Green Tractor Talk banner

Loader for a 318?..

65K views 28 replies 9 participants last post by  rydplrs 
#1 ·
I've been looking for a loader for my 318.. Then started going back and forth about maybe just sucking it up and getting a new machine like a 1025.. And keeping the 318 as a mower and just something to enjoy as an enthusiast.. However, with my couple of acres and the little jobs I'd use a 1025 for.. There is just no way to justify the cost.. I'd have nothing to do with it except wash it and stare at it.. ha!.. The reality is that a loader for my 318 is exactly what I need.. No bigger and no smaller.. With that said.. I gotta move gravel, mulch, fill, firewood, and do some light scraping and leveling.. Beyond finding a complete #44 loader out there somewhere.. I'd love some feedback and or pics of the loaders anyone might be using on a 318.. I don't have any metal fabricating skills so modifying something to make it work ain't gonna happen.. Its gotta be something that more or less bolts up.. I'd like to keep the cost in the $2k range as well if such an animal exists.. I'm in Canada, so shipping is going to hurt too if coming from the U.S.. Oh well.. it is what it is.. I just need to find the right unit.. Thanks guys..
 
#3 ·
I had the same issue and I'm now a year and a half into a 1026R. Still have 318 too. There just aren't many loaders to be had for the 318. Unless you want to drop $4k on one. Didn't make much sense to spend that much on a 20 year old tractor with limited parts available. The fact that I didn't have a 3 point or PTO made the 1026R all that more appealing.

-636

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
 
#4 ·
Not sure if this will fill your needs or not but the Buford Bucket has been perfect for my needs.
It will lift high enough to get onto the tailgate of a typical full size truck.
Uses the machines hydraulics to it has down pressure for grading.
Attaches just like a 54 blade does but has 2 extra bolts for added stability.
Once assembled it installs in about 5 minutes,same with dis assembly.
Well under $2k and can be shipped fairly reasonably in the US,not sure about Canada.
They are built when ordered by one person,no mass reproduction.
Here is the owner/builder's email address,Pete Liskey is his name.
hoosierpete@hotmail.com

AJ
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Thanks Ajcan and T-Mo.. I just emailed the contact for the Buford to get a quote.. The Johnny is really slick too, and seems fairly priced.. The johnny would do exactly what I'm looking for.. I just wonder though if I'd regret having no lifting capapbilites to reach something in the bed of a truck or to go up over something like the Buford can do.. The johnny looks lighter which is another possible advantage to that system over the Buford.. I'll try not to over think it.. Seems to me that I should base it more on ease of use.. If its a pain in the arse to put on or take off, I won't use it as much as I want to which would defeat the whole purpose of the unit.. Do you guys know if either or these can be used with the mowing deck on the machine.. I know the johnny needs a lock out valve for the rear hydrolics when in use.. But does that mean the deck can never be used when the johnny is attached?.. Or does it simply mean that one or the other has to be disabled but can stay on the tractor when the other is in use?.. Thanks fella's..
 
#6 · (Edited)
I bought the twist valve on eBay for my 318 and it's simple enough to reach while on the seat and turn the deck lift on or off. With my blade on the mule box will not fit and the deck will not mount without it. So it depends on the mounts of either of those buckets. My guess is you can't have the deck attached if you want to use the bucket. Another thing you should think about is rear ballest. With all that weight on the front of your 318 you will have little traction. With lots of rear weight it will improve, but I know my 318 with turfs and 50# wheel weights is kinda helpless on hills when the blade is on the front. Grass makes the issue WAY worse. Now on flat dirt I can almost kill the engine pushing, but it doesn't take much hill to turn it into a hippo on ice skates.

-636
 
#8 ·
Buford can be used with the mower deck on but not sure why you would want to.
On the H2 machines like 318 through 332 no lock out valve is necessary.
Simply screw the adjuster on the back that you use for deck height all the way in the up position.
This is where when you lower the lever basically the cylinder does not move.
This way it is full of fluid so there is no lag time when you use the tilt function on the bucket.
This will work with any front mounted implement.

I too considered the Johnny bucket as well but decided on the Buford due to it being able to lift higher.
When I bought mine the Buford was cheaper than the Johnny bucket too.More capabilities,cheaper price.
As far as steel is concerned it is built like a actual loader.Nothing cheap at all about how the Buford is built.

