60" vs 54" bucket for B2601?

[Henro]

I took your response and showed it to the dealer and he said you were absolutely wrong and that the buckets are made of the same gauge steel in both versions and the 60" is only rated as light duty because it is possible for you to overload the lift capacity of the loader with a full bucket. Just sayin.....

That logic would lead one to conclude the 60 inch bucket should then be termed a “light material” bucket.

But if the material both buckets are made from is the same, and the span of one bucket is 10% more, the wider bucket is more likely to develop a smile than the narrower one. So it must be a “lighter duty” bucket, if chances are greater it will bend easier.

 

[dirtydeed]

I took your response and showed it to the dealer and he said you were absolutely wrong and that the buckets are made of the same gauge steel in both versions and the 60" is only rated as light duty because it is possible for you to overload the lift capacity of the loader with a full bucket. Just sayin.....

correct...glad that we have finally cleared that up.

 

[SidecarFlip]

When I Get a chance, I'll post pictures of the heavy duty excavation bucket and the lighter duty material bucket (I have both) and you can decide for yourself and take the pictures to your dealer and show him as well. 2 different animals entirely. I think your dealer is FOS and I can prove it.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Matter of record, I'll open a thread with the buckets and the physical differences. Then you can decide if, they are the same or different. You good with that? I have both buckets btw.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Now I'm talking about the buckets that go on the M series so it could be that the smaller tractors do indeed only have one bucket choice. Not so with mine. 2 distinctly different buckets, not only in design but in gauge of materials.

 

[NHSleddog]

When I purchased the B2650 at the end of 2019, they were two different buckets. The main difference was the bolt-on cutting edge on the 54" and the reinforced top.

Edge materials may have been the same gauge, I didn't measure. The 54 WAS a stronger bucket for sure.

I went with the 60" and added a piranha bar.

 

[Henro]

When I purchased the B2650 at the end of 2019, they were two different buckets. The main difference was the bolt-on cutting edge on the 54" and the reinforced top.

Edge materials may have been the same gauge, I didn't measure. The 54 WAS a stronger bucket for sure.

I went with the 60" and added a piranha bar.

After thinking about this, I’ve concluded that neither a 54 inch bucket or a 60 inch bucket for a B series tractor could be considered heavy duty.

I bent the side of my 54" bucket somehow a couple years ago. Previously I had welded angle across the top for Chain hooks, and my heavy duty tooth bar stiffens up the bottom really well.

I welded pieces of flat bar on the side edges, after heating and straightening the bent side. Now I finally have what one might call a heavy duty bucket for a B series

.

 

[Chad D.]

I’ve got the 60” light material bucket on my B2650, which is identical in construction style to the available 54”, which is not labeled as “light material”. Like others have mentioned, I am of the understanding that the 60” model is labeled for light material because it would be easier to overload the tractor with the added volume.
That said, I’ve packed a pile of dirt, 3/4” minus gravel with a typical weight of 2,700# per yard, pea gravel, sand, and anything else that will fit in it. I don’t have a tooth bar, so digging isn’t great with it. Fortunately, I need to do very little digging.
I wish I had picked a 54” bucket only when unloading material out of my 5’ x 10’ utility trailer. The 60” bucket is 2” too wide to fit between the sides... otherwise, it’s a 60” for me.

I’m sure they do offer HD

 

[milanmark]

I will have to pass the 54" question on to someone with experience with that bucket, because I don't want to mislead you.

All I can tell you is the experience I have had with my 72" light material bucket. I had no issues with moving gravel or sand pile. In the dry summer time, i struggled with getting good loads of dirt dug up. Added the toothbar and that took care of that issue.

Unless you are like my dad and run your tractor bucket into a buried concrete post going way faster than he should of been, I believe the 60" light material bucket will be fin for you. (In all fairness, the bucket had been damaged before by my grandpa on more than one occasion and straightened back out.)

View attachment 51951

WOW!

 

[milanmark]

I took your response and showed it to the dealer and he said you were absolutely wrong and that the buckets are made of the same gauge steel in both versions and the 60" is only rated as light duty because it is possible for you to overload the lift capacity of the loader with a full bucket. Just sayin.....

I agree with that!

