[Machinery 101] Everything About Front Loaders

Welcome to your next basic lesson in the Farming Simulator Academy! Today, we will focus on the different front loader attachments. We'll explain what front loaders are, what types are available and how to use them.

Areas Of Application

Front loaders can help you with various tasks on your farm. Especially if you run a greenland operation and keep animals. With front loaders you can load, transport and unload crops, bales, pallets, manure, bigbags, logs, etc.

Whether you want to put bales into your barn, cops into a silage bunker, stack up pallets and bigbags of fertilizer, fill up the forage mixer wagon to produce animal food, or transport light-weight logs: a front-loader is the right choice of a tool. If you have more specific requirements like reaching high places, check out our tutorial about loader types.

Types Of Front Loaders

First, we have to differ as there are different kinds of front loaders. At first glance, it might be confusing if you're not familiar with them. 

• Front loader (vehicles) are stand-alone vehicles in the vehicles-category.
• Front loader (attachments) are extensions for tractors to use tools.
• Front loader tools are attachments for the stand-alone or tractor attachment

Tip! In order to use the front loader attachment and a tool on the tractor, you must first purchase the necessary attachment configuration at the dealership. You can either add this to the tractor when purchasing the machine, or you drive an already owned tractor to the dealership, park the machine in the vehicle options field and add the attachment on the configuration screen.

Front Loader Tools

There's a whole set of tools you can attach to your front loader. With some tools, you have a choice of several manufacturers, but in most cases they are compatible either way – so, usually you don't have to mind which manufacturer to pick.

• Bale spike: used for transporting bales.
• Round bale fork: used to transport round bales.
• Bale handler: used for transporting wrapped silage bales.
• Bale King: used to transport several bales at the same time.
• Universal bucket: used for filling trailers or unloading bunker silos.
• Pallet fork: used to transport pallets.
• Bigbag Lifter (Single/Dual): used for transporting bigbags.
• Log fork: used to transport logs.
• Manure fork: used to transport manure.
• Fork with grapple: used for filling trailers with manure/silage. Used in bunker silo.
• Silage cutter: used to transport manure/silage. Used in bunker silo.
• Beet cutter: used for cutting sugar beets.

Let's Get To Work!

Using front loader tools with a tractor

• Configure your tractor to allow front loader attachments at the dealership.
• Buy and attach a front loader attachment for your tractor in the tools-category of the shop.
• Buy and attach a front loader tool.
• You're ready to use it!

Using front loader tools with a front loader vehicle

• Buy a front loader vehicle in the vehicle-category of the shop
• Buy and attach a front loader tool
• You're ready to use it

Tip: Always keep the power requirements and weight of attachments and tools in mind!

Tip: Click on the combinations button on the overview screen when selecting an attachment/tool to make sure you can combine it with the attachment/tool you need.

Well Done!

Congratulations, you have successfully finished another lesson and now know about front loaders! Keep at it, and you'll be a top-notch virtual farmer in no time with Farming Simulator Academy!