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25" QA bucket for a Kubota U25

Natman

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I am looking for one, 16" is the biggest I have now. I just decided to remove the entire bank behind the outbuilding I'm adding onto, rather then pour a concrete retaining wall. I can find a use for all the dirt I'll be pulling out, and can use the money saved to buy a larger bucket. Knowing the u25 is good for up to a 24" bucket, if I don't get one to replace the 16 it will bug me throughout the project. I generally like to max out what ever I do, get the most bang for the my (after the initial purchase price is forgotten)! I got a price of $967.00 including freight to Idaho from USA Attachments, and I'd get it in 8-9 days.

My use is around my place, (NO rocks) and maybe a little work now and then elsewhere, but generally hobby farm type work. I don't need the top of the line I guess I'm saying.
Anyone know of a used bucket that'd fit, and how does that price sound? I figure with the name USA in the company name, it's probably made in China?!

Anyone using larger then a 24" on a U25? A 3 ton machine.
 

Tags

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Feb 19, 2012
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Connecticut
I have gotten a couple of buckets from USA attachments as well as the ripper tooth and I've been happy with their product. The only thing I would suggest is buying the bucket with Esco style teeth instead of the typical Hensley top pin style. But, if you really don't have any rocks and the digging is soft,you could always buy a bucket with a straight cutting edge. I wouldn't be afraid to put a grading style bucket at least 3 feet wide on that machine. Once you get a bigger bucket you'll probably rarely use the smaller one, so any money you spend on it,I would think, would be money well spent.
 

Natman

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Go big or go home eh?!

I like that idea, besides this job I can think of many other uses for a 36" cleanout/grading bucket. Like I said, there are no rocks at all, and as it's a hillside I'm shaving/raking away, I think a straight cutting edge would work fine. Worse comes to worse, I could use the toothed 16" bucket to rough it up, then switch to the clean out bucket to actually remove it . 180 degrees swing, tight quarters, all the more reason to make big picks with a larger bucket rather then nibbling at it.

I kind of figured the official factory recommendation was on the very conservative side, and I sure wouldn't expect to rip thorugh rocky soil all day long with a toothed 36", but I will get a 36 and report back how it went.

Just got back on their site, 30 is the biggest they offer, close enough, I don't want to get too greedy.
 
Last edited:

JD8875

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Apr 8, 2010
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Harrisonville, Missouri
I run a high capacity 24" bucket that I built on my IHI 30 class. It's a smooth bucket to grade with, and then I built a small 4 shank tooth bar to go on it like a skid loader bucket. My machine will pull it in heavy Missouri yellow clay but it don't like it. It will move a LOT of dirt in a day though for a little machine.

John
 

Natman

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After waffling a bit over the weekend, I pulled the trigger on the 30" cleanout bucket. $1,000.00, delivered. I had some unrelated stuff for sale, and "made" $500.00 (cash no less) over the weekend, so that made it easier. Plus I will now attempt to sell, cheap, my Kubota 12" QA bucket that I half ass welded a heavy piece of angle to, as a Mickey Mouse cleanout bucket, at least the 3' angle was good for scrapping a footing clean. I purposely didn't get carried away with the welding, as it occured to me it might be worth more as a 12" genuine Kubota bucket, then a modified one. I will attempt to sell it for $200.00, and I'll pay the freight, up to $100.00 anyway. Better to get $100.00 for it then have it sit around. PM me, anyone interested, and I can send some close up pics of how I attached the angle, and how it could be returned to original. This will leave me with my 9" trench bucket, my 16", and the new 30" smoothie.

After I placed my order via phone, I asked where it would ship out of, North Carolina I was told. Seems I heard something in the news about them lately...turns out where they are, they only got 4" of rain, so no big delay is expected, if so, I'll roll with it.
 

Natman

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I think a few minutes with a skinny wheel in a grinder would get rid of the angle iron, which is 4x4x35" long. I used it once, not for digging of course, just to smooth up an embankment. The bucket is original equipment Kubota, and seemed to have little wear. It's been sitting outside for the last 2 months. I'd ship it via Fastenal, strapped to a pallet, much cheaper then any other way.
 

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Natman

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Got my cleanout bucket today from USA Attachments, right in the time frame they said when i bought it. With all the recent flooding back in their state....I was prepared for a delay, but no. I was in town with the 1 ton and the 12' dump bed trailer, hauling 3 ton of gravel, on my way back up the mountain where I live 20 miles away, when the freighter called me. So, I got off the interstate, right in the worst/heavily trafficked part of town to pick it up.

Then I got a call again saying the last driver had just left the terminal, and there was no one there to operate the forklift! I explained I held a OSHA cert for forklift operator, plus I run a crane service, and could probably keep a forklift upright. No dice, insurance etc ., blah blah. I continued on my way to the terminal, and once there just slid the bucket over to the dock and just dumped it in the trailer, perfect! An hour later it was helping spread the gravel out, thanks USA Attachments.
 

Natman

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I ended up leaving the heavy angle iron welded onto the 12" bucket, actually just the replaceable teeth not the bucket itself. The pins you knock out to replace the teeth are still accessible when the time comes. I just took my torch and cut around them, then, right before I got the skinny wheel grinder out to cut through my welds I stopped. The 3/16" thick remnents still on the teeth will just be an extra wearing surface and not impinge on the buckets intended use whatsoever, I just cleaned up the slag from the torch a bit and called it good. Still for sale, good as new, really, $100.00, buyerIMG_20181006_162413502.jpg IMG_20181006_162433598~2.jpg pays freight.
 
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