need a tractor loader

[jake]

i just got a old IH 354 and need to get a loader for it. i have been lookin into building one its about a 35hp i only need 1200lb lift the tractor is about 5500lbs

i have gone back and forth on using round or rectangle tubing and just trying to get ideas on wall thickness and material types. i looked at a new loader that is on a deere 5203 the loader seemed like it was two pieces of 3/16 that was broke to taper down at the pin point and widen out at ram attachments and the corners are gusseted with 3/16 plate.

i have found new loaders for this tractor but they want 5k for them it would be worth twice what the tractor is!!

[Flyingpig]

Thats a pretty small tractor. Hit some farm sales and youll find one for a couple hundred bucks. Another option would be an implement dealer who has old obsolete stuff like 8Ns and such. If they dont have a 16 row planter on the lot, thats the place to look.

[jake]

ive been lookin but havent found any i havent found any small ones just big ones with a big price tag

[willy]

I'm kind of in the same position. I've got an old '49 Farmall M that I am re-doing (not restoring). I've got a live hydraulic pump for it, wide front, power steering etc.. It will never be a workhorse - I would just like to make it a little more usable. I've got an old Paulson loader for it that has manual trip mech on it. Im wanting to make it a full hydraulic loader - and build a 3 point hitch for it at the same time. I'm probably a few weeks out from getting started on it but will post some pics once I get going if interested....

[tnjind]

Flyinpig,
I don't know where you are located. Around here stuff for smaller tractors go as high or sometimes higher then for large tractors.
I would love to find loaders for "compact" tractors for a couple hundred bucks, I keep lookin.
I built a homemade tractor/front loader a few years ago. Very small,but very useful.

Good luck, and it is rewarding to build something and use it almost daily

[Flyingpig]

As soon as you attach the word "compact" the price goes way up. What I am suggesting is to find an old farmer selling out or an estate sale. What youre looking for is stuff that is old enough to be obsolete but not old enough to be an "antique."

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

yeah, "compact tractor" = high prices for sure -- we just sold a left over odball Yanmar tractor that was only 15hp. We put in -Ebay and since it had a loader on the price went way higher then we would have even asked!! I had a lots of messages after the auction offering hundreds more it the high bidder did not come through and buy it.
That loader was homemade, also. looked like all 2x4x 1/4 tubing with 1/4 gusset plates at all the corners.