I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an atheist, a police officer, a beekeeper, a chicken farmer, a DIYer and more. A guy with a smartphone looking to share reviews of products and things I use and maybe give some of my opinions along the way.
I decided to purchase a Little Buck Loader for my John Deere X739. I can't say enough good things about Luke and his Sister Leah. They both went out of their way to make my purchase a very pleasant one. I only wish that all of my purchases from any store or on the Internet would be as friendly and personal as these people are and the company!!! I was treated like I was a family member. When you call them on the phone they always pick up and answer and return your calls with any inquiries that you may have, Luke even answered my call with one time with "Hi Wayne, whats up?" when I dialed his number by mistake. The Little Buck looks and works great! I would not hesitate ever to purchase one of these again! These are not poorly made, there may have been some slopy welding issues in the beginning, but they have corrected that as soon as it was brought to their attention. Any fast growing company is going to have some issues in the beginning, but a good company will address and correct those issues like Buck Loader did.
Holy smokes. I had almost ordered one of these, but after seeing how poorly these are made I will either pay the difference for a JD 45 loader or have one built locally. This is just ridiculous. Thank you so much for the video.
At 40 amps, this thing isn't even breaking a sweat. You're missing out on the efficiency of the unit, if you're not using the full load. I'm assuming you have a different unit than the demonstration unit I saw, which draws about 100amps.
Did my 50-hour oil change this past weekend. Measured exactly 1.8 liters and found that left me a little under the mid-range. Added the remainder from the second 32-oz bottle and it seemed perfect after that. The drain cock is brilliant - easy to remove oil. Your mileage may vary.
great Video and Demo Thx, but I noticed at 50 sec mark you removed the sticker that says to flip the hook around, sorry that's embarrassing hey, we all mess up sometime
Typing this with one hand - these are great but be warned … I attempted to place a very heavy log on the stand - once the log moves, the weight of the log can drive the handle into the ground with surprising speed. my finger was crushed between the handle and a rock - stupid mistake - I love the tool but will be more careful in future - just sayin
They work great on small to small/medium logs. Used one of these hundreds of times. Not so well on larger diameter logs with thick chunky bark. The peavey will not dig in and keeps ripping the bark off and can't bite properly. The only thing that helps this issue is bringing a mallet to hemmer in the movable spike first.
Pros and cons! Like any profession. If interested in the profession I would recommend a ride along. If I could go back and change my profession I probably would. Under paid for the risk associated and one accident could land you in jail or dead. Not a lot of professions woth that type of risk.
I'm sorry you had issues with your little buck, I recently purchased one and picked it up at our local Fastenal location on 9/16/2021 and it was everything I wanted, no issues and no damage and works great, I hope you can resolve your issues.
It's now been a few weeks and I've found the LBL to be completely useable. Haven't run of of ideas yet for uses. If you can afford it and don't overload it, this can be a real work saver especially when you get older. I just saw a post on a Dernord 1/8 NPT ball valve in reference for the slight hesitation issue. I wasn't aware of it , nor would I know how to hook it up but I will check into it. I welded a center hook on the bucket and also ordered clamp on pallet forks. Only problem might be I need more weight on the rear, not the loaders fault just physics at work.
As I had noted in my first thoughts on this, it has been 3 years since was posted and I hoped a American company would fix issues around this and succeed. I spoke with a few folks who recently bought these and it convinced me to buy one.. First, the welds are vastly improved. Not showroom but it's not going to come apart either and much better in appearance as well. They are certainly acceptable.. Shipping was super fast, had it in a few days. Slight issues are grease fitting locations for a right angled grease hose gun and the hydraulic hose placements that are opposite as far as functioning like a backhoe for example. Correct as far as left and right goes but when I pull back on the lift lever I expect it to go up not down. Same way for the bucket. But, in five minutes you can reverse them, Should note this was on a JD 322. Functioning so far is great, very slight hesitation on the bucket curl which the builder advised was probable but not enough to be a nuisance. I decided to weld my own hook on the bucket which I attached first on a 1/4 plate then welded the plate to the center of the bucket. There are many things you can either fab on or buy ( like a grapple for example ) to make this really versatile. I wish I had the tractor and this unit many years ago when I was younger, would have saved me a lot of work.. I now give it a definite thumbs up..
I just received my X739 (April 2021) and I was happy to see that JD totally redesigned the oil drain to a stem and valve that is easy to access below the frame on the left side of the tractor.
First, I love the concept of an affordable FEL for existing older machines. I would like this company to succeed but they really need to ramp up quality control. As a former welder those welds are simply atrocious. If that is the new and improved version I can only imagine what the old one was like. I mean, they KNOW it's going to shown on UTUBE and thousands are going to see it and they didn't have QC go over it with a fine tooth comb to put their best foot forward so to speak ? Many, if not all, are hand welded by someone in a hurry or just didn't care what he/she was doing. Some by MIG and some by Arc perhaps but most are not something you want to show your friends. At 2:40 it appears the nut is only partially welded and has air holes in it. And look athe quality of the welds to the upper right. That's just not acceptable. Whether the material thickness is strong enough is a question to be answered at sometime down the road. The bucket looks like it could be thicker for guys ramming into dirt piles ( and you know some guys will do it ) I hope they do whatever is necessary to make a quality product. I am really sorry to note this.. I want American companies to succeed but they have to do a better job than this... I hope it at least is fully functional for the consumer in it's present state. Heck, I'm in the market for one and the price is somewhat reasonable but I can't bring myself to order one after seeing this... It's now 2021. Perhaps things have improved. I hope so.
People are not “subjects” This light is not a “unit” Flashlights are not for “striking” And don’t play in traffic unless you like getting hit by vehicles. Thumbs down putz
Just a thought: You say you wear it on your left shoulder during traffic stops. Assuming that you’re approaching their vehicle from the driver’s side your left shoulder would be obscured by your neck to traffic approaching from the rear of your location. Would the right shoulder not provide move visibility?
Thank you! I am glad to have read the comments. I have been wanting to invest in one of these units for a long time... it was frustrating delay after delay for their sale.... and I wanted to wait for real world reviews. I have extremely hard water and do not want to damage my septic system with salt... this could be the answer to the scale build up issues I have with my current eco smart electric tankless water heater.... but not yet.... you saved me a headache. Thank you.
