Tractor Storage

 The various manufacturers ought to be ashamed of the boxes they put on tractors to store tools.  Seriously.  Those little boxes that the factory puts on a tractor is okay for storing a few lynch pins, but not much else.  So, I watched all the videos and came up with a few ideas

This tube on the front end loader is wasted space.  It would be a dandy place to store tow straps

So, I went to Lowes and bought a couple of Oatey Grippers.  These thing s are used to put a temporary plug in a Schedule 40 PVC pipe.  Of course, they were too big to go into that pipe, but a little judicious trimming of the inside plastic, along with snipping the seal, Super-gluing  back together and reinforcing it with safety wire seemed to do the trick.

Now, it fits just fine.

Now, I'll be able to store tow straps in that tube, out of the way yet readily available.

I have a buddy who is a tool maker, and he told me that his ship was making some tools, and he had some scrap that didn't work out, and had some big steel bars they had bent, learning how to do such things.  He told me that if I brought the tractor to the shop, he would weld some of those scrap books on the bucket that we could use to attach two straps.  I drove the tractor over this morning.

That should do.  We also have a couple of 3/8 chain hooks welded in the center of the bucket in case a chain comes into play.  Next we turned our attention to the rear of the tractor, where we welded a piece of scrap angle iron between the ROPS uprights

That should do nicely, along with the bar that Kubota already provided to mount that tiny pin box.  I will remove that little box.  Before lunch, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a nice protective case that I will mount on those two pieces of angle iron.  That will provide enough room to store some pins, some wrenches, and hammer and other accoutrements that should be handy on the tractor.

Now, if you will excuse me, it's time for lunch and a nap.