and lift height. When I sold compact tractor for a living, 
the first things a landscaping contractor asked was how much weight 
could the loader lift and would it be able to load over the side of his 
truck. The manufacturer can only put the loader rear supports back just 
so far before they interfere with getting on and off the machine, and 
the support height is limited by engineering. So if he wants, for 
example, a 7' dump height, then the arms are are going to have to be 
long enough to get that height, wherever that puts the bucket. At the 
same time it is also critical that when the bucket dumps from full 
height that the load clear the front of the tractor and go into the 
truck or manure spreader, not come down on the hood!

Mike

Larry D. Goss wrote:
> OK, H. L. and all you other experts; I have a question -- why do
> manufacturers place the bucket of their FEL so far out in front of the
> front wheels?  Kioti isn't alone in doing this, and I am curious about
> it.  Placing the bucket that far forward makes the mechanical advantage
> "wrong" for good traction with a loaded bucket, so you have to have more
> counterbalance weight than if the whole thing was close-coupled.
> Obviously, you can get a higher dump height and more reach with the
> bucket to get a load over the middle of a pickup truck bed, but is there
> some other reason for designing them the way they do?
> 
> Larry
> 

-- 
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
<mikesloane at verizon.net>
Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>

The further one grows spiritually, the more and more people
one loves and the fewer and fewer people one likes.
  -Gale D. Webbe, clergyman and author (1909-2000)


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