Rock Bucket Questions
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slaveToHorses
Gold Member
Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
slaveToHorses
Gold Member
Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
I local (Hillsboro) JD dealer has one in the yard. He owes my either a rock bucket or a fork lift attachment. I haven't decided which I need more...or sooner.
Put in a pasture fence over the weekend and I sure could have used the forks. But I also have TONS of brush and a standard bucket just doesn't cut it so I am thinking the rock bucket might be a better fit.
Jay4200
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Jay4200
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I too have the "Rock" problem on my property in Calaveras County here in CA.)</font>
Could be worse.
I was considering getting some bucket-mount forks to use as a rock bucket /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
Jay
Could be worse.
I was considering getting some bucket-mount forks to use as a rock bucket /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
Jay
mikim
Veteran Member
Dave - I have Unlimited's root grapple and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to buy anything else from them. I have a set of forks on my want list from them and ..... there's always something else ain't there? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
mikim
Veteran Member
Dave - I have Unlimited's root grapple and wouldn't hesitate for a minute to buy anything else from them. I have a set of forks on my want list from them and ..... there's always something else ain't there? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
jinman
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Dave, I have the S-Houle rock bucket that Jeepinator talked about. Mine is a 5" bucket and works very well on football sized rocks and larger. It is particularly good for loose/sandy soil that can fall between the tines, but the soil has to be in the right condition, or it just sticks in the bucket. Clay will gum up the tines and then you have a cleaning job on your hands.
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
jinman
Rest in Peace
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- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
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- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
Dave, I have the S-Houle rock bucket that Jeepinator talked about. Mine is a 5" bucket and works very well on football sized rocks and larger. It is particularly good for loose/sandy soil that can fall between the tines, but the soil has to be in the right condition, or it just sticks in the bucket. Clay will gum up the tines and then you have a cleaning job on your hands.
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
If you want a rock bucket, I'd strongly recommend staying away from the ones that have a solid cutting edge along the front. They just don't give you the control and ability to dig under an object like the ones with 1-1/4" tines. Just consider how much better a toothbar is for digging than a solid cutting edge on a bucket.
The other thing that is nice about a rock bucket is the "basket" formed by the bend in the tines. This allows you to keep rocks in the bucket while digging more out of the ground.
What you lose with the rock bucket is about 50% of your curl power on your loader because the bucket is so deep. It's also very heavy and you will need all the ballast of filled tires and a heavy boxblade. With a load of rocks that far out front, you can get the rear end into the air in a hurry. With your 110 TLB, I would expect you'll easily be able to compensate.
Rock buckets don't work well on small flat rocks. If they aren't in a pile, you will chase them all over the field if you don't dig under them. If you put a few coins on a hard surface and turn your hand palm up and try to pick the coins up, you'll get the picture. The tine bucket makes digging under them easy, but when the bucket is half full of rocks and you get a lot of dirt picking up more, it kinda stesses your loader to sit there and bump the bucket or shake it to get the sand out. Your loader will work harder than some folks would consider prudent. Just keep it well greased and don't slam it around. I curl a couple of times and drop the bucket to the ground to shake it some. In some conditions, I just accept that I'll get a little soil and am satisfied with 75% rocks. Nothin' is perfect...
I have some pictures of me collecting some very big rocks as in the picture below. I've also collected a lot of smaller rocks, but don't have many pictures. My grapple sure comes in handy as an extra thumb for gripping rocks or brush. After a year of of use, my rock bucket with grapple is easily one of my favorite tools.
S-Houle Rock Bucket at Work
jeepinator
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- JD 3520, JD X739
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Did they give you any indication of the relative durability between the "light duty" and "medium duty" versions?)</font>
No, we didn't talk about that much. My decision on the light duty came from three things: 1) It will likely be a one use wonder. Perhaps the usage period will be weeks or months, but when I am done, it will have no more usefulness to me. 2) I aint rich. 3) My tractor aint so big /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The dealer did note something that I liked, and almost don't believe; the tines are individually replaceable and it's not very hard to do.
I sure wish I could have talked myself into getting a grapple for it. Dang, it's killing me all the times I could use one. Picking up stumps (or large pieces of these stumps) especially.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
No, we didn't talk about that much. My decision on the light duty came from three things: 1) It will likely be a one use wonder. Perhaps the usage period will be weeks or months, but when I am done, it will have no more usefulness to me. 2) I aint rich. 3) My tractor aint so big /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The dealer did note something that I liked, and almost don't believe; the tines are individually replaceable and it's not very hard to do.
