Rock Bucket Questions
- Thread starter CurlyDave
- Start date
slaveToHorses
Gold Member
Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
slaveToHorses
Gold Member
Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
Jay4200
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Jay4200
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2005
- Messages
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- Location
- Hudson/Weare, NH
- Tractor
- L4200GST w/ LA680 & BX2200D w/ LA211
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I too have the "Rock" problem on my property in Calaveras County here in CA.)</font>
Could be worse.
I was considering getting some bucket-mount forks to use as a rock bucket /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
Jay
Could be worse.
I was considering getting some bucket-mount forks to use as a rock bucket /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
Jay
mikim
Veteran Member
Dave - I have Unlimited's root grapple and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to buy anything else from them. I have a set of forks on my want list from them and ..... there's always something else ain't there? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
mikim
Veteran Member
Dave - I have Unlimited's root grapple and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to buy anything else from them. I have a set of forks on my want list from them and ..... there's always something else ain't there? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
jinman
Rest in Peace
- Joined
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- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
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- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
Dave, I have the S-Houle rock bucket that Jeepinator talked about. Mine is a 5" bucket and works very well on football sized rocks and larger. It is particularly good for loose/sandy soil that can fall between the tines, but the soil has to be in the right condition, or it just sticks in the bucket. Clay will gum up the tines and then you have a cleaning job on your hands.
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
jinman
Rest in Peace
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2001
- Messages
- 21,008
- Location
- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
- Tractor
- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
Dave, I have the S-Houle rock bucket that Jeepinator talked about. Mine is a 5" bucket and works very well on football sized rocks and larger. It is particularly good for loose/sandy soil that can fall between the tines, but the soil has to be in the right condition, or it just sticks in the bucket. Clay will gum up the tines and then you have a cleaning job on your hands.
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work