 

[milanmark]

I just bought a new B2601-1 and the dealer kept trying to push a 60" bucket on me... I wanted a 50" but he said he couldn't get it, had to wait for a 54" as it was... The tractor is like 48" wide and I wanted as narrow as possible to shoehorn into my storage spot in my pole barn... The 54" bucket is too wide so it won't be stored on the tractor in my barn.... will either have nothing or my grapple (48") on the FEL to make it work! Making it work in the space I have has a higher priority than having a bigger bucket! So what If I need to take 4 scoops instead of three? NOT a priority! In fact the most work with the bucket will be with the Pirahna toothbar clearing brush! Capacity of the bucket doesn't matter to me! Everybody has their own priorities and mine will evolve I'm sure and when they do I'll evolve too!

 

[ItBmine]

He ended up buying a new bucket, after 30 years of abuse on the old bucket, it just wasn't worth fixing any more.

He did keep the old bucket, works great for making trenches.

I was going to say....he made you an awesome ditching bucket! LOL

 

[Jchonline]

It could also be that the larger tractors do have different gauge steel in the bucket options, but smaller ones dont.

The wider bucket will of course be heavier and more likely to cause ballast issues...as you are also adding weight a few inches further out in each direction. So if you pick up a load of gravel with both buckets..the 60 will have gravel 3 inches further out on each side. If you hit a hole with a front tire it will be worse than with the 54. Just be careful.

 

[lilguy]

I got the LM bucket with my 2601 and never had an issue loading it with gravel, moving snow taking care of my driveway or taking dirt off my fields . I asked about the two buckets before purchase and was assured it wold do the job. It has, I got the the 60 in.

 

[RalphVa]

I've a 53 or 54 inch bucket on the JD 2025R and is about the same size I had on the 1025R and the 4010. Have to dodge around small trees and big rocks a little bit in mowing some trails but is a good fit with the 48 inch width of the JDs. A 60 inch bucket would require too much dodging around trees and big rocks.

Had a very good bolt-on (2 big bolts) toothbar on the 4010's bucket. Only really every used it once to rough up some ground I was putting a rain garden in. Really hated having that thing on there. Seems very deadly. (I even had a friend with a heavy grinder round off the sharp edges of the 2025's bucket.) Mostly kept it off.

The bucket on the 2025R is very heavy duty. I've used it to dig up stumps. Don't need a toothbar for most of my dirt digging.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It does't matter WHICH bucket you have on the tractor, it's the WRONG size for the job you have to do.....
..that's why SSQA came about, so we can buy 2-3-4 or more buckets, one for every occasion..

'cept of course for the new job, then it's off to the dealer for #5....
easy off, easy on, just open the wallet..

 

[CT B2601]

Sorry if this thread duplicates but I searched and could not find much. Anyway, I am finalizing my purchase and had specified the 54" bucket but the salesman told me he has the 60" in stock and usually sells it.

The reason I'd picked the 54" initially was because Kubota calls the 60" a "light materials" bucket. I feared it wouldn't stand up to any dirt work or gravel carrying. But the salesman indicated it is not more lightly built. We speculated that Kubota uses that designation because, being bigger, it can be more easily overloaded.

Now, 90% of my anticipated use for this bucket is scooping mulch. Definitely light materials. However, I surely will do some carrying of gravel. And digging and moving of soil after ripping up with my box blade.

I'd appreciate any advice. I know the 60" would be better for the mulch and ma just not sure if it holds up as well as the 54" for more solid materials.

i have the 54" and have moved a couple hundred yards of gravel. No regrets on the size. Bigger isn't always better with these smaller machines.

 

[B737]

I also had the 54" it was ok, if you arent careful you will exceed the rollback capacity when you shove it in a pile when aiming for full buckets (fill/stone ect). I imagine the 60" would be even worse.

 

[RalphVa]

I mow trails and have to dodge around stuff on the side of the trails with the 53-54 inch bucket on the 2025R, which almost exactly the 48 inch width of its bush hog in the back. A 60 inch bucket would be entirely too much "dodge" to work well. Have dug some stumps with this bucket as well. Haven't bent anything. Bet the Kubota's 54 inch bucket is about the same, but the FEL has more force than the 2025R has.

 

[Sporto]

I had picked up a B2601 in the spring with the 54in bucket, not sure that if in my case a 60 in bucket would have been a good choice. This is because the land we have is blessed with many large boulders and I have tried to dig most of them out. However after several months of doing this I had discovered 2 things. 1 I had started to develop a smile and 2 in the hard ground (read drought) the bucket did not dig very well, so I have added both a bolt on cutting edge which straightened up the bucket perfectly and added a Piranha tooth bar which greatly increased the digging capacity.