AJ
 
#9 ·
Perfect guys.. Thank you for the replies.. Based on this feedback and that video, the Buford is definately in the lead.. Just need to hear back from the Buford folks with a price then I can make a decision.. The reason I was wondering about the deck isn't so much about mowing with the loader on.. I was just wondering if it was possible to not have to take the deck off if I just needed to hook up to the loader quick to move something.. Not a big deal to swap back and forth completely I suppose.. Just figured, why not have the option?..
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks for the heads up T-Mo.. From what I understand Pete has enough demand to keep him busy for a while to come.. I don't mind waiting my turn.. If I haven't heard back in a week or so, I'll reach out again.. But I don't want pester and piss him off so he doesn't want to build me one.. haha!.. On a side note it really seems to me, that if these Pete ever decided to open the flood gates on mass production.. They'd be rollin' in it.. I think at least half of the guys who have one of these older tractors would buy one of these things.. I see why deere wouldn't dare continue to offer a serious loader for these 300 series tractors like the #44.. I don't think they realized at the time that they had such an overbuilt tractor with these units. And that some 30 years later, so many would still be running this strong.. With these machines you can buy the tractor for $2000, put a real loader on it like the Buford for $1500 or whatever its gonna be and a 3pt hitch for a few hundred and have a pretty potent pkg with very serious capabilities for $4000'ish.. If momma deere offered a loader for these units.. I think alot of guys would gut check their actual needs vs what they think their needs are and go this route vs a new machine kinda the way I am.. Just one guys opinion..
 
#12 · (Edited)
One more vote for a mini-loader or bucket.

I bought a Johnny Bucket SR for my 322 when they were first available (mine was serial number 1001 and the first one that Johnny Products made for a 318/322/332 series tractor) At the time, the Buford Bucket was not being sold...and I specifically wanted an easily removable attachment since my 322 was also used for lots of other attachments. My understanding is that those that have the 44 loaders tend to leave them installed and make the tractor a dedicated FEL machine. My needs were different, most of the material to be moved was on site and not being lifted to/from a truck or trailer, so the limited lift height of the JBSR was not an issue. That bucket moved lots of soil, gravel, paving bricks, cottage stone blocks, and cedar chips -- lots of cedar chips for the many pathways around the last property we owned. Here are some representative pictures. Yes, that concrete deer statue was about 150 pounds and having the bucket made placing it at the top of the property a simple task:


Land vehicle Vehicle Tractor Motor vehicle Agricultural machinery
Natural landscape Natural environment Tree Nature reserve Forest
Spring Natural landscape Tree Grass Wall

Yard Property Garden Backyard Grass
Vegetation Tree Natural landscape Garden Natural environment
Tree Forest Woodland Nature reserve Natural environment

Green Vehicle Grass Forest Tree


Chuck
 
#13 ·
Chuck, first of all.. Your grounds are beautiful!.. That's why we do what we do with these little toys.. That johnny bucket is a beauty too.. I really have been on the fence between the johnny and the Buford.. I'm leaning toward the Buford because with what I need to do I am fairly sure I'm going to need more lift height than the johnny has.. In the interest of collecting implements though. I sure wouldn't kick a johnny bucket out of my shop if I ever came across a deal on one.. They really do appear to be strong performers..
 
#14 ·
If it was not clear from what I said in my earlier post, I would have gone with the Buford Bucket also if it had been available when I bought the JBSR. Of course back then I got the JBSR for about $900 with free shipping for giving them some photos of it in use on my tractor for their web site I just sold that Johnny bucket last fall since we moved to a much smaller (1 acre) property on a golf course where there is not much in the way of what Sharon used to call "lumberjack gardening" on the old place... The 322 had been in storage for over a year and I need to figure out if I am going to keep it or not. Still have the rear PTO driven 30 hydraulic tiller, the front 54 inch blade, the center blade, a landscape rake and rear blade, and the 46 inch deck for it -- but presently all the mowing here is done with the 2007 x304 AWS with foot hydro controls. At one point I had two of the 322 tractors, a 318, an E-Gator, a 317 and some assorted other Deere gear/machines, but here I no longer have the big outbuilding and limit myself to what fits inside for the winter.

Here are the two 322 tractors hard at work on what was an orchard at the old place being converted to front lawn and ornamental plantings...

Land vehicle Vehicle Motor vehicle Tractor Grass
Tree Asphalt Grass Soil Road surface
Soil Garden Yard Grass Land lot


Chuck
 
#15 ·
Golf , I don't want to sound A-retentive , but technically the J-bucket isn't a loader . It is a mover . It is basically used to move things/materials around a property . Not to say it isn't useful , but you can't "load" anything for transporting .

