Std or HD Loader Bucket

Maker102 · May 12, 2002

This site has been a godsend to me. But I have yet another question that I would like your advise on. I am getting everything nailed down to purchase a new Bota and they are pushing me towards a standard bucket with a tooth bar and wear blade instead of the Heavy duty bucket. I am going to be moving alot of busted up chunks of concrete. I envision the contractors dumping concrete rubble and me moving it into final position. I envision moving anywhere from 300-500 dump truck loads of this rubble maybe less once I get everything ironed out but this still would be a good figure for planning. Why you ask? Well I have a 10 acre lake (38 feet deep) and I want to put an Island in the middle with a road to it. Again the dealer says its a waste of money. Does anyone have the specification on a STD vs HD loaders or know where I can find them. Any suggestions? Oh the tractor that I envision is a L3710 to do the work. I plan on using the tooth bar to dig a small pond on another section of land. Thanks for all the handholding thru this process.

radman · May 12, 2002

I don't have a HD bucket, but the toothbar and standard bucket would definitely be my choice over a heavy duty bucket and no toothbar. I'm not sure why you would need a wear blade and toothbar. My toothbar attachment protects the edge of the bucket. The toothbar will definitely be superior in picking up concrete rubble over a HD bucket alone. The toothbar will also give you a little extra benefit of preventing rubble from spilling out of the bucket due to the length of the teeth.
I leveled out about 1000 yards of clay/brick mixture last year with my 3710. It was mostly dumped where I wanted it and then leveled. It was used to build a level site for a pole barn and make a raised roadbed to my house. I hope you can have them dump near where you need it. I wouldn't want to use a FEL just to move that amount of material. You will definitely be getting some tractor time this year.

rancar · May 12, 2002

Carl,

<font color=blue>"...they are pushing me towards a standard bucket with a tooth bar and wear blade instead of the Heavy duty bucket..."</font color=blue>

Don't let anybody push you into buying something you haven't even yourself decided upon.

The way you describe your projects, I'd buy the heavy duty bucket with a toothbar. You'll be moving and re-locating a lot of concrete. This will take a beating on any bucket....even more so on a standard light gauge steel bucket. Before long, you'll notice your cutting edge bent and the the bucket banged and warped with the concrete jarring around during transport. The toothbar will be invaluable.....like the difference between night and day in what you can scrape up and dig out. The HD bucket and toothbar are well worth the extra few hundred you'll have to put out. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY

radman · May 12, 2002

Yes, if $ is not a big issue, go for the HD bucket and toothbar like Rancar said. At least get the toothbar with either one. You will need it. The toothbar should protect the bucket cutting edge. I believe the toothbar is almost mandatory if you plan on digging out a new pond. Regular buckets do a poor job digging in compacted soil.

JJT · May 12, 2002

I have an L3710 with the 6' standard bucket. I turned it into a HD bucket by adding 8" cutting edge from a skid steer. This significantly stiffened the bucket and gave me a reversible cutting edge that will out last the tractor. I've moved over a 1000 yards of material in the past 3 years, ranging from sand-gravel-clay-topsoil-cobbles-500# boulders and the wear on the bucket is negligable, and almost non existent on the cutting edge.

3 years ago Kubota did not offer a heavy 6' bucket for this tractor and I wasn't willing to live with a bucket that didn't cover my tracks.

The folks that are saying you cannot dig in compacted dirt without a tooth bar are most likely running much smaller tractors. I have heavy clay soil with lots of stones and have dug numerous trenches 6' wide and 4+ feet deep. The L3710 will dig without a toothbar!

frank_f15 · May 12, 2002

i think u might want to get heavy duty everthing. 300-500 truck loads is a lot of moving, especially with concret rubble. u will most definetly be getting lots of seat time.

Maker102 · May 13, 2002

Thanks guys but its looking like all of this is a mute cause. The price from the guy I was talking to just jumped it by 2k. So am just going to spend more time and watch where they dump the loads into the lake. I am sure I will buy in the future just not right now. I have to get a bargain.