I sure wish I could have talked myself into getting a grapple for it. Dang, it's killing me all the times I could use one. Picking up stumps (or large pieces of these stumps) especially.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
jeepinator
Gold Member
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- Nov 7, 2005
- Messages
- 263
- Tractor
- JD 3520, JD X739
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Did they give you any indication of the relative durability between the "light duty" and "medium duty" versions?)</font>
No, we didn't talk about that much. My decision on the light duty came from three things: 1) It will likely be a one use wonder. Perhaps the usage period will be weeks or months, but when I am done, it will have no more usefulness to me. 2) I aint rich. 3) My tractor aint so big /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The dealer did note something that I liked, and almost don't believe; the tines are individually replaceable and it's not very hard to do.
I sure wish I could have talked myself into getting a grapple for it. Dang, it's killing me all the times I could use one. Picking up stumps (or large pieces of these stumps) especially.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
No, we didn't talk about that much. My decision on the light duty came from three things: 1) It will likely be a one use wonder. Perhaps the usage period will be weeks or months, but when I am done, it will have no more usefulness to me. 2) I aint rich. 3) My tractor aint so big /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
The dealer did note something that I liked, and almost don't believe; the tines are individually replaceable and it's not very hard to do.
I sure wish I could have talked myself into getting a grapple for it. Dang, it's killing me all the times I could use one. Picking up stumps (or large pieces of these stumps) especially.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
jeepinator
Gold Member
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- Nov 7, 2005
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- Tractor
- JD 3520, JD X739
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?)</font>
Yes, I "sort of" got a quote from Stark Street lawn and garden in Sherwood. It was a few bucks cheaper than the one I decided on, but the tine spacing was wider than I wanted, it was quite a bit heavier (6' was minimum size as well), and there was no native JD attachment. Something about "Oh, we can just weld on something"... *cringe*.
The pics of them looked very nice, though.
Yes, I "sort of" got a quote from Stark Street lawn and garden in Sherwood. It was a few bucks cheaper than the one I decided on, but the tine spacing was wider than I wanted, it was quite a bit heavier (6' was minimum size as well), and there was no native JD attachment. Something about "Oh, we can just weld on something"... *cringe*.
The pics of them looked very nice, though.
jeepinator
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Messages
- 263
- Tractor
- JD 3520, JD X739
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Jeepinator, Did you check out the Bradco rock buckets?)</font>
Yes, I "sort of" got a quote from Stark Street lawn and garden in Sherwood. It was a few bucks cheaper than the one I decided on, but the tine spacing was wider than I wanted, it was quite a bit heavier (6' was minimum size as well), and there was no native JD attachment. Something about "Oh, we can just weld on something"... *cringe*.
The pics of them looked very nice, though.
Yes, I "sort of" got a quote from Stark Street lawn and garden in Sherwood. It was a few bucks cheaper than the one I decided on, but the tine spacing was wider than I wanted, it was quite a bit heavier (6' was minimum size as well), and there was no native JD attachment. Something about "Oh, we can just weld on something"... *cringe*.
The pics of them looked very nice, though.
jeepinator
Gold Member
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- Nov 7, 2005
- Messages
- 263
- Tractor
- JD 3520, JD X739
Which duty did you get, jinman? If you are picking up rocks that big without damage, I am impressed! Plus the grapple... oh the wonderful grapple.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem.
jeepinator
Gold Member
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- Nov 7, 2005
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- JD 3520, JD X739
Which duty did you get, jinman? If you are picking up rocks that big without damage, I am impressed! Plus the grapple... oh the wonderful grapple.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem.
jinman
Rest in Peace
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- Feb 23, 2001
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- 21,059
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- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
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- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Which duty did you get, jinman? If you are picking up rocks that big without damage, I am impressed! Plus the grapple... oh the wonderful grapple.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem. )</font>
Jeepinator, my model is the HB5 with 1-1/2" tines spaced 3" apart. I would not want any closer spacing. Too much dirt will remain in the bucket. It doesn't take too many roots to make a 3" dirtball that won't easily fall thru the tines. Also, I lose a few small flat rocks because they fall through the tines. Here is a picture of the rock bucket with normal sized rocks. I scooped up about 2/3 of these and got off the tractor and pitched in the rest. If you have a pile of rocks or a mound to push them against, you can fill the bucket, but to get it this full, you'll have to do a little manual collecting. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
The grapple works great to help hold the rocks in the bucket. Because the bucket is so long, you can get lots more rocks than you could in a normal loader bucket.
