Buying Stump Bucket Instead of Backhoe

[4570Man]

I have a stump bucket for my skid steer. It’s probably not a tool I would have bought since I have better digging equipment but it came with the skid steer purchase. It’s actually pretty handy. It’s pretty good at the intended goal of digging stumps. It’s pretty good at digging shallow holes. It digs ditches but it’s a really hack ditch job. I could honestly dig a lot better looking ditch with the regular skid steer bucket. But that’s on the skid steer. I wouldn’t put one on a tractor. The loader is too delicate and it’s not strong enough to do much anyway.

 

[JohnnyMX]

I have a stump bucket for the MX and it digs just fine. I don't get crazy with it and when the job calls for it I just take smaller nips to break a root etc. They probably aren't great for a person that just goes 110%. It digs very good with the few teeth it has it really lets it sink in. I've dug stumps, planted trees, and pulled out larger rocks that were getting a bit to close to my mower blades.

 

[kneedeep]

A tractor without FWA will struggle with a stump bucket, maybe to the point of breaking something.

 

[WVH1977]

If you are serious about digging, look for an old excavator or old backhoe. I just cannot see a 790 even with a backhoe attachment doing much digging. 10,000 grand is a lot of digging time on a rented mini-ex.

 

[OzarkChris]

I have been looking for a compatible backhoe for my JD790 to no avail. Only twice have I seen them come up on Craigslist and they were both gone quicker than I could ever get to them. I want the ability to dig, so have noticed these stump buckets as digging tools. They even have some which claim to dig over 4'. Has anybody used these for digging? What can I expect of them as a digging tool? Please share your experiences and any insight. Thank you for reading.

Reading through all of the comments, I thought I might toss in a couple of cents as well. My first thought was if you are looking at close to $10k, why not just get a used Mini-X? It would be much more versatile (and faster) than an add-on back hoe.

A second thought, that might work better than a stump bucket and would be less than backhoe, would be a front hoe. Not as convenient as a backhoe, but since you have the hydraulics of the FEL, and the weight of the engine it may work better. I've personally never used one of these - have friends that have them, some say they are great, others talk about them being a big PIA. Your mileage may vary.