When it comes to moving materials on the job site, few machines can match the reliable wheel loader. Bucket, lift, dump, scrape, etc. Wheel loaders are usually the machines of choice for moving materials, filling trucks, and making large piles smaller and small piles larger. But wheel loaders without buckets (or other accessories) were just a fun way to hop around the yard, and today, bucket design is more than just a one-size-fits-all decision. If you’re wondering what kind of bucket is best for your wheel loader, we’ve put together this short bucket overview to help you decide.

What to consider when buying a new wheel loader bucket

The most important factor in any bucket decision is what material you will move. Finding the perfect bucket is all about balancing design, weight, the structure and weight of your bucket, density, and the variety of materials you typically have to deal with. Heavy and high-density materials require heavier buckets to support loads, while light and low-density materials can be moved with wider, taller and lighter buckets. The arm of your excavator can only carry so much, and the weight of the bucket is always a factor in the equation.

In addition to the weight of the bucket and the thickness of the material, the shape and design of the bucket can also affect the bucket’s ability to do certain jobs. When evaluating a bucket, it is important to consider the materials you will use and the work it will perform routinely. Even the size and design of other machines that will work on the site can be a factor in your decision — look at the trucks and troughs filling up, the dirt that the bulldozer will move, the scraper will accompany and consider the bucket design that will work with all the machines on a typical site.

What are the main types of bucket wheel loader

General bucket

If you’re moving a wide variety of materials and you need a bucket to try and achieve the goal of “fitting most materials,” then the Universal bucket is designed for this kind of work. The general purpose bucket is heavier than the lightweight material bucket, but not as heavy as the rock bucket, and it is also located in the middle between the two buckets.

Light material barrel

When mobility is the main motivation and materials are of low density, such as garbage, wood chips, or light and dry dirt, light material barrels are designed for work. The lightweight material bucket allows operators to move more material with each trip due to its ability to withstand large loads, but the bucket can wear out quickly if the load is directed toward dense, abrasive material.

Multi-purpose barrels

Multi-purpose buckets bring new dimensions to wheel loaders and expand bucket capabilities, allowing new applications such as skidding and scraping, or handling strange shapes and large materials that need to be clamped. The bucket can be used for these extended purposes by designing a hydraulically articulated clam or grab mechanism within the bucket. While this design introduces new flexibility to the bucket’s working range, it increases weight and reduces bucket stiffness compared to traditional buckets.

Rock bucket

When it comes to the heavy work of dealing with high-density aggregates, rock buckets are often used. The heavy and reinforced design enables the rock bucket to operate under the harshest conditions and to operate continuously in high-abrasion environments where it is often exposed to heavy materials and high friction loads.

Grappling hook and grappling barrel

General-purpose and even rock buckets can be designed to contain a grab mechanism for grabbing, pinching and holding certain materials. This added functionality allows wheel loaders to grab and move large materials that would normally be difficult to balance and move with a traditional bucket. Many grabs and grappling hooks also break with the traditional solid design of the barrel, allowing smaller materials to filter out the barrel during lifting.

Forklift truck

Another special type of wheel loader accessory is a fork. This attachment allows wheel loaders to take on the role of forklift or telephone haulers, lifting and moving palleted materials, or lifting and moving objects with strange shapes that are difficult to transport with traditional buckets but too heavy for ordinary forklifts.

The plow

Because of its maneuverability, size and strength, as well as its low-impact tires, loaders often find themselves called into action when large amounts of snow need to be moved. Therefore, there are special forklifts for shoveling and stacking snow, and they are designed for this kind of work.

What else should be considered when buying a wheel loader bucket

Once you’ve decided on the overall design of your wheel loader bucket, you may still want to consider individual elements, such as whether the bucket has teeth or cutting edges, and whether the edges are bolted or welded. If you’re going to be digging on hard ground regularly, well-designed teeth will increase the efficiency of the bucket, while straight cut edges will better shape the ground and maximize each scoop of the bucket. Do I need to do both at the same time? A removable edge allows you to replace as needed, making it easier to change this high-wear part.

Should I buy a new or used wheel loader bucket

Wheel loader buckets are available from machines from original equipment manufacturers (Oems) and third party aftermarket suppliers. When considering aftermarket sources, it is important to research the company to ensure that the barrels they produce meet quality standards in materials and workmanship.

Typically, wheel loader buckets are the ideal solution for machines as it allows operators to purchase OEM-made and designed buckets with considerable cost savings. When evaluating a used bucket, be sure to look at pinholes, cut edges, teeth, and high wear areas. Reputable suppliers should be happy to provide pictures to help ensure the quality of the wheel loader bucket you purchase.

We hope this short guide to buying wheel loader buckets helps you take a few more steps in your bucket search. As usual, if you are looking for wheel loader bucket (or any part of the wheel loader) as part of the experts to help us – as a leader in the salvage loader deep inventory is difficult to match fast and reliable service and consistent shipping our customers trust us to connect them to the barrels they need need it.

Thank you for reading.