4 in 1 Buckets

[Wormy]

Greetings.

Statement number 1 --> I am indeed a Tractor Newbie / Novice

I am hoping to (as opposed to "going to" as it will be a hard sell to the Missus) purchase my first tractor. I have 5 acres of flat ground.

I have been intrigued by these Kiotis (Daedong is the brand name here in Australia) The heavier wieght of even the smallest (ck22) will be suffiecient for ground-engaging equiptment from what i can gather from your posts.

the CK22 Daedong (ck20 kioti in your language) is the one i have my eye on.

Anyways. I believe a 4 in 1 bucket as opposed to the standard buckets would be ideal for me --> watching the skidsteer loaders on construction sites use their 4in1 is just magic!! Can an aftermarket 4in1 bucket be installed to these machines (with or without an extra remote being installed perhaps)? What is the things i need to remember/ are important for a 4in1 Vs standard please? It would appear to me as a novice that the ck22 can handle any additional loader wieght? I ask these questions because it appear that eveyone speaks of only a normal standard bucket.

reason for wanting a 4in1 is :-
a) removal of small saplings (max 1.5 inch Leucaena trees)
b) small area grading abilities, especially with a leveling bar clamped in the jaws) --> great for spreading topsoil or adding a little extra road base to my very short driveway (200foot)
c) moving soil around.
d) picking up the larger tree branches as they fall.

Other implements I would give serious thought to:-
Stick rake to prep for mowing (right now i got a wheel barrow, 2 legs, and heaps of walking) (I also only mow about 1.5 - 2 acres tops).

Rotary hoe or something similar. I have extremely hard clay and once i get my bore working this coming summer i would really like to get a real lawn happening (as opposed to seasonal pasture grasses). Missus wants a Vegie patch.

Any info pros/cons) would be appreciated - especially in regards to the 4in1 Vs Standard bucket (any ideas of what else i might use on for)

Cheers in Advance!

 

[rvaitor]

Greetings.

reason for wanting a 4in1 is :-
a) removal of small saplings (max 1.5 inch Leucaena trees)
b) small area grading abilities, especially with a leveling bar clamped in the jaws) --> great for spreading topsoil or adding a little extra road base to my very short driveway (200foot)
c) moving soil around.
d) picking up the larger tree branches as they fall.

Other implements I would give serious thought to:-
Stick rake to prep for mowing (right now i got a wheel barrow, 2 legs, and heaps of walking) (I also only mow about 1.5 - 2 acres tops).

Rotary hoe or something similar. I have extremely hard clay and once i get my bore working this coming summer i would really like to get a real lawn happening (as opposed to seasonal pasture grasses). Missus wants a Vegie patch.

Any info pros/cons) would be appreciated - especially in regards to the 4in1 Vs Standard bucket (any ideas of what else i might use on for)

Cheers in Advance!

I would get a grapple and use the standard bucket for smoothing(float position). The 1.5 inch saplings I'd just run over with a bush hog. I generally go up to 3-4 inch in diameter(with my 7' medium duty BH).

A rotary hoe will smooth stuff as well.

I have a 4n1 on my track loader and it is very tedious to pick up stuff although I do on occasion. I prefer rolling/pushing the bigger stuff because it knocks the dirt off.

 

[IslandTractor]

4n1 buckets are useful in the same way that a Swiss Army Knife is useful. Yes, it can do a lot of jobs that would otherwise require switching implements but it doesn't do any of the jobs as well as a dedicated implement. They are also pretty expensive and you need to be a little more careful with them to avoid expensive damage to the bucket than you would need to be with the dedicated tools.

I had a CK20 and was thinking of putting a 4n1 on it. Before I did so I got a larger tractor and put the 4n1 on the new machine. I do like it but it is not my favorite implement. I got mine used and dirt cheap so I'm happy to have it in the implement pool but I'd be kinda disappointed if I'd paid full price for a new one ($2000 approx).

For the tasks that you are outlining, I would suggest putting a grapple arm on your standard bucket and getting a box blade. That will let you do everything a 4n1 will do and you will save money as well as have more effective implements. In the US you can get a grapple arm with cylinder for less than $500 and the installation is not difficult. Helps if you or a buddy can do very basic welding.

Obviously you will also need to install a rear remote but you'd need to do that for either the 4n1 or the combo. Once you have the rear remote you might take some of your savings (not having shelled out big bucks for the 4n1) and add a hydraulic top link which will allow you to more easily adjust your box blade. You can control the grapple from the rear remote easily (I used exactly that set up on my CK20 and loved it).