4 in 1 buckets - Any good? Who makes them?

[rScotty]

One of the decisions to be made around the new 110 is what front bucket to equip it with. We have a lot of rocks here and I've done my time hand-pitching rocks into FEL buckets. Maybe a 4 in 1 type has enough advantages - though I'm concerned about the weight. The 110 will quick connect to a number of different brands of bucket. How does the JD 4 in 1 stack up against the other brands?
Thanks, Scotty

 

[techwrtr2]

We have a 4 in 1 bucket on our 455 crawler loader. Very useful piece. Good for picking up boulders, trees etc. Also good for grading work.

 

[kennyd]

Have you looked at the WR Long 4n1? They make nice stuff also...

 

[AKfish]

I considered - seriously - the 4n1 with my 110. Heavy... and with the the bucket up; you need to develop a "feel" for the dozer blade 'cause you can't see it.

And, it's not exactly a "surgical instrument" when you're working to pick things up with it, either - IMO. I figured that if I'm gonna work a pile of logs, trees, stumps or rocks and load them onto a trailer, etc. I'll do it much faster and easier with the hydraulic thumb on the backhoe.

And, if I had lot's of rocks -- I'd get the dedicated rock forks, buckets, etc. and windrow up a bunch at a time!

AKfish

 

[Charlesaf3]

love my 4n1. Its heavy duty, but that also means its 800 pounds or so. And its pretty much my last choice for picking up rocks - grapple, backhoe thumb, or at a guess something like a rockhound would be better.

But for many dirtwork things its ideal.

 

[AKfish]

Nuthin's perfect and everything is a compromise... I don't aim to stir up a hornet's nest on 4n1 versus all the other FEL options --- but;

For around $2500 (4n1) a guy could get the HD bucket with edge (~$1,000) the HD forks (~$850) and the rock bucket (~$650).

I know what I did...

AKfish

 

[rScotty]

Well, so far I'm leaning away from the 4 in 1 bucket. Partly it's the price - I'd rather spend the money for a BH thumb. Also there is the feeling that although the 4 in 1 is extremely nifty, I just can't figure out what I would ask it to do on our rocky land. If there were lots of brush it would make more sense, but here in the Rockies we cherish anything that grows - even the weeds. A pivoting grapple on a regular bucket seems more useful than a clamshell action. The grapple would be clearly better for rocks if it closed about a foot in front of the cutting lip and then pulled back into the bucket. I wonder if any of them do that?

 

[jcmseven]

rScotty,

The WR Long buckets in my opinion are the top 4n1's out there. They are expensive but VERY well made. The JD buckets are OK and close in quality, but not quite at that level.

John M