Bobcat Digger Attachment vs Stump Bucket

[Snowlan]

Has anyone tried using Bobcat's Digger on their compact tractor? Bobcat just updated their website this month to include compact tractors in the list of compatible equipment. There is very little information to be found on this tool. I'm not getting a backhoe delivered with my Bobcat CT2025 the end of this month because my property only has shallow soil before bedrock, but I want a stump bucket of some type to allow for some smaller diameter hole digging, tree transplants, small rock and stump removal, etc. There are many stump bucket designs available, but I'd like to include this digger in my 84 0% financing if it would function half decent. I like how it can work forward and backward which a typical stump bucket can't. When I asked my salesman about the tool he said I'd be better off with a backhoe.... of course he's going to say that. This is only for personal use, not looking for commercial productivity rate.

 

[4570Man]

I can’t see the picture but I assume you’re talking about one of those backhoe bucket on a stick things. You better introduce yourself to bent cylinder rods trying to dig stumps with one of those.

 

[Snowlan]

Oh no, definitely not the backhoe bucket on a stick! I used the attachment button in the last post, I'll try inserting an image

this time.

 

[Snowlan]

It comes in a ranges of sizes, the last post is the smallest at 12" wide cut and the cutting edge is about 33" forward of the mounting plate. Probably the best size model for a 3000lb tractor, but the next size would be nice at 25" wide cut. However the cutting edge id 52" forward and there wouldn't be much breakout force left. The bigger option allows room to back drag though, trying to decide how that might work.

 

[the old grind]

Nice looking alt to a stump bucket but they have one thing in common. You need a lot of tractor (weight) to dig with either one or expect to spin your wheels a lot. (olive, honeysuckle, etc)

I live on a virtual sand dune but my 35hp CUT won't dig deep at all, maybe a foot down before the front wheels climb up and the rears just spin. Row of teeth at the 'point' is ~12" wide. Anything I won't re-plant is easier to remove with a grapple. (horizontal vs common)

I learned something many years ago when digging/moving hickories with a back-hoe. Take one scoop from either sice of a tree, than scoop it up. One could do something similar with a stump bucket, loosening-up soil & side roots first.

 

[Snowlan]

Looking at the specs of the Digger I see the smallest model is only 36" wide which isn't wide enough to be skid steer attach which is 44 inches. The small model must only be for mini skid steers which I didn't realize had a different size bucket attachment point. Looks like it has to be the 25" digging width or bigger (45.4" bracket width), all being 52" long so a relatively heavy machine with decent curl breakout force required. The Bobcats/Kiotis do have a pretty strong loader so this may work. I think I'll call the parts department instead of my salesman to get some info.

 

[the old grind]

The new format doesn't yet show what tractor you own. With a Bobcat CT2025 I wouldn't dare use one anywhere but the on beach. IMO you seriously lack the weight and traction to use one effectively.

You'll know if you try it, but BTDT as they say.

 

[Snowlan]

The new format doesn't yet show what tractor you own. With a Bobcat CT2025 I wouldn't dare use one anywhere but the on beach. IMO you seriously lack the weight and traction to use one effectively.

You'll know if you try it, but BTDT as they say.

Yes, I don't know why they got rid of the tractor information in the forum view. Thanks for the advice, are you saying you wouldn't use a stump bucket at all with the CT2025, or just this Digger model because it is a little large? I'm not looking for a perfect tool, just an economical one that will allow me to scratch away at my land while I sit in a comfortable chair.

In honesty I'm not expecting miracles, just protecting a bad back from shovel work. I don't really have a lot of stump work to do and the few I might want to do are relatively small and the trees have vey little to root into on my land before bedrock. It's really about digging a small hole to drop a nice little hemlock or fir tree in that I've scooped up from somewhere else on the property; scaping the thin layer of organics off the uneven rock beneath and pushing/rolling some rocks around as I build a trail - technically this could be done with the FEL, but the narrow nature of a stump bucket keeps these point loads centered in the loader arms.

 

[the old grind]

Tractor info in our profiles will be back erelong. I found CT2025 in your "about me".

I suggest you look into a clamp-on bucket spade. Advantage is low cost to see what your weight and power can do in your soil. This would let you see what your tractor is capable of (a nice machine to be sure) and might be easier to resell if it doesn't work out.

Sticking out too far from bucket pins denies loader leverage and these all do a bit. It's tractor weight and traction that stumps require to remove but rocks would likely come out more easily w/o roots to hold them.

btw, the machines my stump bucket struggles with (sandy soil) are '13 NH T1520 and '04 TC33DA. It takes several lunges to get under stumps (shrubs) with root balls much > 1' or so. Trees with a tap root (deciduous vs conifer) need to be dug deep to get out. I went back to using the mini back-hoe for most anything I thought the stump bucket would get under when lack of traction/push proved it wouldn't.