Stump Buckets for L3901

[69 SS]

Did the search thing,not a lot there. Are stump buckets a good implement for anL 3901 with SSQA FEL ? Looking for input on what those with experience have to say about pros/cons of buckets/spades for a compact tractor for residential work. Looked at several brands,don't know which is best ,$ not really a factor ,some are way overpriced. Just looking for others experience and knowledge . Thanks in advance,good luck on all your projects.

 

[nybirdman]

I purchased one for my L4240 a couple years ago;about worth-less in my book.Glad to sell it.Sold it to a guy with a skid steer.Impossible to see and useless for digging a ditch.

 

[teg]

I never used one so take this advice for what you paid for it.... What size stumps were you thinking about using it on? Small one might work but larger stumps I don't think the L3901 would cut it. Maybe with Ag tires and good soil conditions.

Now if the tree is whole, I've pushed over and pretty much uprooted 10" white pines and cherry trees...

 

[Fallon]

I used a bucket spade on pallet forks on my old L3200. It worked ok for planting a few live Christmas trees & reburrying a downspout pipe. No way it would cut it for anything bigger than a Christmass tree stump. Even that would fight hard & beatup the loader.

A stump bucket has more surface area & worse visibility than my bucket spade, so wouldn't dig as well under best conditions.

 

[k0ua]

Build a small narrow bucket spade for you tractor and it will have some usage. A commercial stump bucket, no not so much. Too heavy, too wide, too much for your machine. Not to mention you can't see a thing. I put my homemade spade on the right side of the bucket so I can see it. And keep in mind it isn't going to "dig up stumps" Not for several hours anyway. And I have more FEL than you do. If you want to follow my old thread it is here.

My small homemade spade is very useful, a stump bucket would be almost useless. At least for digging up stumps. They fit on powerful skid steers where you can see what you are doing, and have much much more digging power.

 

[Fallon]

Build a small narrow bucket spade for you tractor and it will have some usage. A commercial stump bucket, no not so much. Too heavy, too wide, too much for your machine. Not to mention you can't see a thing. I put my homemade spade on the right side of the bucket so I can see it. And keep in mind it isn't going to "dig up stumps" Not for several hours anyway. And I have more FEL than you do. If you want to follow my old thread it is here.

My small homemade spade is very useful, a stump bucket would be almost useless. At least for digging up stumps. They fit on powerful skid steers where you can see what you are doing, and have much much more digging power.

My bucket spade from Northern Tool was around $150. Not dirt cheap, but not bad. If you have metal working gear you could definitely make your own, but you won't be saving that much if you factor in your time & materials you have to buy. A cheap source of steel would change that equation though.

Oh, and my L3200 with loaded R4s & ballast on the back was very much traction limited in this use case. So your extra HP on a L3901 wouldn't help at all. Your only advantage might be R1s for more traction. Otherwise it's the same frame.

 

[k0ua]

My bucket spade from Northern Tool was around $150. Not dirt cheap, but not bad. If you have metal working gear you could definitely make your own, but you won't be saving that much if you factor in your time & materials you have to buy. A cheap source of steel would change that equation though.

Oh, and my L3200 with loaded R4s & ballast on the back was very much traction limited in this use case. So your extra HP on a L3901 wouldn't help at all. Your only advantage might be R1s for more traction. Otherwise it's the same frame.

All but a little of my metal came from the scrap pile on the place when I bought it. Saving some bucks for sure.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Using a Grand L 3560 with a LA805 front end loader and a worX-duty stump bucket from everything attachments. The bucket is overbuilt for my tractor and seems overbuilt for a 72 hp Cat 262D skid steer just fine so far. First project i used only the Grand L 3560 and cleared out heavy cover of cedar and quite a few bodark trees for a 475 foot drive 16 feet wide cleared and a 300 sq ft pad for a home.

Note the narrow working end of this stump bucket, about 9 inches i think.

Dig your first pass just past the tree, then scoot back a bit and dig in again toward the hole you made, do this several times on both sides of the tree. Then move around if you can to the side and push it over. Large trees will require you to dig all 4 sides. The picture shows a trimmed tree but you can use the stump bucket to knock down the limbs on the trunk as you work your way around. This saves time. No extra limbs to pick up, they are all still attached to the tree. You can dig up just the stump if the tree has been cut off low, just takes more time.

Not saying that a Dozer or excavator would not be faster. But a week of work with the stump bucket for the trees, grapple to stack em, and box blade for the gravel and dirt work and i had the bucket paid for and a nice paycheck leftover.

 

[teg]

...a Grand L 3560 with a LA805 front end loader...

Apple to Oranges... Your Grand L tractor is 1000 pounds heavier, breakout force of 3301 lbf.... the Standard L3901 breakout force is 2462 lbs (839#s difference).

