Why arn't tooth bar available from the factory?

[ducks13]

How come tooth bars and/or toothed buckets arn't commonly available from tractor manufacturers? Perhaps they are more than I think, I don't know tractor's very well but toothed bucket certainly seem to be common on bobcats. I am probably speaking mainly about JD's, I seem to have a mild green afflication, if it is only Deere why so?

 

[Verticaltrx]

The reason skid steers are available with tooth buckets from the factory is one of their primary jobs is digging/excavating. While a lot of tractors are capable of that type of work to some extent, it's not really what they were designed for. As such, it's mostly aftermarket companies that make tooth bars, tooth buckets for tractors.

 

[adjusterr]

If you are interested in buying a toothbar, Google Ratchet Rake and watch the videos. They are available at Tractor Supply. I bought one last year, use it on a L2500 Kubota and couldn't be happier with the results.

 

[RoyJackson]

Probably be glad they aren't available as factory options. The cost would, quite likely, be higher (more overhead costs at a larger manufacturer then the smaller companies that make and sell toothbars).
That, and as Verticaltrx wrote, these are loaders...not excavators. Adding a toothbar and digging puts any risk (of damage) on the buyer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Double what Roy said. The toothbars put double strain on the bucket compared to straight blade and could easily damage the FEL if you have the power and traction to keep pushing it. I just finished major repairs to my V3 (vietnam rebuilt Yanmar) after much abuse with a tooth bar digging up large rocks and really loading up with dirt. The whole frame on one side had cracked the welds and one brace was completely broken. I think the V3 model on my tractor should have been a V4 which is a bit heavier but still, the toothbar is the only way to go if you want to dig in the dirt. This FEL without a toothbar would not dig at all but with the toothbar it is very aggressive even in hard soil it still digs right in. Just watch the heavy loading if you get one because you can quickly overload the frame if you dog it with the teeth on it.

 

[jinman]

I have had bare bucket cutting edges, a reversible cutting bar, and a tooth bar on my buckets. Both the cutting bar and toothbar add strength to the cutting edge and prevent damage in my opinion. I've used the toothbar to pop out a lot of roots and never had even slight bending of my loader bucket. Of course, I bought the "heavy duty" bucket instead of the lighter weight "standard' bucket.

My HD buckets come standard from the factory with holes drilled to mount a reversible cutting bar and holes on the side of the bucket for toothbar mounting. New Holland also sells both cutter bars and toothbars with a factory part number. Of course, New Holland doesn't really make their compact tractor loaders. They get them built to their specs, but they are not built in a New Holland plant. The key with NH is that if you buy a HD bucket, it will come with the ability to add cutter bars and toothbars. However, the standard bucket is not considered the best for these addons and therefore are not set up for them. This infers what NH will support with warranty, the HD bucket only.

Finally, if a manufacturer built a bucket for every need, their inventory would be doubled or tripled. They build a plain bucket that can have the features added to the customer's needs. That way they have a lot fewer buckets and and the addons are built to fit a lot different platforms. It's simply a case of keeping the most options open with the minimum inventory.

 

[John_in_TN]

JD does offer tooth bars - at least for some models. I was playing around on the JD "build you own" site the other night and tooth bars were listed as options for the 400CX heavy duty buckets. I don't remember the prices, but they didn't strike me as being out of line with the aftermarket versions.

 

[RDrancher]

Like Jim, I have a NH heavy duty bucket and purchased a reversible cutting edge. My tractor gets used hard since it has to make money.

I was grading out an old dry clay field berm for a customer last summer, taking a little bite off of the berm in each pass with the edge of the bucket down to grade, when the top of the fel tower broke off. Here it is after the repair.

It turns out that the bung wasn't completely welded all the way around, but the factory paint was hiding the flaw. I know it wasn't visibly cracked at the beginning of the day since I grease my tractor daily.

I will be purchasing another heavy duty bucket with a removable tooth bar before I take on a project like this again so I can use the full bucket width and take the twisting strain off of the fel arms.

 

[bilrus61]

Kubota on their web site lists a "bucket tine kit". I would guess that is some kind of tooth bar they put on. Cost is around 400 bucks.

 

[milkman636]

Bobcat tractors offer a bolt-on tooth kit with hardware for about $90.