What kind of rake bucket should I get

Shimmy1 · Mar 27, 2015

Hey guys, question for those of you in clearing and grubbing. What brand/kind of rake bucket do you all prefer? Looking for something that works well cleaning up behind the hoe. All of my tree work is removing the trees and piling. This usually involves tipping them over, then either carrying or pushing to a pile, and I want to minimize dirt in the pile. I'm looking for what works best to slide along ground and gather up the branches and bigger chunks that break off. The designs I'm considering are as follows:

farmerlund · Mar 28, 2015

Hey Shimmy,

I do the same kind of work. I use a wheel loader style root rake, it is shaped like a big C. That I can pin on the front of my JD650H. I used to use a skidsteer with a bucket like you posted. The rake is way faster and does a nicer job.

The only advise I can give if you are getting on of those buckets is get one with wide spaces. the one I have were to close, 4" maybe. Always plugged with dirt. I like 10-12" spaces. That may seam too wide but when you get a branch or two pushing it acts like smaller spaces.

A friend of mine has a Balderson root rake with top grapple on a cat 938 loader. that works good also. Is a little clumsy on uneven ground like ruts and stumpholes.

Mine is like middle bucket, don't like
The bottom one looks best.

Scrub Puller · Mar 28, 2015

Yair . . . Shimmy1

I have no knowledge of those buckets or how to run them but I do have a long and very intimate relationship with handling timber. To me those buckets/rakes look to be an extremely useful concept and like farmerlund I believe the bottom unit looks best in-as-much as there are no cross ties on the teeth.

Roots and sticks go out of their way to be awkward and hang up in the teeth and that design gives them a bit less to grab onto . . . the middle unit with the side plates I think would be a less optimum design.

Cheers.

Tones · Mar 28, 2015

What ever you get, make shore the grab arms are independent, they are a PIA if they aren't.

Shimmy1 · Mar 28, 2015

The top and bottom buckets have about the same spacing. About 8-9". Is there any opinion on the top one where the ends of the tines tip up? I think that one might be useful whereas you could ride on the heel out close to the end and just tip up or down slightly if you want it to be more or less aggressive. Thoughts?

Equip Junkie · Mar 28, 2015

I have a root grapple from bobcat that I use with my T770 works great with trees, roots and rocks.. not so good with firewood as it falls through the big gaps.

http://www.bobcat.com/attachments/grapple_root

DoyleX · Mar 28, 2015

For carrying log id pick the bottom 2.

Just try it once and see if you like it. Its probably in your stash already. The grading bar is amazing.
I welded a cutting edge to the front so it slices roots off or pulls em out. All the sticks and what ball together in the bars and the dirt falls out. You would be surprised at the ground you can clean up in a very short time and the amount of brush you can push with it also.

JDOFMEMI · Mar 28, 2015

I have one like the top picture, and it is good for a lot of things. It does not do a good job digging roots out, as it has a hard time penetrating. For cleaning loose material it is good because you can use the crossbar to push with at the right angle.

I have also bought one different from any of the pictures, curved tines about 5 to 6" apart, with small teeth on the end. It is fragile and bends easy, but has potential to be upgraded into a useful state. I like how it digs in easier, and it picks small pieces, but plugs easy. It is a mixed bag. Another feature is a one piece full width top clamp. There is some good to it, but I would rather have independent split clamps like the other one I have.

If I was choosing from the above, I would go with the bottom one. It will dig in, has dual clamps, and the long tines will dig. Make sure they are good quality steel, or they will bend. If you need to clean up, you can build a smooth edge on the heel, if it doesn't have one already. I like the little "V" shape cuts as they will grab branches and small growth to help pull them up.

JD8875 · Mar 30, 2015

I run one that is more of a C shape. I bought it off a dealer on EBay from N Carolina bout 5 years ago. The teeth are 3/4" thick top and bottom, and it has two independent grapples, it's 72" wide and weighs about 960 lbs. Its great for pushing trees and brush, handling logs, rocks, scrap and loose things like that. I wish it were more like the third one you posted though to handle split firewood too. You can pick up 2-3 small logs (4-6") or one big one. I've handled some 30" post oaks with it a few times. When it comes to actually clearing little stuff with a skid steer though I go back to a tooth bucket. My 8875 nor my TL130 have enough lead in their tail to run it as a true root rake. If I get into clearing stuff more than about 4" I go back to a 953 for efficiency.

John

Shimmy1 · Mar 30, 2015

This setup will only be used for cleaning up loose branches, chunks of dead trees, etc. The hoe does all the hard work.

cdm123 · Mar 31, 2015

The bottom pic is exactly what I have been looking for, no brace at the end to trap dirt, a lot of the soil here is like peat and will load up the other style buckets.

fergy · Mar 31, 2015

fergy · Mar 31, 2015

grandpa · Mar 31, 2015

I got one like Fergies, only I got it a foot wider than the machine., If your pushing with a narrow one those sticks easily work around the ends... One must protect those tracks at all costs...lol.

Shimmy1 · Mar 31, 2015

Where do you get these and how much $$?

Bumpsteer · Apr 2, 2015

No way would I buy one of the tine type grapples with an open back. Branches have a way of poking through and coming back at the machine / operator.

I used a grapple friend had "adapted" to fit his ctl, worked pretty good, but the large gap between the clamp & solid lower portion was a pita!

For me, the Bobcat industrial grapple has worked best for cleaning up dead Ash trees that literally explode when they hit the ground. The wide tines would let to much debris fall through. I've added teeth to the bucket since the pic was taken, makes "raking up" much easier.

Ed

joeykunz · Apr 6, 2015

Who makes the bottom one anyway? That is the kind of design im looking for.

Shimmy1 said:
Hey guys, question for those of you in clearing and grubbing. What brand/kind of rake bucket do you all prefer? Looking for something that works well cleaning up behind the hoe. All of my tree work is removing the trees and piling. This usually involves tipping them over, then either carrying or pushing to a pile, and I want to minimize dirt in the pile. I'm looking for what works best to slide along ground and gather up the branches and bigger chunks that break off. The designs I'm considering are as follows:

cdm123 · Apr 6, 2015

The pic of the one on the 743 is made by bobcat.

CM1995 · Apr 6, 2015

Welcome to the Forums joeykunz!:drinkup

As cdm said that's a Bobcat brand grapple. I have both the flat solid bottom and the tyne style -

http://www.bobcat.com/publicadmin/viewArticle.html?id=33696

I like the tyne style better as it doesn't collect dirt and is great at cleaning up demo debris but it depends on what you are doing.

Shimmy1 · Apr 7, 2015

I believe he was asking about this one.
http://www.faverinc.com/X grapple series.htm

What kind of rake bucket should I get

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