Full Rock Bucket
One thing you have to watch with this bucket. It's not made for pushing over trees. You'll get a tree wedged between the tines and bend them side-to-side. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I use a large pipe over the bent tine to straighten it out. So far, it works great. I have lots of brush and small trees in my rocky fields, so this is a non-issue if you don't have small trees.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem. )</font>
Jeepinator, my model is the HB5 with 1-1/2" tines spaced 3" apart. I would not want any closer spacing. Too much dirt will remain in the bucket. It doesn't take too many roots to make a 3" dirtball that won't easily fall thru the tines. Also, I lose a few small flat rocks because they fall through the tines. Here is a picture of the rock bucket with normal sized rocks. I scooped up about 2/3 of these and got off the tractor and pitched in the rest. If you have a pile of rocks or a mound to push them against, you can fill the bucket, but to get it this full, you'll have to do a little manual collecting. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
The grapple works great to help hold the rocks in the bucket. Because the bucket is so long, you can get lots more rocks than you could in a normal loader bucket.
Full Rock Bucket
One thing you have to watch with this bucket. It's not made for pushing over trees. You'll get a tree wedged between the tines and bend them side-to-side. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I use a large pipe over the bent tine to straighten it out. So far, it works great. I have lots of brush and small trees in my rocky fields, so this is a non-issue if you don't have small trees.
jinman
Rest in Peace
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2001
- Messages
- 21,059
- Location
- Texas - Wise County - Sunset
- Tractor
- NHTC45D, NH LB75B, Ford Jubilee
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Which duty did you get, jinman? If you are picking up rocks that big without damage, I am impressed! Plus the grapple... oh the wonderful grapple.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem. )</font>
Jeepinator, my model is the HB5 with 1-1/2" tines spaced 3" apart. I would not want any closer spacing. Too much dirt will remain in the bucket. It doesn't take too many roots to make a 3" dirtball that won't easily fall thru the tines. Also, I lose a few small flat rocks because they fall through the tines. Here is a picture of the rock bucket with normal sized rocks. I scooped up about 2/3 of these and got off the tractor and pitched in the rest. If you have a pile of rocks or a mound to push them against, you can fill the bucket, but to get it this full, you'll have to do a little manual collecting. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
The grapple works great to help hold the rocks in the bucket. Because the bucket is so long, you can get lots more rocks than you could in a normal loader bucket.
Full Rock Bucket
One thing you have to watch with this bucket. It's not made for pushing over trees. You'll get a tree wedged between the tines and bend them side-to-side. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I use a large pipe over the bent tine to straighten it out. So far, it works great. I have lots of brush and small trees in my rocky fields, so this is a non-issue if you don't have small trees.
Even without any experience, I'd tend to agree with you on the solid leading edge thing. You need those little fingers out there... or so it would seem. )</font>
Jeepinator, my model is the HB5 with 1-1/2" tines spaced 3" apart. I would not want any closer spacing. Too much dirt will remain in the bucket. It doesn't take too many roots to make a 3" dirtball that won't easily fall thru the tines. Also, I lose a few small flat rocks because they fall through the tines. Here is a picture of the rock bucket with normal sized rocks. I scooped up about 2/3 of these and got off the tractor and pitched in the rest. If you have a pile of rocks or a mound to push them against, you can fill the bucket, but to get it this full, you'll have to do a little manual collecting. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
The grapple works great to help hold the rocks in the bucket. Because the bucket is so long, you can get lots more rocks than you could in a normal loader bucket.
Full Rock Bucket
One thing you have to watch with this bucket. It's not made for pushing over trees. You'll get a tree wedged between the tines and bend them side-to-side. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I use a large pipe over the bent tine to straighten it out. So far, it works great. I have lots of brush and small trees in my rocky fields, so this is a non-issue if you don't have small trees.
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