How big a bucket can I put on a Kubota M5040 with LA1153 loader?

[5030]

Keep in mind that OEM Kubota buckets come in 2 flavors (and always have), the standard duty 'material bucket' and the heavy duty 'excavation bucket' and I bet you have the standard duty bucket and are using it for heavy duty use which is why you are breaking welds as the standard duty bucket is just that.

Easy to tell the difference between the 2. The standard duty bucket will have an angled top of the bucket edge, whereas the the HD bucket has a welded in round pipe all the way across the top of the bucket and a double layered bottom.

Dealers tend to order units with the light duty bucket unless you specify the HD bucket and most tractor ordered for stock (on the dealer lot will be light duty buckets. Just how they order them.

The HD buckets are really bullet proof and far as width goes, as wide as you can deal with works so long as it fits on your SSQA or aligns with the fulcrum pins if yours isn't SSQA. Both my tractors are SSQA. One is an ATI, the other is a Kubota and I actually own 3 buckets and they all interchange on both units. I have 2 heavy duty round top buckets and one light duty angled top bucket, all 84" wide.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Followup: I bought the 750 lb Titan Attachments bucket, 84". At 750 lbs and a lot of weight far away from the pin, it definitely drives like my 400 lb heavy duty bucket with a full gravel load. The width is nice at 84", I wouldn't worry about that. After all, I put logs in my 72" grapple that are far wider and manage just fine. But the weight requires some care, and ballast, and fairly level ground.

I'm guessing an M5040 is about equivalent to an MX5400, but I don't really know. Anyway, I'd be careful with any buckets weighing more than 750 lb, the deeper they are, the more I'd be careful. That HLA bucket abpve (the 2021 X model) at 40" is 9" shallower than the bucket I bought, at the same weight, so might be more manageable because the weight is closer to the pin. (It's also a lot more expensive, and I wanted the ridiculous depth of the Titan bucket. We'll see if I live to regret the decision).

Good luck. I'll be posting my reactions to the titan bucket here: Titan Attachments 84" High Capacity Skid Steer Bucket

 

[Hay Dude]

Be careful of snagging an over-width bucket on roots, stumps or any immovable objects. I had an M-7040 with a 84” bucket and managed to bend the QA mount while clearing some land about 10 years ago. The extra width acts as a “lever” against your loader frame.
Also watch trying to lift too much and pulling back wheels off the ground. Puts tremendous strain on front axle bearings.

 

[jkahan]

I ended up fixing my Kubota bucket and also getting a Titan 72" skeleton bucket -- it's 51" deep and 20" high - and somehow 700lb awesome for picking up and moving firewood. Interestingly, the skeleton feature (i.e. ribbed bottom with space between the ribs ) is not that efficient at separating out materials; seems well built but time will tell; thanks tp all for all the replies -- really appreciated... Josh