new to me takeuchi tb135--need advice on bucket sizes

[Lindsey97]

after searching for a kubota kx121 and watching several bobcat 331's sell before i could make arrangments, i purchased a 2006 takeuchi TB135 excavator from my local rental house. they were very good to me, offered a warranty, choice of buckets and free demo and delivery. the machine only has 880 hours, and after running it for 2 hours i tend to agree with the meter. it has a TAG brand manual quick coupler and i picked a 18" TAG bucket and a 24" bucket with the purchase of the machine.

i am thinking of using the 18" for general use, and the 24" for digging septic lateral lines. also searching for a good used 12" bucket for digging footings.

my question is this:
1) what is the largest width bucket i can use with the TB135 and not stress the engine or overload the machine?
2) can i go wider than 24", and use it for cleaning out ponds or mucking them? or do i need to stay with a 24" width and go with a higher capacity model?
3) what would be the largest grading/cleanout bucket that i could use? are they built lighter to compensate for the additional capacity?
4) can i use a grading/cleanout bucket to load loose material into a truck or to gather mud and stack it up when cleaning out a pond?

not trying to clean out an entire pond, just when in a bind and trying to get something the dozer or crawler loader wont reach. i have a d4c and 455g to handle the heavy work. i have read nothing but praise and good reviews here on this forum for takeuchi, just hoping that a few fellow tb135 owners will share their bucket choices and experiences with me.

i ran it approx. 2 hours before purchasing the following day on our farm and had a fun time tearing out cedars, several old stumps that i left behind, and picked at a few sandstones. always wanted an excavator and owning this one just put a smile on my face!

 

[joispoi]

Generally speaking, the clean up buckets are sized the same width as the push/stabilizer blade on a mini-x. They are lighter in construction than the digging buckets. The clean up buckets are great for all the uses that you mention above. You can load trucks, clean ponds and ditches, strip top soil, clean the hard to reach areas in a barn and do your finish grading with them.

 

[robin yates uk]

after searching for a kubota kx121 and watching several bobcat 331's sell before i could make arrangments, i purchased a 2006 takeuchi TB135 excavator from my local rental house. they were very good to me, offered a warranty, choice of buckets and free demo and delivery. the machine only has 880 hours, and after running it for 2 hours i tend to agree with the meter. it has a TAG brand manual quick coupler and i picked a 18" TAG bucket and a 24" bucket with the purchase of the machine.

i am thinking of using the 18" for general use, and the 24" for digging septic lateral lines. also searching for a good used 12" bucket for digging footings.

my question is this:
1) what is the largest width bucket i can use with the TB135 and not stress the engine or overload the machine?
2) can i go wider than 24", and use it for cleaning out ponds or mucking them? or do i need to stay with a 24" width and go with a higher capacity model?
3) what would be the largest grading/cleanout bucket that i could use? are they built lighter to compensate for the additional capacity?
4) can i use a grading/cleanout bucket to load loose material into a truck or to gather mud and stack it up when cleaning out a pond?

not trying to clean out an entire pond, just when in a bind and trying to get something the dozer or crawler loader wont reach. i have a d4c and 455g to handle the heavy work. i have read nothing but praise and good reviews here on this forum for takeuchi, just hoping that a few fellow tb135 owners will share their bucket choices and experiences with me.

i ran it approx. 2 hours before purchasing the following day on our farm and had a fun time tearing out cedars, several old stumps that i left behind, and picked at a few sandstones. always wanted an excavator and owning this one just put a smile on my face!

i am thinking of using the 18" for general use, and the 24" for digging septic lateral lines. also searching for a good used 12" bucket for digging footings. in the UK minimum footings width is 18 inch,

 

[Ropinghorns]

18 in. is my only bucket on my tb135. For several years it made me a living. Then I made a clean-out blade for ditches and grading that bolts on to the sides and slips over the teeth. I now have the new kx 121-3 and quick attach all my buckets to it. Just finished a 48" grave bucket. Several graves later, I love it. My 135 has a hydrolic thumb. That is the only way to go.

 

[GFMotorsports]

On my 06 I have a Tag 24", tag, 12", and on the way a 42" grading bucket. Ill post how it goes with the grading bucket once I use it this week. Had a 18" and never really used it.

 

[Lindsey97]

thanks for all of the responses so far.

just measured my knockdown blade, it is 63" wide. that would make for a wide grading bucket. i look foward to hearing how the 42" grading bucket works out for GFMotorsports. i hope it will work, i am concerned with balance and tipping when the bucket is full at max boom/stick extension.

another question i have is if the 42" grading bucket does work, then could one use a higher capacity 24" digging bucket instead to acheive greater capacity and still have teeth to dig? the reason i ask is when i was at the rental store picking out buckets, they would not allow me to have the choice of a larger 24" tag digging bucket. it was deeper for more capacity and the sales rep said it would be too much for the TB135. i think the real reason was they only had one of that model and intended on keeping it for their tb145 or 153 takeuchi in thier fleet.

