Ordering backhoe! (Deere 485 on 3520) Thumb vs extra bucket?? (size, again too)

[Shawk]

My uses... about 15-20 acres of brush, trees, clean up and two 1.5-2 acre ponds that I'll be cleaning up shorelines on (overgrowth-grass, weeks, small trees). Good Midwest Iowa medium to soft dirt on the property... I'm sure there will be rocks, but nothing overly hard here (I'm assuming).

Sooo... I planned to order this 485 with two buckets as most recommend here after doing a ton of reading the last couple days (12" and 24")... plus I planned to get the mechanical thumb. I just talked with the dealer and he found that the thumb needs at least a 18" bucket or larger (no 12").. so that shoots down one or the other for me. Should I get the 12" and 24" bucket and no thumb or split the difference with an 18" bucket with the thumb?? It doesn't make as much sense getting the 24" bucket if I'm getting an 18"... but if I'm working around the ponds every few years, the 24" bucket sure sounds like one to have in the tool shed??? Thoughts???

Here's a bonus "what's it worth question" if any one knows... I bought my 3520 recently as a package deal and have a 81" Farm King (Buhler) tiller that was part of the deal. Used very little, but of course the paint is faded and so on. Tiller looks fabulous though (what really counts)... I'll attach a pic?? What should I sell this thing for? I had no idea the real "heavy duty" stamped tillers bring so much money in this size. Thanks all!!!

 

[newbury]

Tape your thumbs tight to your palms and try to do things.

Even a mechanical thumb is better than none.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Thumb should be considered a must. I think the 18" would be fine. Could always unpin the thumb if you use the 12". That would be useful if digging big trees and don't have the power to cut thru the roots with the larger bucket

Brett

 

[Shawk]

Thanks guys... I figured the thumb was the way to go. I'll probably do the thumb along with the 18" bucket and skip a second bucket for now.

 

[3Ts]

I have the 18" bucket (no thumb). I use mine mostly for trenching (2' to 3' deep) - For laying pipe (most of what I do) the 12" would be good but is to narrow for me to work the trench. The wider, the more dirt you have to move, 18 is a good compromise. For cleaning ponds though, the wider one sounds better. I believe there is a 36" bucket available.

 

[Shawk]

Thanks 3Ts!
I ended up buying a mini ex instead (Deere 35G w/ hyd thumb). I decided to go with an 18" bucket as the smallest. It's a digger, that's for sure!

 

[SkeeterFood]

If it were me, I'd go for the 12" and 24" buckets, plus the thumb. So what if you can't use the thumb on the 12"! The smaller bucket will have much greater power in hard ground or when the ground is frozen.

I know miners who dig in solid rock with their excavators. One friend in the Black Hills has a machine large enough that he can use quite large buckets. But the smaller (lighter) your machine, the smaller your bucket will need to be to dig in hard materials. If you try using a larger bucket in these materials, you're going to either stress your system or break something that you need.

As for clearing the weeds along the shoreline, I might even consider a much wider bucket specifically for that purpose. Would make the job go faster. Probably wouldn't be able to buy one, but could certainly make one.