Hi Tinmann,
My thoughts went like this: I want a (relatively) narrow bucket for trenching, digging around tree-roots, etc., so as not to move (and have to replace) any more dirt than necessary. So I bought my tractor with a 12" bucket attached.
I also wanted to have a wider bucket for soft-dirt "big hole" digging, and truck-loading, etc, so as not to waste a lot of time by "eating with a baby spoon". So I bought a 24" bucket with MORE THAN twice the capacity of the 12",...i.e. less than half the number of "spoonfulls (TIME!,... also wear on hoe mechanism!). Price for the 24" was $508 (JD 48 backhoe). I checked several dealers,... price was the same everywhere.
Just one man's approach, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Larry