Skid Steer Bucket

[john4153]

I have a new to me 2007 New Holland L175 skid steer. It came with a toothed bucket. I plan to add a low-profile, extended bottom bucket with a smooth cutting edge for grading and other purposes. I have read that for grading, the bucket bottom should rest flat on the ground when the boom is lowered against the stops. The quick attach on many common, low profile buckets I have seen is mounted too low for that to happen. That makes the bucket bottom when level with the ground about 1-1/2" or so above the ground.

1) How important is it to have the bucket bottom parallel to and on the ground?
2) Is there a particular dimension I should refer to when ordering the new bucket to ensure the criterion in question #1 in met?
3) Are there any particular brands/model numbers that users here know of that will work?

Regards, John

 

[Sysop]

The bucket will tilt and can be made level at any height above or below the ground. I've never operated a machine that the bottom of the bucket was at ground level at the stops, they have all been made to be able to dig and scrape below grade (the level of the ground).

 

[john4153]

Thank you for the response. I suspect you have never operated this series of NH. I am quite certain the boom is on the stops and the current bucket when level is not on the ground. The top height above ground of the QA flippers (pads) when the boom is on its stops is about 22" to 22-1/2".

Two manufacturers I contacted, including Everything Attachments, were aware of the issue. EA's "affiliate" (Construction Attachments) was quite helpful on the telephone. The X-Treme Duty low-profile bucket it sells has a back height of 21". The bottom of the QA is set at 4-1/8", and that will not get it to rest level on the ground. The only bucket it has to meet that requirement is the Severe X-Treme Duty (1GPSXD73) bucket that has a 24" back height so the lower QA attachment can be raised to about 6".

The crux of my three questions is #1 -- how important is having the bottom of the bucket level and on the ground? The other two questions just follow from that.

John

 

[whis]

least of your worries, boom doesn't have to set on rest's

 

[SSdoxie]

Grading going forward it is important to have bucket parallel with the ground, otherwise it is trying dig in at and angle trying to go deeper or rolled slightly it jumps out of the ground.
Back dragging - makes little difference as you usually want underside of the cutting edge doing most of the work, taking most of the wear.
That loader came with 12X16.5" tires while majority of the other manufactures put 10X16.5" tires on that size machine. The 12X16.5" tires made it look bigger/stronger and increased the ground clearance spec. but apparently NH didn't change the boom to QA configuration to take into account the added height and grading affect. NH may have had (or has?) a special built bucket for it. If your tires are worn out, might consider shopping around for different tire profile.

 

[john4153]

@SSdoxie
Your analysis seems right to me. Thanks for the input. The 12X16.5 tires are a big part, maybe the whole part of the problem. Seller had just put on new tires. I had actually been looking at NH L170's and JD318D 's with the 10X16.5 tires. This machine was in good shape, low time, and right price, so I bought it. I wanted a machine that could also maneuver in my barn easily and didn't pay much attention to the tires per se. Of course for digging, it won't make much difference, and I already have a bucket for that.

As a person at Construction Attachments said, the so-called universal skid steer attachment is not so universal.

John

 

[Sportsman762]

I looked at a brochure for the NH L170 and the bucket is designed differently than most of the other skid steer buckets I have seen. The bottom of the bucket is not flat but at the back it has a slope. it appears that the SSQA might be higher than the normal skid steer. If this is the case you could not back drag with the heel of the bucket. If another bucket was put on it might not sit on the ground. Here is a link to a sales brochure.
http://www.stjosephequipment.com/console/storage/documents/138695234434934.pdf

 

[john4153]

That is an interesting observation. Here's a good picture of it:

At least it solves the problem and does the same thing as raising the QA attachment. Little surprised it is not listed as a "feature."

Will make trip to my NH dealer tomorrow, but am still leaning towards a non-NH bucket. Do you have any recommendations for bucket manufacturers/dealers? I am a bit leery of the $700 variety.

John

 

[BukitCase]

John, I'm with SysOp on this one - although I have a Case backhoe, bucket actions in a lot of operations should be nearly identical. I often backdrag with my 1 yard bucket, and especially when spreading/compacting crushed gravel it works best to have all the weight that's available resting on the bucket, bucket flat, HEEL of the bucket striking off any excess, FLAT bottom of the bucket smoothing and compacting as you back drag.

In your situation I would NEVER consider a new bucket that could NOT sit flat with the front wheels off the ground by at least 3-4 inches, whether you build or buy one... Steve

 

[Big Barn]

That is an interesting observation. Here's a good picture of it: <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/attachments/383396-skid-steer-bucket-capture-png"/> At least it solves the problem and does the same thing as raising the QA attachment. Little surprised it is not listed as a "feature." Will make trip to my NH dealer tomorrow, but am still leaning towards a non-NH bucket. Do you have any recommendations for bucket manufacturers/dealers? I am a bit leery of the $700 variety. John

Hi John. I don't have a skid steer, but have two NH compact wheel loaders and a telehandler. All attachments and buckets are from Paladin.. Terry