GreatWhite...I'll answer any questions...thumb was $832 installed. My JD dealer charged me the same price I paid for the Bearclaw thumb (made by MC Faulkner in Maine) that was on my BH90. I thought my JD dealer was very fair. Having seen both thumbs, I recommend the Sundown UAT 200 over the Bearclaw for a couple reasons. 1) The Sundown is T-1 steel. 2) Sundown can be stowed without having to remove support bracket. 3) The Sundown has a more aggressive tooth design and is slightly curved at the bottom. 4) The Bearclaw support bracket shared pin holes with the thumb...meaning when the thumb was stowed against the dipperstick, the bracket had to come off. That made using it inconvenient as you always had to have that bracket with you if you wanted to use it and you had to pull and replace more pins. 5) Bearclaw was fairly flat...guess there's pro's cons to both designs, but I prefer the Sundown for it's build quality and ease of use. Have yet to really put a load on it, but am sure it will be fine. (Nothing against the MC Faulkner Bearclaw thumb...they make very respectable products and I am no expert in metal fabrication like they are.)
Overall, when it comes to pricing of these things, the bottom line has to include the material cost, fabrication, freight, dealer overhead, set-up costs, welding, etc.
Like many of us, I wondered if I should get another thumb as I did not use $832 worth of work from my first one. Then again...you set about your projects and come across that object (rock, stone, log, whatever) and you thank yourself for having it. It also protects your dipperstick since you don't need to pinch those same objects to move them. There were 2 projects my thumb was invaluable in removing a few large stones when digging some footings for a mudroom. They were oversized for the bucket and about 5' below grade...I snatched them right out with the thumb. So, although the initial cost is eye raising, think long-term...even if you use it only a few times a year. Here's a few pics to give you an idea about how the 2 look. Hope this info helps...