 

[Goose69]

Artillian implements makes what they call a "front hoe bucket" to mount on their pallet fork frame.
it looks like a mini stump bucket. They advertise it as being able to trench 18" deep and useful for tree transplanting, hole digging etc.
I ordered one from them, but have not been able to use it yet, as they sent me the incorrect
Frame, the order has been all messed up, but they are working on it to make things "right".
The bucket itself is very beefy, even tho it looks silly small compared to front of the tractor, but i guess that is what makes it effective.

Watching their videos, it looks like it would work well on smaller stumps. and it can be positioned in 3 different positions on the frame.
We intend to use it to transplant and plant lots of trees. As well as dig out a couple of old collapsed culverts, and some landscaping stuff

 

[k0ua]

Artillian implements makes what they call a "front hoe bucket" to mount on their pallet fork frame.
it looks like a mini stump bucket. They advertise it as being able to trench 18" deep and useful for tree transplanting, hole digging etc.
I ordered one from them, but have not been able to use it yet, as they sent me the incorrect
Frame, the order has been all messed up, but they are working on it to make things "right".
The bucket itself is very beefy, even tho it looks silly small compared to front of the tractor, but i guess that is what makes it effective.

Watching their videos, it looks like it would work well on smaller stumps. and it can be positioned in 3 different positions on the frame.
We intend to use it to transplant and plant lots of trees. As well as dig out a couple of old collapsed culverts, and some landscaping stuff

Show us some pix of it in use when you get it. I am sure others would like to see it also.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Apple to Oranges... Your Grand L tractor is 1000 pounds heavier, breakout force of 3301 lbf.... the Standard L3901 breakout force is 2462 lbs (839#s difference).

Good point. This my providing the detailed info since I not know the exact specs of the 3301

 

[Catman8]

I was also looking for a stump bucket for my 2032R, or similar to dig with and the worx looks to be overkill for my size tractor, so I was looking at the Titan stump buckets that are much cheaper but some reviews said the teeth on the sides bent the first time they used it. so i am still pondering what would work best like you,

 

[4570Man]

They're pretty effective on a big CTL, but I'd say nearly useless on a tractor.

 

[teg]

There are lighter "Stump Buckets" that would match you tractor better (actually, you might be able to damage this one) @ 151 pounds...

Titan Stump Bucket Tree Spade Scoop Digger Skid Steer Bobcat Attachment Pull

 

[69 SS]

Thanks to all, 2 more questions. Working soil is red Carolina clay , have about 30 + trees from 1 gal to 7 gal size to plant. How effective is a stump bucket in digging holes for planting lg container size plants/trees? And would I be better off buying a used post hole digger,digging holes in a circle to make holes large enough to plant trees/ plants? Will working a stump bucket hard to dig up tree stumps from a 3 yr old clear cut 5 - 20 inch trees harm my tractor? If you don't know ask someone who does what mama used to say. Thanks for all the answers. Trying to do it right the first time around. Good luck on all your projects

 

[Fallon]

Thanks to all, 2 more questions. Working soil is red Carolina clay , have about 30 + trees from 1 gal to 7 gal size to plant. How effective is a stump bucket in digging holes for planting lg container size plants/trees? And would I be better off buying a used post hole digger,digging holes in a circle to make holes large enough to plant trees/ plants? Will working a stump bucket hard to dig up tree stumps from a 3 yr old clear cut 5 - 20 inch trees harm my tractor? If you don't know ask someone who does what mama used to say. Thanks for all the answers. Trying to do it right the first time around. Good luck on all your projects

It took me 10-15 minutes if I recall to dig the holes for our live Christmas trees with pallet forks & bucket spade on my old L3200. Trees were 6-7' high & the root ball was under 2' across I think.

Augers above 12" get heavy & spendy. Mist PHDs aren't rated above a 12" or 18" auger. I now have a 12" auger on my new hydraulic PHD on my new L4069. It wouldn't have enough to plant trees over a foot or 3 due to root ball size. A tapered 24" tree planting auger is going to be at least $500, probably pushing a grand. My bucket spade was $150 or so. Will take a lot longer, but it's already bought & would be cheap if I had to buy it again.

If your trees would fit in a PHD hole or it would only take 5 min of shovel work to make the hole big enough I'd go that route if you already had a PHD or had other needs for a PHD. Otherwise get/make a cheap bucket spade. Don't bother with a stump bucket on a CUT. I've thought about it for a while myself. You'd be better off saving up for a small used 3pt backhoe (which I wouldn't trust fighting stumps).

 

[Catman8]

There are lighter "Stump Buckets" that would match you tractor better (actually, you might be able to damage this one) @ 151 pounds...

Titan Stump Bucket Tree Spade Scoop Digger Skid Steer Bobcat Attachment Pull

I was considering that bucket myself for a compact but other reviewers said they bent theirs, but the bad thing about reviews is not knowing how they used it or on what size tractor, I still might try the Titan because my dirt is really soft.

 

[69 SS]

Pulled the trigger on Bucket Solutions spade today. Last day before price increase and free shipping end. Can't get here quick enough. Will post with results soon. Good luck to all on your projects.

 

[teg]

Looking forward to photos and to see how it works for you... :thumbsup: