I'm with Eddie on this one with one exception. I had a heavy built 4in1
4-IN-1 Multi-Purpose Construction Buckets - Construction Attachments Inc that in my opinion was built many times heavier than a "factory bucket" and was unable to damage it, but it did not do what I wanted it to do, which was grabbing logs, brush, and other odd shaped loads. These buckets were very popular in the day's
before the many variations of
grapple buckets available today. For "dirt work" they are handy but can be too heavy for smaller carriers/tractors.
Amen Rustyiron. I have a 76" Construction Attachments (CAL) brand 4-in-1 bucket model 1MPHC76E Extreme Duty Multipurpose Extended bottom, high capacity. It weighs a bit over 1000lbs and is stronger than most factory buckets. Use it on an 81 horse MF tractor. CAL sells a wide variety of buckets and you can probably find the best size, weight, etc. for your applications. See CAL website (and several others) for elaborate variety of choices. The beauty of having the skid steer compatibility is there are so many manufacturers and choices. As I recall CAL sells 2 or 3 grades of light to heavy duty. Mine is a skid-steer compatible quick attach using the MF factory adapter.
BY THE WAY, the vertical location of the attach point on the back of the skid-steer compatible buckets is not always quite right for tractor front end loaders. VERY hard to find out in advance of buying one. With the attach points on the back of the bucket sitting down too low, your tractor FEL frame tips can be lower than the back bottom of the bucket (!) This limits how far below level you can dig a little bit compared to the std buckets. It is somewhat subtle and you may own it for years before you notice. The MF skid-steer adapters for FELs are designed with the plates sitting what I say is 3 to 4" too high. They should be lower relative to the loader frames for better matching with skid-steer buckets. Your Kubota may differ and might be better on that fine point. Kubota has had the good sense to put skid-steer compatible plates on most of their larger tractor FELs years before other brands.
About Rustyiron's 4-in-1 not grabbing logs, brush, etc. very well -- me too. Frustrating. But I did not want the nuisance of taking a
grapple bucket on and off, paying the cash for it , etc. Much better if you can leave the 4-in-1 on. So I bought an extra 76" x 4" bar that CAL sells as a replacement cutting edge for the "dozer mode" of the 4-in1. I had 8 teeth made of 1/2" steel plate welded onto that bar. The teeth are made so that they just barely clear the clamshell of the bucket when it closes and rest just under the clamshell. That way I pick up logs, posts, debris etc. on the first try instead of the tree or limb slipping out, I don't need a separate
grapple, and the bucket stays on all the time. Also, being on a replacement cutting edge, the whole thing can be unbolted and return the bucket to standard anytime I want to. You may very well invent a better style/size/configuration for your liking. See attached picture.
View attachment 508579