The Buford is a halfway loader . You COULD actually load stuff onto a trailer . You could also use it to "set" things into a pick up bed , but you couldn't really "load" firewood , dirt , manure , etc. into a pick up truck .

Is your initial post correct , would you only need it for shuttling loads around your property ? The J-bucket could do that .

Or , if like many men , you haul everything in a trailer , the Buford would probably give you more options ; ie: actual loading capability .

I have a friend with a Bobcat for his business who loads firewood into my truck . Having a REAL loader is GREAT , but unless you have deep pockets or the ability to make one , they are often out of reach .

Dave
 
#16 ·
You're pretty much right on the money Dave.. I need to move stuff around my property.. Especially fire wood.. I burn 3 to 4 full cords of wood every winter and pretty much split it all myself.. I have to move the seasoned wood from the forest to my shelter which is about 200 feet away from where I split it.. The atv and the trailer handles most of it.. But when I need to re-stock, its a hassle to get the quad and the trailer back there.. I need the loader to lift high enough to navigate around stumps etc.. I will need the ability to take gravel - mulch and landscape stones off of a pick up bed. In addition. I have to be able to dig down a couple of inches and back drag for some light grading for a "lean to" that I'm adding to an existing out building that I have.. That will result in needing to take the material I dig and lift it up a couple of feet to dump it in the area where I have been moving material to for years.. I've had a buddy with a skid steer to do this stuff for me for the past few years.. But its a pain for him and I'm tired of having to wait until its convenient for him to come and do it.. Beyond that.. The Johnny would handle 9 out of 10 things that I want a loader for.. But there will definitely be times when I'll need at least the lift height of the Buford..
 
#17 · (Edited)
The JBSR will not lift the two feet you describe needing -- about a foot or 16 inches is all that mine would do (but that is all I ever asked it to do moving material...) It will do the back dragging and the negative few inches of 'lift' pretty well, and you can get rippers to attach to it for breaking the soil/sod if you are digging with it (scraping, actually...) My Johnny Bucket moved at least three cords of firewood each year to the splitting area and then to the stacking area after splitting. The fresh cut and then seasoned rounds just roll into and out of the bucket at ground level...so I figured that it saved lots of time and energy just in those two moves.

The Buford Bucket is a bit more versatile while still having the convenience of a front mounted attachment in terms of installing/removing without much hassle. It would have been my choice if the timing ware different. If you are buying new, then go with the Buford -- I know there is a wait to get one from such a small "manufacturer" but it would be worth it. Very occasionally you can find a used Johny Bucket or even an Or-Bilt...so keep your eyes open for that as well. Not that long ago I found a JBSR local to me in Oregon that I bought for under $400. I matched that to a 1992 318 that I had just freshened and made some good money to put back into the 'tractor fund.' That second bucket needed some paint but worked well -- here it is on the 318:
Land vehicle Motor vehicle Tractor Vehicle Agricultural machinery
Motor vehicle Yellow Automotive exterior Vehicle Bumper
Land vehicle Vehicle Tractor Motor vehicle Agricultural machinery


Good luck and let us know what you decide...

Chuck
 
#18 ·
Not to beat the dead horse but the Buford is more versatile should you need it later down the road and when I bought mine the Buford was cheaper than the Johnny.
To me,why not buy a more versatile attachment.just as easy to remove and reinstall yet cheaper?
Pete's prices may have gone up so don't quote me on it be cheaper I just know it was when I bought mine a couple years ago.
I would have been more than happy with a Johnny Bucket but the Buford was available when I made my decision unlike Chuck.

Every time I am asked about the Buford Bucket I always give it a thumbs up.
These machines are built like tanks and the Buford bucket is a tad OVER built just like the machines they go on.
It is pretty hard to tear one up.I am sure it is possible as nothing is dumbyproof but the Buford is awfully close.

AJ:greentractorride:
 
#19 ·
I know this is an old thread but what about Johnson loaders? Are they any good? what model would fit the 318?
 
#27 ·
The same model would direct fit a 318 with the correct subframe. I don't think kwikway changed model numbers for the different applications. Similar to the way berco does snowblowers. Choose a model, then add the correct attaching parts for different applications.

I think Johnson was no longer making loaders when the open frame 300 series were released.

There are also JD 44 loaders for 300 series. Again the subframe determines what it would fit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: E.J.H
#28 ·
I see, so what are the physical diffrences? may be there is a better way to tell which sub frame is the right one???
(As you can tell i am no expert! :hide:)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top