What is the biggest advantage of a MP bucket vrs general purpose. I understand that with the MP bucket you can grade a gravel road to an extent but don't know if it is that much more useful for the extra U$12,000 price tag. Sorry if I sound like a novice but I am....
Here in the US it's about 60/40 on backhoes sold. There is nothing wrong with a general bucket, but those that have mastered the 4-in-1 MP buckets would hate to go back. It allows you to have the standard bucket/ work it as a dozer, straight blade/ scraper and carry/ then the most use full clamshell position, to pull back, grab, materials that are needing to be cleaned up and loaded into trucks and piles. It can save time and make extra money over the life of the machine. It also helps in the resale down the road. I would look at your needs long term, you can have the control valve and tubes run down the loader frame from the factory and plugged, then if at a later time you want the MP bucket, take the general bucket off and just install the MP bucket. A tool master coupler setup may even help you with other attachments for your machine later on. How long is your gravel road your grading?.
Thanks for your detailed reply sheepfoot. It seems the MP bucket is worth the extra money. The road works we are planning are just private roads within our farm, but we want to dump gravel and then level it out without having to hire extra machinery. How well does the MP bucket work on road leveling? Thanks again for the response!