I'm looking to purchase a rock bucket for my Case 1845C. I'm not a contractor and only use the loader occasionally over the last 20 years I've owned it. No intent to replace the machine as it's still a very good unit. I only have a worn out set of forks, and smooth 72" bucket which were both new with the machine in 1995. The forks are shot and very sloppy as this was my forklift for several years after building my shop property. I'm looking to purchase a new bucket with teeth, and the aforementioned rock bucket to sift out a lot of broken concrete and such to clean the place with some finish work which was never completed. Are there any favored brands out there? What to stay away from, look for, etc. I have no experience with this stuff so easier to ask opinions and hopefully be able to ask more pertinent questions later to vendors. Thanks,
I like Virnig buckets personally. They make rock buckets as well but I have never bought one of those.
I bought one of these this spring https://primeattach.com/products/rock-and-brush-grapple/ For the money I spent on it, it has been well worth it.i paid $2500 for it new, it is the 84" model, and have done awful things with it without issue. I've done everything from moving very large logs and stumps to dealing with very large rocks and boulders, have yet to tweak it. It works great for grading too as long as the material is somewhat dry. The only complaint I do have is the hoses, they were too short and routed from the middle of the bucket instead of the left side where the hydraulic hook ups are, I just bought some 90* fittings and some sections of 3' hose and extended em and all has been fine.
I have one of these, seems to be a well made bucket. Its very big and heavy though, was a tractor mount. I got it from a friend and put a skid steer attachment plate on it. Use it mostly for firewood and is really good for cleaning up. Kind of wish it had a grapple on it. But I have another with a grapple. https://hlaattachments.com/item.php?prod=264
These guys are my go-to vendor here in Texas. Check out their videos on their site, as one of them explains the pros and cons of their rock buckets, and their rock grapplers, too: https://idigtexas.com/product/extreme-rock-buckets-3-spacing/ I'm actually going to purchase the rock bucket above, likely after I've grubbed up and mulched more cedars on my property, and start to collect up all the strewn rocks.
I have an 1845C also and purchased a 78" wide Skeleton or Rock Bucket from Jenkins Iron & Steel Skid Steer Attachments (jenkinsironandsteel.com) last May after a great deal of research. They manufacture the buckets in the USA and are the same price or less than the Chinese buckets. Beautifully made, powder coated finish and great fit up to the coupler on the machine. The bucket works great and I have put screen deck screen on the bottom and back of the bucket to be able to screen out more rocks and end up with clean dirt. I use stainless hose clamps to hold the screen down to the inside of the bucket and they hold up pretty well. I am very happy with their product and I also purchased a 78" Low Profile Dirt Bucket from them which also works great.