Loaders for tractors …

Ok so looking to buy a new loader to fit the 130 hp tractor , I’ve not used a front end loader in decades but they must be better that the old 3 spool block we had on the massy, what features can I expect and what sort of prices are they? T
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
@Cowabunga has good knowledge on this.
Getting to be a bit stale now. It's ten years since I had anything to do with tractors and loaders in any technical way.
The features you can expect are directly proportional to the money you are willing to spend and that depends on the buyer's attitude, what he wants, what he actually feels he needs, the amount of work the unit is expected to do annually and over how many years and the age and condition and indeed the specification of the tractor it is to fit. We only know the horsepower, so the information needed to help or make a rational decision is very much lacking so far.
 

Pringles

Member
Location
West Fife
A new loader to fit on a 130hp tractor with fairly basic extras, eg. mechanical self levelling and boom suspension is going to cost around £10k.

Like everything else this past while you will be made to wait until a loader is made, unless you can find a dealer with one in stock.

So if you are serious and need it for this summer's work then don't hang around.
 

RH15LEW

Member
You may get lucky and a manufacturer may have brackets and boom for your tractor with reasonable lead times, if not, easily looking at 4/5/6 months.
 

BRB John

Member
BASIS
Location
Aberdeenshire
Getting to be a bit stale now. It's ten years since I had anything to do with tractors and loaders in any technical way.
The features you can expect are directly proportional to the money you are willing to spend and that depends on the buyer's attitude, what he wants, what he actually feels he needs, the amount of work the unit is expected to do annually and over how many years and the age and condition and indeed the specification of the tractor it is to fit. We only know the horsepower, so the information needed to help or make a rational decision is very much lacking so far.
I'm afraid that's just the nature of farming. I'm still going to my local dealer for international spare parts despite them not being the dealer for them well since international stopped being a thing 🤣
So once a loader expert always a loader expert.
I'm not actually familiar of your background so no fear of being tagged by me anytime soon 😂.

And in regards of tractor loaders it is always much cheaper to have the factory install them.
And agreed your not getting much change from 10k.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Just for illustrative purposes...

Assuming the 130hp tractor to be ten year old six cylinder with 100lpm hydraulics, no matter whether open of closed centre, and that the workload amounts to between 400 and 500 hours per year.

Then a self levelling boom would be my choice. One that is big enough to handle 130hp with a counterweight consistently. That has replaceable bushes. If budget is a constraint then a cable joystick to a frame mounted spool block with a button for the third service. For more money an electric joystick with programmable functions, mounted on the seat armrest would be nice. If on a new tractor then factory ordered with CCLS and electric spools and joystick built-in from the factory. A boom that lifts the required load up to the required tipping height with a bit to spare. A single lever quick attach system for the hydraulic couplings on the spool block. Most importantly and often forgotten, a good selection of buckets, grabs and bag lifters, as appropriate, to enable the maximum utility to be made of the unit. Add or subtract features as desired.

60lpm hydraulics are a handicap for the bigger loaders suited to six cylinder 130+hp tractors. The bigger and longer the lift rams, the more oil flow they require to achieve an acceptable work cycle speed. You do not want to be sat there twiddling your thumbs with one hand pulling the joystick, waiting for the loader to rise to the desired height.
 

Thomas5060

Member
Livestock Farmer
When I bought my 6100M it was a demo with 20hours on it and had no loader, managed to get a new stock loader (603M) from another JD dealer for £6500. If you look around you will get something new or nearly new for less than £10k
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
We have zero information about what the tractor is apart from being 130hp and even less info about the OP’s aspiration and expectation. No point going further until there is feedback. Waste of our/my time.
 

dannewhouse

Member
Location
huddersfield
what's the best setup for using the tractors own joystick? i have seen tractors where to use the joystick for tractor spools you have to unplug the loader block! that's no good, needs at least a manual change over leaver (like PUH) or an electric switch in the cab, to either control a valve or send the electronic signal to an electric valve on the loader instead of spools.

i know of a Q6X? equivalent of a Q68 for about 11500 this is with the new electric joystick, but I don't know about coupler etc.
 

J 1177

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Durham, UK
Quickie, mx, stoll, all good premium loaders slightly less money is sigma, my brother in law has fitted one on his maxxum 115 xline. Seems a good sturdy bit of kit. He got it off Tunstall tractors.
Theres then these polish made ones that seem decent but i know little about them.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
what's the best setup for using the tractors own joystick? i have seen tractors where to use the joystick for tractor spools you have to unplug the loader block! that's no good, needs at least a manual change over leaver (like PUH) or an electric switch in the cab, to either control a valve or send the electronic signal to an electric valve on the loader instead of spools.

i know of a Q6X? equivalent of a Q68 for about 11500 this is with the new electric joystick, but I don't know about coupler etc.
The best way of doing this with rear spool valves is to T the pipes for the loader between the spool block and the rear couplers. Some spool valve will have capped take-off ports to the side of the coupler trunking specifically for this purpose, especially if closed centre hydraulics. You then need taps before the loader couplers at the front where they detach from the loader. Even though you don’t, in this method, have spool valves mounted in that position, it is still possible to have a single lever quick attach unit rather than having to couple and uncouple four separate pipes. It all depends on whether the loader is to be a near permanent feature on the tractor or is to be removed fairly regularly and how much one is willing to spend.

