tooth bar

[dirt clod]

I'm kinda new to FEL's. I would think a tooth bar would help with digging,pulling roots and i'm thinking it would really help alot to pickup brush and such as the bucket on my l3300 isn't to big. I'm thinking a tooth bar would help me alot. But what am I missing here alot of pros but no cons to fitting a toothbar. I would think this would make my bucket stronger also. Wouldn't a tooh bar work good with a grapple to move brush or even without a grapple for clean up?
Is there any cons other than spending more $$$ ????????

 

[Highbeam]

I put mine on and love it to bits. Hasn't been off in the hundreds of hours since.

 

[accordionman]

SIR,
i installed mine. drilled two 3/4 in. holes,
and installed two bolts. my FEL is now a
"diggin fool" "mini bulldozer"
accordionman
wlbrown
wright city, mo.

 

[wilkesland]

My toothbar is the best purchase I have made for my tractor, bar none. My FEL went from being mostly ineffective, to very effective. I haven't had it off the tractor since I put in on. The difference the toothbar makes in being able to dig is unbelievable.

I really can't think of any cons, as it is a snap to remove from the bucket should I choose - only two bolts.

 

[cisco]

A toothbar is quite useful, and not particularly expensive. It's no "4 in 1" substitute, however, and it needs to be off when you smooth dirt and such. Keep in mind that the lift capacity of your FEL limits what the toothbar can tackle (or in a recent case, my FEL lifted, but the object it was lifting didn't move - what happened was 1 rear wheel was about 4" off the ground and the other an inch or so when I figured out my tractor/FEL were going to move, on the axis of my front axle, but not the cemented 6 X 6 it was trying to dislodge).

 

[dirt clod]

A toothbar is quite useful, and not particularly expensive. It's no "4 in 1" substitute, however, and it needs to be off when you smooth dirt and such. Keep in mind that the lift capacity of your FEL limits what the toothbar can tackle (or in a recent case, my FEL lifted, but the object it was lifting didn't move - what happened was 1 rear wheel was about 4" off the ground and the other an inch or so when I figured out my tractor/FEL were going to move, on the axis of my front axle, but not the cemented 6 X 6 it was trying to dislodge).

So the only con would be with leveling dirt? if I just use the bottom of the bucket rather than the front edge i should be still able to level dirt right?
The bottom front edge does not stick out further than the top front edge so rolling something into the bucket is not easy does the teeth help with this?

 

[ADin]

Dirt Clod,

Using the front of the blade versus the back is easier and more efficient in many applications, whether due to improved visibility, finesse control, or bucket design. This is not to say it couldn't be done using the rear of the bucket. There are obvious applications such as snow plowing (or equivalent functions) with the FEL that is clearly less than ideal with the toothbar on.

Only other minor con is slight reduction in loader capacity due to additional weight at front of bucket.

It's universal consensus that the pros >> cons and the cons can be nullified with the removal of 2 bolts and 2 minutes efforts in most cases.

 

[dirt clod]

Dirt Clod,

Using the front of the blade versus the back is easier and more efficient in many applications, whether due to improved visibility, finesse control, or bucket design. This is not to say it couldn't be done using the rear of the bucket. There are obvious applications such as snow plowing (or equivalent functions) with the FEL that is clearly less than ideal with the toothbar on.

Only other minor con is slight reduction in loader capacity due to additional weight at front of bucket.

It's universal consensus that the pros >> cons and the cons can be nullified with the removal of 2 bolts and 2 minutes efforts in most cases.

Ok looks like the tooth bar is the way to go. I'm not worried about the small added weight and I'm prolly not going to have to do much snow plowing. Looks like smoothing dirt is the only con for me. thanks for the advice guys

 

[IslandTractor]

A toothbar will help a lot but a grapple attachment is what you really want (along with the toothbar) if you are cleaning up brush. Brush is not heavy but it is bulky and unweildy to deal with or to convince to stay where you put it in your bucket. Only a grapple can really hold it in place and allow you to grasp large quantities of brush at a time and securely transport it. It also allows you to grab rather than scoop brush and therefore makes it easier to simply rip a bush out of the ground and move it in a single motion rather than pushing or digging it out and then needing to capture it for transport.

I was thinking yesterday of how one might compare, for tasks involving clearing and movement of brush and slash: 1) man with shovel and wheelbarrow, 2) tractor with FEL, 3) Add toothbar to FEL, 4) "Add a grapple" to FEL and toothbar, 5) real root grapple. I am sure I will be off somewhat but my impression would be that if #1 = 1 unit of work then #2 would be about 3, #3 would be 5, #4 about 10 and #5 about 15. Major caveat, I have never used #4 but have direct experience on the same plot of land with all the others. A grapple can be pricy but there is a very good reason that professional landscapers use grapples when dealing with brush.

Again, while I have not actually used the Add A Grapple type attachment, I think it is probably the best option (after the toothbar) for most people due to the moderate cost and having the benefit of still having your regular bucket available.

Photos show large amount of brush in grapple vs moderate amount with bucket and toothbar. Each shot is an example of about as much as you can load into either the bucket or grapple. Additionally, to travel with the grapple just means hitting the gas, to travel any distance with any amount of brush balanced in a bucket with toothbar means getting off the tractor to secure the load before traveling.

 

[ADin]

That first picture is impressive, if I didn't know better I would think it had be doctored in Photoshop. I've always liked grapples, but pictures like that really make me want one. Compared to my current process of clearing thorny hawthorns I'm doing now, I would up your grapple rating to at least 25 to 1.

 

[dirt clod]

thats more than i thought you could pick up with a grapple.you have the one that bolts on the bucket right?

 

[IslandTractor]

Just to be clear, that first photo with the huge amount of brush did not come in one "bite". I had collected smaller grapplefuls and then picked up the whole bunch. The point is that it is very hard to achieve maximum FEL weight loading with brush unless you can bite a huge amount of brush at once. My technique in doing this has evolved with experience. I now open the grapple and drive into the brush pile, as I drive forward I slowly rotate the grapple body (uncurl) while leaving the jaw open. As the jaw rotates and comes in contact with the ground, I then close the jaw. That allows me to compress and capture about two or three times as much brush with each bite. Such efficiency might not be critical if you were just loading a trailer or truck nearby but I load up my grapple and then move it about 200 yards so I like to minimize the trips.

 

[IslandTractor]

thats more than i thought you could pick up with a grapple.you have the one that bolts on the bucket right?

No, I have a QA attached full grapple. See my avatar photo.

I think you are correct, I could never get that much into a bucket/grapple as the sides of the bucket interfer with loading fully.