 

[tomo]

I had a high capacity 24 inch tag on mine with big flare teeth to help with back filling and it handled it just fine. I wouldn't swing real fast over the tracks if your boom is extended very far. That was my main bucket that I used , also used a12 high capacity alot too.

 

[Canuck Digger]

In that class machine, I run an 18" dig, 24" all purpose, a 36" cleanout, and a 12" trench for doing drainage. The 18" dig and 36" cleanout I use the most, but all kinda depends on the industry.

 

[Lindsey97]

found another bucket for sale i might buy. 34" wide CP that will fit my takeuchi tb135. has 6 teeth on it, and is a gp bucket. it is 18" tall, and 15" deep, which is exactly the same profile as my 18" and 24" buckets.

will the 34" bucket be too much for the tb135? once loaded will it be too heavy? i currently run my 24" in the "non power" setting on the bucket linkage. havent tried the power setting yet.

i was thinking of using the 34" bucket(if i bought it) for a cleanup bucket or bailing mud in a pond. havent found a 36"-42" used cleanout bucket yet, seem to be hard to find. also still hunting a 12" gp bucket.

let me know what you think about the 34" bucket guys. thanks!!

 

[GFMotorsports]

Picking up my 42" tomorrow. Backfilling a sewer line I dug this week with it to see how the weight of it is. Will get back to you ASAP

 

[Lindsey97]

found it thanks anyways.

 

[Lindsey97]

please ignore previous post.

trying to figure out how to lift/tilt the cab. found the procedure in the owner's manual. did not know if you lifted it by hand, or if you should pull from the front gently with a skid steer or pickup.

 

[joispoi]

I just want to point out that you shouldn't get too caught up on the bucket width when trying to size a bucket for your machine. On a 2.5 ton machine, I wouldn't tolerate anything less than a 48" clean up bucket (but that's just me). A 3.5 ton machine can handle anything from 48" to 60" (+/-). You don't want a bucket that's wider than the trailer or hopper that you're loading. Aside from that, wider is better- you'll appreciate it when you're cleaning up and grading.

Look at the the lifting capacity chart for your machine. How much can it lift at full reach? Now compare that figure to your bucket size: What is the capacity (volume) of the bucket? What is the weight of that volume of sand or gravel? Add that to the weight of the bucket. That will give you an idea of what your machine can handle.

Just as a point of reference, I run a 24" digging bucket as a general purpose bucket on my 1.5 ton mini and a 36" clean up bucket. The capacities aren't the same as on bigger machines, but it's an example as to why width isn't the only criteria when selecting a bucket.

 

[Ropinghorns]

I use a 48 inch tooth bucket and a 56 inch smooth bucket on my Kubota kx 121. But they are shallow buckets made by me for moving less volume.

 

[Lindsey97]

thank you for the advice on buckets everyone. i am now looking at the purchase of a thumb. perfer the TAG brand main pin mount hydraulic one. hoping one of you guys recently purchased a new thumb from TAG and will chime in with a price. i found a used one on a tb235, asking price is $800 plus shipping. i'm unsure if it will fit and am thinking a new one won't cost much more.

 

[Lindsey97]

got a tag thumb installed this weekend and it works awesome. i measured the width of the thumb, and it is 12.5" wide. will a tag thumb work with a 12" tag gp bucket? does a 12" dig out a trench wide enough for the thumb to fit in the trench once the stick is lowered into the trench with the thumb mounted?

 

[kyoshidog]

Hey Lindsey, congratulations on your purchase! I have a TB145 that I use a 48" cleanout bucket on and it is about max for my machine, although I do think that volume is probably the real factor. I think this bucket holds about 1/3yd (just a swag, don't hold me to it!). Something wider for grading would be nice although you can do a pretty good job with the blade on that machine. My only complaint about tks is that there is no float position on the blade. I had a KX121 which had that and it was really nice! Not sure why they don't but I understand that it is how they have always been. Other then that it is great machine, really a workhorse! I would think you could have a 48-52" bucket made that would work well for you, just keep the volume reasonable. Good luck!

 

[Ropinghorns]

That float position on my 121 is used daily. I do not see why more companies do not offer it.

 

[Lindsey97]

i am surprised that the mini excavators dont have float. noticed that more of the new ones have an angle.

kyoshidog: i plan on buying a lightweight 48" ditching bucket for grading areas that cannot be reached with the blade.

ropinghorns: i would love some pics of your bolt on grading edge, that may be a cost effective option for me as i have a welder.

i won a 12" tag bucket online. hoping it works with my thumb due to the width. i called tag mfg. and they didnt know if it would work or not. they said that the teeth were flared out wider than 12", but had never been asked if it will dig wider than 12" in order to clear the thumb.

i am considering building some custom side biters out of 3/4" flat plate so that the face of the bucket will dig just over 12".