The Prickly Pear spines seem to imbed themselves into the tire sidewalls a bit, but just a tiny bit before breaking - not deep enough to cause problems.
No, I am not a native Texan. I grew up in Canada, and then spent 20 years in Minnesota, before I saw the error of my ways and came to God's Country. I am 37 miles west of the center of Austin, in Texas Hill Country.
The rock bucket is from HLA, which my John Deere dealer tells me is a Canadian company. My dealer originally tried ordering a different brand, but the other company did not make rock buckets that have BOTH correct width for my tractor AND quick detach mounts. The quick detach feature was non-negotiable from my perspective, as it makes ALL the difference in ease of use (You are more likely to swap implements when you really should when it is a 5 minute job versus a half hour). Likewise, the correct width is critical for best efficiency and ease of use.
How easy and convenient is quick detach? I was actually able to unload the bucket from the dealer's SIDE-WALLED delivery trailer by reaching over the sidewalls with the loader arms (with regular bucket already detached), getting the loader arms under the quick detach mounts, rotating into proper "locked" position, and then lifting the bucket right out of the trailer!
This bucket is a standard item available from this company and cost me about $1700. These are not inexpensive because they have to be quite tough to handle rocks. Those are BARS, not tubes, you see in the photos.
These normally come in black, but the factory evidently runs thier production in batches, and I had to wait about 2 months to get mine, so they painted it Deere green as a goodwill gesture.
Note that this bucket is much "deeper" fore-to-aft than a regular dirt bucket. This does NOT mean you can load it "full" and hold more. That would tip the tractor. Rather, the longer depth is to make it easier to grab and "trap" the rocks so they STAY in the bucket, and for the dirt picked up with them to fall out through the gaps between the bars. I think the manufacturer probably intends that you tip the bucket BACK each time you make a pickup of a new rock, so that you can then pick up more without losing what you already grabbed. Note that the spaces between the bars make visibility on rock picking (or Prickly Pear harvesting) MUCH easier than using a closed dirt bucket, and of course the bars don't get bent up like a dirt bucket would.
I thought long and hard about spending this much on a rock bucket (I could almost have gotten a decent wood
chipper for that money), but after using it the first time, I was VERY glad I got it.
Besides, I sent some photos of our mini-farm to a female friend in California, including these two rock bucket photos, and she immediatel fired back pronouncing the tractor a genuine "chick magnet"! Money well spent . . .
Jim G
