Work or utility vehicles, such as tractors, are often adapted to be used with various types of attachments. For example, a loader may be attached to the front of a tractor through arms and hydraulic controls that allow the loader to be raised and lowered, and also rolled forward and backward. Many different attachment or implements may be attached to the front of the work vehicles, thereby allowing an operator to accomplish various tasks with a single work vehicle.
Conventional front-end loaders include a pair of lifting arms or boom assemblies that include towers or rearward ends that pivotally attach to a tractor, and lifting arms or forward ends that pivotally attach to an implement. Generally, the arms of the loader and the attached implement may be controlled by a hydraulic system. Hydraulic cylinders may be configured to operate front-end loaders and their attached implements. Hydraulic lines may extend along an exterior (or routed along the interior) of the front-end loaders for powering the hydraulic cylinders.
Each lifting arm of a loader is typically connected to a bracket that is coupled to a portion of a tractor, for example. Each bracket may outwardly extend from a lateral portion of the tractor.
During operation of the tractor and front loader, a bucket of the front loader may be urged into the ground, objects, and the like. The forces exerted into the bucket are typically translated into the arms of the front loader, which are then translated into the tractor. As an example, various forces generate corresponding twisting forces in the arms of the front loader, which are then translated into the brackets. The exerted forces may cause stresses and strains that are translated into the tractor, and may cause damage thereto.