So what I'm hearing is that loaders are matched more to the prospective buyers eyeballs, rather than the capacity of the tractor to adequately handle them.
That does make sense now that I think about it, as similarly sized tractors from yesteryear featured much smaller buckets on their loaders. I'm used to adding weight for traction and stability, NOT as a teeter-totter off the back axle because the front axle is too marginal to get the job done. And instructing the owner to add three point weight, rather than just beef up the axle, appears shoddy at first, but then again we have become a society that takes everything literally.
"The manual states the bucket will carry 1500 lbs, and I'm not going to be satisfied with 1499!"
Never mind that the max weight was calculated on paper, under absolute perfect conditions.
I'm not in a production environment, so I don't think under utilizing the weight capacity of the loader will bother me any more than tier 4 emissions will. It's either that, or an older machine that's built heavier, and I'm over that.
Guess I'll just have to use a little horse sense, and pay attention to how I load the bucket. I'm not prepared to use my hitch as a hat rack at this stage, I need to have both front and back of whatever tractor I choose in play.
I do think following the manual is safest, especially if one is not used to a tractor. They will hurt you, be careful!
Your comments are well taken sprkplug, and if what you are used to using is older 2wd tractors, the new mfwd imports are significantly different. Miles better, in my opinion for a home owner, but definttely different.
Some things you may not have thought of. A 25 hp compact utility tractor is significantly lighter and shorter wheelbase than compared to a 1950's or 60's American tractor. That is both good and bad. The compact utilities drive and handle more like a lawn tractor than a farm tractor. They are exceptionally manuverable. All that for a home owner is good. But that short wheel base makes rear ballast more of a must.
Also a mfwd (mechanical front wheel drive in JD talk) will do just so much more than a 2wd that a person will not believe it till they use one. But......... when a person has the front end of the tractor somewhat pointed down while digging a hole, it is not so much the loader lift capacity that causes one to notice lack of rear ballast. It is the fact that while lifting with the bucket and going into reverse the little front wheels literally try to crawl underneath you. A 2wd will not do that. The rear wheels just spin. But the more weight transfer the bucket gives the front end wheels, the more traction they get, not less. So an under ballasted tractor will have the rear wheels off the ground (not a safe thing) in a hearbeat. 2wd can never do this. The rear wheels on a 2wd can only be lifted off the ground by whatever loader lift capacity there is. There is no front traction trying to drive the front end back underneath the loader. It is just unbelievable what the little mfwd tractors will do.
As far as bucket width, you are right in that most of them are marginally too big if a person is loading dirt or sand (heavy materials). They make these buckets shorter to compensate to lessen their capacity somewhat. But there is a very good reason to put that width bucket on the tractors. The bucket is usually designed to just cover the tread width of the wheels. This makes it very handy when trying to load something up beside a wall. Also, the front bucket is about ten times better at leveling by backdragging than a rear blade. Rear blades and box blades have their place, but I use the bucket 90% of the time when leveling fresh gravel by back dragging. By altering the angle of the bucket and down pressure an operator can get a baby butt smooth job. I have operated farm and construction equipment, both small and large for over 50 years, and I still can do much more from a smoothing standpoint with the loader bucket than a box blade and a regular blade is even worse to control. So that is the other reason for a wide bucket in relation to loader and tractor capacity. Having the bucket as wide as the tractor is very useful.
If you ever buy one of these small hydrostat mfwd utility tractors sprkplug, you will think you died and gone to heaven tractor wise. My FIL still has an 8n Ford and uses it to spread manure and a few things when 2 tractors are better than one. But you ought to have seen the grin on his face the first time he used it. And it only has a mechanical transmission and clutch. No hydrostst.
I relate my commercial and farm use on here hoping my experience and range of tractor use might useful for others, even if their tractors will never be exposed to that level of use. I started driving tractors on my dad's knee at the ripe age of 6 and was doing limited field work at 8 (B Jd and 8N Ford at the time). By 12 years of age I was a regular field hand when not in school. My first new tractor purchase was a 3020 JD Diesel at the age of 13 (purchased from savings earned doing field work for quite a few years) and had bought two new tractors and one used before graduating high school. I had employees (school buddies) by the time I was 16 and had my own custom hay baling business operated in the summers. I've lost track of how many tractors I've bought over the years but the smallest was a Bolens 15 hp Diesel (used inside the turkey barns tilling while turkeys were in the barn) and we have several now that exceed 500 hp. When my high school buddies were reading Hot Rod magazine in high school, I subscribed to Implement and Tractor, fudging a little on my occupation since it was an industry magazine with limited and controlled circulation. By the time I was 21 I owned a small farm equipment business, had mechanics hired, and was selling new tractors. Owned that business for 7 years while also farming, selling it when I had the chance to farm full time.
I don't want it to come across as bragging, although reflecting on it all I've really been blessed by the opportunities presented over the years. I guess my point is, I've had a pretty fair amount of experience with a range of sizes of tractors. Not sure how many off hand we have on the farm at this time, but something around a dozen.
Some guys like to see a big rack on a deer. Some want a trophy Bass on the wall. Some guys are classic car or Corvette guys. Some like Harleys. I really, really wanted a brand new Dodge F250 pickup with bucket seats in 1968. Instead I bought a 3020 JD Diesel and an old 1955 3/4 ton Chevy pickup that was my high school date car. Me???.......I'm a tractor guy.
I hope my experience can at times benefit others here on the forum.
