B7800 54" bucket / 60" bucket ??

[rickster]

I just got a b7800 thought I was getting a 54" bucket. Get to dealer to sign
papers and take final look at tractor. Salesman tells me loader came with 60"
bucket. I thought thats okay same price! From what I'm hearing the 54" is a more heavy duty bucket and I'm thinking about asking them to switch it out
for me. I plan on digging in the dirt alot! Does anyone have some good pics of there 54" bucket that they can post for me?

Thanks!
Rick

 

[KennyV]

Rick...
If you are really going to be ‘digging in the dirt alot!’, you don’t necessarily want or need the widest bucket you can get… but you will probably find teeth very handy on the bucket. KennyV.

 

[Stef]

I have a 60" and I never had any problem with it. As KennyV said, teeth would be a good option. I did a lot of work with my bucket (dirt, mud, stone dust, snow, rock) and it's still perfectly square and in great shape. I think the buckets (54" or 60") fit very well with the power of the tractor.

 

[rpeter]

As long as the bucket is wider than the tires seems to me the question is how you will use it. My B7800 is used in and around a lot of trees that are planted pretty close together. To make sure I fit I went with the 54. With wide open spaces maybe I would have gone with the 60.

 

[Buster57]

Is there any good way to mount a hook on top of the bucket for a B7800?
I have had them on my other tractors and used them all the time pulling fence posts etc.

Thanks!

 

[art]

I always recommend the hooks being in the center and with some type of reinforcement across the top of the bucket to keep it from bending.

 

[herringchoker]

Here's how I put hooks on the bucket of my B7800. Steel angle reinforcement across the entire width, a grab hook on each side and a slip hook in the centre. Other folks have different setups. And you're right, they sure are handy.

 

[Buster57]

Can you possibly post more pics of the way you reinforced it?

The HD bucket on my Grand ‘L’ was never an issue but the B7800 bucket is 1/2 the strength and weight. Reinforcement will be critical.

Thank you!

 

[wushaw]

Here is how I reinforced my 60" bucket on my L2800.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/93156-my-bucket-hook-install.html

 

[Northland]

I have the 60" bucket and have used it a lot in the past 10 days to clear the 40" (6" last night) of snow that has fallen. I am happy that I have the extra 6" of width for clearing all the snow.

I had hooks welded onto an L beam at each end of bucket top. I didn't want one in the middle of the bucket as I plan on having a grapple installed there in the spring.

 

[Sully2]

I reinforced the whole top lip of my FEL bucket. A piece of 2 x 3 angle iron...1/4" thick. Hooks and such welded to the angle iron instead of the bucket material itself.

 

[herringchoker]

Buster57 - I don't have any more detailed pics of how I reinforced the bucket, but I think it's the same as Sully2 did it. Wushaw did a real sturdy mod using the drill pipe; the angle brackets for his 3 hooks are mounted in the same position as my full width angle. I used 2" x 2" x 1/8" angle, because I had it on hand. In hindsight, I sometimes think I should have used a heavier section, maybe 3/16" or 1/4" thick (although I've done some pretty serious lifting and haven't bent anything yet).

 

[Buster57]

Buster57 - I don't have any more detailed pics of how I reinforced the bucket, but I think it's the same as Sully2 did it. Wushaw did a real sturdy mod using the drill pipe; the angle brackets for his 3 hooks are mounted in the same position as my full width angle. I used 2" x 2" x 1/8" angle, because I had it on hand. In hindsight, I sometimes think I should have used a heavier section, maybe 3/16" or 1/4" thick (although I've done some pretty serious lifting and haven't bent anything yet).

Special thanks to Herringchoker and Sully2.

I just received my second B7800 for test and it fits just right. It seems like the first one may have been right off the ship or something. I told my dealer after buying 3 Kubota tractors from him I have expectations. He delivered to me the one off the show room floor.

It meets my expectations-high vibration and all. I will wear thick socks...

As for the bucket reinforcement, I like your solution better then Kubota. I have a friend who is a master welder . I will pay him to look at your pics and be creative. I only want one center hook but I want it to be REAL strong.

Super help!