My New 4in1 Bucket Came In!

MorningViewStables · Feb 10, 2014

wsc9tt said:
Those videos were really cool, but my guess is that is a very poor indication of what I can expect when I put a 4n1 bucket on a 50hp loader tractor.

I can second that! The 4in1 can be heavy! Mine is sized for the tractor, weighs 1,200lbs and requires 2,000lbs of ballast. It is mounted on a Heavy Duty loader and a 75hp MFWD tractor with AG tires.

Also, operator controls have a huge impact on the productivity of the 4in1. If you do not have button controls on hour hydraulic lift lever for the clam AND shuttle shift/powereverser transmission, you will perform very poorly with a 4-in-1. It is meant to be used in both directions and you need to learn to be able to make rapid changes operating the CLAM, loader lift and rotation simultaneously. You should consider Hydraulic Pump capacity as you will suffer performance if you are waiting on your hydraulics to re-position your clam, loader and bucket angle.

I have an appropriate machine to get the work out of the 4in1. Anything less and the 4in1 would be getting the work out of the machine (and operator) just to handle it. Choose your 4in1 wisely. If you are on using it as a hobby, your requirement thresholds for performance may differ.

Verticaltrx · Feb 10, 2014

RDrancher, what is your experience with using the bucket opening on a 4in1 to meter out material, ie spread to a specific depth based on the opening width? I often build round pens and riding arenas and I just have to spread the sand/base material by eye then go back and grade it. If one could open the clam on a 4in1 to a set opening and drive at a certain speed I'd think you could fairly accurately spread loose materials. Thoughts?

MorningViewStables · Feb 10, 2014

Verticaltrx said:
RDrancher, what is your experience with using the bucket opening on a 4in1 to meter out material, ie spread to a specific depth based on the opening width? I often build round pens and riding arenas and I just have to spread the sand/base material by eye then go back and grade it. If one could open the clam on a 4in1 to a set opening and drive at a certain speed I'd think you could fairly accurately spread loose materials. Thoughts?

One if it's best features is metering aggregate materials as long as they are relativity dry and uniform. Clumps like manure, (some) sawdust, damp clay, not so much as they will create gaps in the flow however, the flip side is that the 4in1 becomes a great filter for getting clumpy stuff out by mesured openings of the clam. Got a cinder block in that sand! Easily fished out with the 4in1!

RDrancher · Feb 10, 2014

Verticaltrx said:
RDrancher, what is your experience with using the bucket opening on a 4in1 to meter out material, ie spread to a specific depth based on the opening width? I often build round pens and riding arenas and I just have to spread the sand/base material by eye then go back and grade it. If one could open the clam on a 4in1 to a set opening and drive at a certain speed I'd think you could fairly accurately spread loose materials. Thoughts?

I actually have no experience doing that, except for filtering out soil from rocks. I might give it a try though. I can see it working fairly well for dry material. If the moisture content of the material is too high and disrupts flow, it won't work any better than waterfalling it off the lip of the bucket. I'll probably use it more for spreading material by opening it up at the end of a push instead of rolling the bucket forward and spreading with the teeth. That depends on the moisture content of the material too. If the soil is fairly moist and clumpy, it works better to slowly dump at ground level, spread with the teeth and backdrag with the teeth on the way out to break it up. I'm really looking forward to the extended reach for dressing up banks and cleaning up swales. Since skid steers and ctls don't have much reach below the tracks (unlike a tractor), I'm sure I'll appreciate the extended reach there too.

kevin37b · Feb 11, 2014

John , did you get those hoses straightened out ? Would like to see what you did . Thanks , Kevin .

RDrancher · Feb 11, 2014

kevin37b said:
John , did you get those hoses straightened out ? Would like to see what you did . Thanks , Kevin .

Still waiting for the part to come in Kevin. I'll post pics when I get it welded up.

ovrszd · Feb 11, 2014

RDrancher said:
I'm with you on that too. Personally I would never put a 4n1 on my tractor. I wouldn't want to reduce the loader lifting weight that much. I can see the bucket being real handy for a lot of ranch and farm work though, like cleaning up turnouts and hauling manure.

Yeah I definitely agree if it's a 40HP or less tractor. A large percentage of the lift capacity would be used up. The larger the tractor, the less impact this would be.

I've not weighed it, but I bought a Bobcat lowpro bucket and built a double clawed Grapple on it. It's pretty heavy. I don't notice it's weight on my M9540. But I've had it on my Brothers L3240 and notice a dramatic decrease in load carrying ability.

RDrancher · Mar 27, 2014

No bashing here, just the plain and simple truth.

I was going to let this go unless someone asked, but my devotion to the great members (and their great FREE advice) here on TBN won't let me. This is a place to share both the good and bad, and that's helpful when it comes to shelling out you're hard earned cash.

While the owner of the company was great to deal with, I can't suggest them as a source for attachments. You indeed get what you pay for.

Two things raised their ugly head when I finally got the chance to use the bucket for the first time. There was a major gap in the left side QA plate and a little smaller one on the right. Up and down and QA face to face. Not a little "lets shim it up" gap either...we're talking a bunch! Also, the clam wouldn't stay even remotely closed with the bucket in the dump position. The weight of the clam was too much for the cylinder. All of these flaws together made for a very heavy rattletrap of a bucket. I was informed that I must have accidentally been sent a "second". He apologized and said that their quality control department should have caught it. The bucket was returned and another sent out.

The second bucket (no pun intended, cuz I ain't laughin') was far worse than the first! The jaws weren't lined up at all with a 7/8" daylight gap on one side. The clam and dozer cutting edges were way off, closed on one end but 1/2" apart on the other as well. The fitment of the QA plate was once again horrendous.

When I contacted the owner he related that he hadn't actually inspected the bucket before it was sent out and that I must have accidentally been sent a "second" again! I'm thinking...you already sent out a flawed bucket and have an unhappy customer...and you don't even check it out first? Quality control my butt!

The owner related in another email that neither bucket should have been sent out to me...then said that I would have to pay for the return of both buckets! My response was NO FLIPPIN' WAY!

So I ended up only being out the shipping on the original bucket and finally got my check in the mail today.

What I don't get, is that I told him that I had started threads here and on an equipment forum. You think he would have made sure that (at least) the second bucket was right! I'm just figuring that he doesn't care. :confused3: