Backhoe aftermarket backhoe buckets

[justcountry]

I have priced buckets from Kubota and they are not cheap! these ones from Hygear are about half the price. I've looked as close as I can in the pictures they post and I don't see any inferior quality, can someone point out any flaws they can see? as far as the removeable teeth, I've had my hoe for 6 yrs now and my teeth show hardly any wear. like I said, I have easy digging sand here in Fl. If I ever did wear out the teeth, I would weld some new ones on, no big deal right?? Thanks for the input guys.

 

[archeryantny]

I just recently purchased a brand new woods/gannon bucket off of my local craigslist for 150$. It was completely wrong in term of ear spacing and pin size, but in terms of volume and overall shape it was spot on for my L35. I torched off the ears and after a little fabrication I have myself a brand new 12" bh bucket. This is commonly done on bigger machines like track hoes so i figured why not compacts.
My new bucket isnt as heavy duty as my orig 24" but thats why i like it. I now have removable teeth which i could bolt a hook on or a grading blade, it makes my bh that much more versatile. keep your eyes out because for 200$ a nice addition was made to my tractor attachments.

i looked at hygear when i was in the mkt and they dont look very solid.

 

[BrierPatch]

Some of the things I notice about the buckets:

Some of the welds look good some not so good, probably won't affect effectivness. Just gives a hint of how it might be made.

Some of pivots are not welded on the inside, this might also be because some are flush and some protrude.

The teeth look like they are just peices of flat stock cut and welded on. Already mentioned and addressed

The bucket itself looks like it was bent in a brake and not formed in a curve shape. Might affect clean out ? Probably not for sand though.

All that being said, you know your conditions better and I am sure if it fits your BH Boom mount it will do something and it will last for some period of time. Your current bucket may have lasted this long because it is made of a tougher/thicker grade of steel or these buckets may last just as long because they are the same grade and thickness or you don't need that tough of grade. If they are half price and you are not going to be using it every day, it will probably work just fine and last for a long time. Ultimatly you know how much it is worth to you to have another bucket and its usefullness.

 

[BrierPatch]

Forgot the pictures !

 

[charlz]

Those teeth look like pretty standard teeth to me. When I was building my own 9" bucket I looked at various types of teeth. (http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/111905-smaller-backhoe-bucket.html)

Other than the cutting edge and teeth I don't believe there is anything special about the materials... just hot rolled. I built mine using the same materials as the 16" Kubota bucket that came with my hoe.

The guys welds look better than mine Really how much are you going to use it? Even the bucket that is on my hoe spends more time sitting and rusting than digging... not to mention the other size laying in the weeds full time

 

[Keuka]

I picked up a 12 inch kubota bucket for my L35 last year. I think I paid $400 plus $50 shipping by UPS. It was about half price and an original Kubota L35 bucket. The bucket was a few years old but unused and just like new.

I did a web search and listed my backhoe model and bucket size. Found it in a few days of searching. In fact I found two. I checked the weight with UPS and they said no problem.

I looked at a few after market buckets at auctions but they were light duty. I talked with a few landscape contractors that owned the L35 and they both told me stay away from anything but heavy duty.

 

[justcountry]

Thanks for the helpful insight, I looked at those welds also not being welded on both hsides, but I think you are right , they fit flush on the inside. I'm still up in the air on getting them from higear yet, their sales guy is supposed to get back with me this week on a final price with shipping, so I will see. As far as doing a search on the net, I've been doing them for well over a year and have not found any yet. I believe the L35 and BH90 take the same buckets and I ve searched for them on Ebay, craigslist, google, everything I can think of. Oh well, I may go check out the local equipment auction and see if I can find something to adapt.

 

[Keuka]

Justcountry, I sent you a message. They had other buckets.

 

[justcountry]

wELL GUYS AFTER A Long and grueling search for a Bh 90 bucket I bought 2 from hygear ind. I bought a 10" trenching and 30" for general digging. Both are what they called their Medium duty. I only have sugar sand to dig in and the 10" will be used to trench in electrical and irrigation pipes, and the 30" will be used for digging holes when a lot of dirt is needed general purpose or to bury a cow or a horse or something. ( I live in a rural area and something is always dying). the 10" should be here by the end of the week and the 30" will be 4 or 5 weeks. Whenn I get them, I will fully evaluate and take lots of pics. I didn't want to buy the buckets brand new, but in my case the bh90 and the L35 are the only 2 interchangeable buckets which makes the used bucket market very small. And I didn't have time to do the any ol' bucket fabrication. Thank you all for the input, and I will keep you posted.

 

[justcountry]

Here are some pics of the new 10" bucket I got the other day. The 30' will be here in a few weeks, they had to make one from scratch. I am very impressed on the strength this little bucket has. I was able to find some heavy clay and limerock deposits on my property and I dug about a 4ft trench right throught it with no problem. I think this bucket will outlast me. When I get the 30" from them, I will try it out as well. So far I am pleased with the quality.