Rating Summary
“I wish I had this years ago!!”
Craftsman Front Tractor Scoop —
What a wonderful product!!
I purchaced this item because I needed to relocate 19 tons of crusher-run. I have done this once with a shovel, and I had NO desire to do it again. After researching this item, I had doubts, but I thought I would take a chance.
This item worked VERY WELL. I have already recomended it to several of my friends and neighbors.
Okay... On to the item itself.
Assembly was...fun. I enjoy doing things like this, and I had all the tools and stuff (grease, etc.) on hand, at my finger tips. I have read that the assembly was long and difficult. I found it to be straightforward, logical, and frankly, fun. I think it took about 1-1/2 hours, and I took my time. Everything fit as as it was supposed to.
Something I should mention here. I "modified' the item for use on a different tractor. I used it on an MTD 600 series. I used the 'lawn tractor' brackets supplied with the scoop, re-drilled a few holes, and bolted it on. Not a big deal.
Another thing I have read a lot about was the whole tilt stop bracket thing... I cannot speak about this, because since I mounted it to a different tractor, the height is a bit different, and the supplied bolt / spacer / spring were too short to allow for this. I simply replaced the supplied hardware with a 6" long 3/8 dia carriage bolt, and it worked just fine. No problems with it going out of adjustment as I have read over and over. I DID have to re-drill the mounting lug to 3/8" diameter, but no problem. I used a 3/8" dia bolt, simply because that was what I had on hand. 5/16 would work just as well, and no re-drill would be required.
One item I noticed, was the frame brace listed in the instructions is NOT part of the package (it might come with the tractor, I don't know.) I simply made one with material I had laying arouns, 2 pieces of angle, and one piece of flat bar, bolted together. No problem at all.
Using the scoop takes a bit of learning curve... Nothing bad though. Using my dethatcher or dump trailer takes a bit of learning curve too!!
I had set up the scoop for max lift (and the max force required to lift). If you are moving heavy material, I recommend this setting. For me, that would stop me from grabbing 'too much" in one scoop. If I could not lift it comfortably, it was over 200 lbs. For lighter stuff, like mulch, I don't think you can fit 200 lbs of material in the scoop, so it shouldn't matter.
The manual recommends the use of wheel weights and tire chains. The scoop is heavy, and I soon realized traction issues. I made a concrete counterweight (75 lbs) to hang on the rear of the tractor, and that helped tremendously. I never tried the chains.
I have read a lot about the arms being cumbersome and bulky. I found them logical, easy to use, and frankly the only "tirendness" I experienced was all the forward/reverse shifting I was doing. the SCOOP was easier than that.
On a side note... One thing I DID do, was on the lift handle. I lettered the handle wit the words "Caution: Scoop Down" in bright hi-vis yellow. If the scoop is down, you can see it in the corner of your eye easy. If the scoop is up, it's below your field of view. I think that would be a good idea to incorporate a decal for this in the future. I leave the scoop down when I am off the tractor for safety reasons. It's a great reminder to raise the scoop before moving the tractor again.
Overall... I would buy this again tomorrow. I have found it usefull enough, that I am currently "looking for something else to use it on". For those of you who like playing with new toys, you know what I mean...
And yes, it moved all 19 tons of crusher run, several mountains of mulch and woodchips... No problems or issues at all.
Wonderful product!!
Craftsman Front Tractor Scoop