One thing I would not skimp on, unless the tractor has front axle suspension, is loader suspension such as Quicke SoftDrive [which is standard on their self levelling booms].
 

dannewhouse

Member
Location
huddersfield
The best way of doing this with rear spool valves is to T the pipes for the loader between the spool block and the rear couplers. Some spool valve will have capped take-off ports to the side of the coupler trunking specifically for this purpose, especially if closed centre hydraulics. You then need taps before the loader couplers at the front where they detach from the loader. Even though you don’t, in this method, have spool valves mounted in that position, it is still possible to have a single lever quick attach unit rather than having to couple and uncouple four separate pipes. It all depends on whether the loader is to be a near permanent feature on the tractor or is to be removed fairly regularly and how much one is willing to spend.

One thing I would not skimp on, unless the tractor has front axle suspension, is loader suspension such as Quicke SoftDrive [which is standard on their self levelling booms].
that's how it is done, T in rather than just plugged in at the back, but there is no way of "forcing" the oil in a particular direction, say you're shifting a horse muck heap, you go, load the trailer but then when you plug the tip pipe in to travel back to tip site how to use this? the one i am talking about you would either have to lift loader to max before it started tipping trailer or get out unplug the quick attach unit then tip trailer.

(ignore having the possibility of extra spools for this example)

I have seen a switch on the Stoll website that looked like a standard flick over switch with a pic of tractor spools at one end and loader at the other, I just wondered if this was used to control valves or to send the signal to a different spool block i.e. mid mount valves?

I have electric spools on an mf 6480 and I'm debating a loader, I think 6k for a used one that probably only cost that when new is enough but now a new one will be 11k I was trying to find a way of reducing the cost while keeping quality (i.e. no extra valve block or controls) but still needs to be useable.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
that's how it is done, T in rather than just plugged in at the back, but there is no way of "forcing" the oil in a particular direction, say you're shifting a horse muck heap, you go, load the trailer but then when you plug the tip pipe in to travel back to tip site how to use this? the one i am talking about you would either have to lift loader to max before it started tipping trailer or get out unplug the quick attach unit then tip trailer.

(ignore having the possibility of extra spools for this example)

I have seen a switch on the Stoll website that looked like a standard flick over switch with a pic of tractor spools at one end and loader at the other, I just wondered if this was used to control valves or to send the signal to a different spool block i.e. mid mount valves?

I have electric spools on an mf 6480 and I'm debating a loader, I think 6k for a used one that probably only cost that when new is enough but now a new one will be 11k I was trying to find a way of reducing the cost while keeping quality (i.e. no extra valve block or controls) but still needs to be useable.
On your 6480 there are Allen socket stop-end plugs to the side and forward of the QR couplings on the back for which you can get stubby right angle joints to which you attach the pipes that take oil forward.
An option to use the spools for rear implements while the loader is left attached is to use one of these single lever engage-under-pressure combined quick attach units and just uncouple the loader pipes with the boom at a convenient height as required.
This type of thing
Screenshot 2022-03-02 at 14.45.05.png
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
It's surprising that with the electric spools or SMS joystick they don't try and fit a switch in the dash to be able to switch between loader controls vs. rear spools.

By the time you've bought and fitted extra fittings to covert the rear spools individually to run the loader functions it's probably not much of a saving on a loader block and joystick.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
It's surprising that with the electric spools or SMS joystick they don't try and fit a switch in the dash to be able to switch between loader controls vs. rear spools.

By the time you've bought and fitted extra fittings to covert the rear spools individually to run the loader functions it's probably not much of a saving on a loader block and joystick.
You would need two or three [ccls] pipes running forward to a front remote spool block but four [two double acting] if running from the rear spool valves plus a few joints and possibly T piece adapters, depending on the tractor. So not a massive amount of extra pipework to save paying for a mid mounted spool block, joystick and cables.
 

dannewhouse

Member
Location
huddersfield
1646301734868.png
I found this switch on the Stoll website I think it would be handy to swap the control from tractor spools to mid mount block, I know that you still have the cost of the mid mount but the newer particularly Masseys have a lot of functions on their own joystick that would be handy ie forwards/reverse, up and down gears etc.

I think this could be altered on the ones with the screen in them if you say had 2 electric spools at back, and 2 on the mid mount if you then had joystick + 2 rocker switches you could then alter which controls were used for which spool ie when on loader work use the joystick for loader but when not allocate the loader to the 2 rocker switches and use the joystick for the tractor spools?
 

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