George--I switched to the Long bucket at the last minute in my dealing for the tractor and just forgot about the spill plate option. It would have been a good choice. I'll probably get some plate and weld one on eventually. Long did a nice job installing the tooth bar and the bucket "lips" have teeth that seem to help. I do have a hood guard; I think it's standard with the loader. A couple of times already I've come close to having a sizeable limb tumble out of the bucket onto the hood. That would not be good. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks Dave. The tractor really is awesome in use; very addictive. My wife was rolling her eyes yesterday as she explained to my college daughter in Portland that "Dad is hooked on tractors now....He's been on it all yesterday and today." And I'm thinking, better tractors than ...(pick your word). I'm finally beginning to whip this farm back into some semblance of shape.
And Gary--I went back and added a ton of cable ties to mine to get the hoses to work as one stronger hose, and to get them up and somewhat out of the way, but the way I'm using the loader to move logs, limbs, and brush in huge hunks is bound to break a hose eventually. I'll do as you suggest and post photos of the fix after it's done. One wierd thing is that when the ROP is folded down (flat ground, low limbs) and locked in place, the lift arms for the 3 point hitch hit the ROP when the lift arms are all the way up. And boy does the hydraulic pump not like that, not to mention the dent it made in the ROP. I'm betting the Deere engineers' CAD system missed this little "interference". No big deal, I just keep the 3 point from going all the way up when the ROP is folded down.
And Gary, you asked about whether we have Deere or Long buckets. I've attached a photo of a Deere bucket here. The dealer accidentally ordered it for me, so I was able to photo both it and the Long bucket side by side. I'll post the Long bucket next, but you can see it in the background of the photo of the Deere bucket here. Both have round hinge tubes; the Deere tube looks bigger. But the Long bucket has teeth (not a Deere option on 4 in one that I could find), supposedly opens twice as wide, and can be ordered with the electric valve and joystick control.