If you're planning on being able to lift 500 lbs, you will not be able to build it 'light'. The OEM loaders built by Kwik-Way, Johnson, Danco, etc had a load limit of 250-300 lbs. or so. It would not be wise to try to lift more than that with a small tractor such as a Cub Cadet, IMHO. You will need a massive amount of counterweight to be able to lift that. You need to have a decent factor of safety built into the structure to avoid breaking it under abuse.
A 100 drained of all fluids probably weighs not much more than 500 lbs...
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