Types of Construction Bucket Attachments | Hydraulic Pulverizer

Keywords: telehandler bucket attachment, types of buckets, bucket attachment

types of buckets

Work tool attachments can adapt your heavy machinery to different jobs on the site. Finding the right attachment for your goals can help operators work more efficiently throughout the day.

Bucket attachments are common work tools for many machine types, but they’re not one-size-fits-all. Knowing what types of buckets are available can help you find the best attachment for your needs. Learn all about buckets and which one you may need for your next job.

What Is a Bucket Attachment?

Buckets are among the most common attachments for construction equipment, and you commonly find them on a range of loaders and other earthmoving machines. A bucket attachment is designed to scoop and hold large capacities of materials like dirt, sand and stone.

Picking a bucket attachment is all about understanding the job. Every bucket has different weight and volume capacities. You might need to move light materials at high volumes or heavy materials at lower volumes. Knowing the job can help you find the right bucket.

Construction Bucket Attachments

The first thing to think about when looking for a bucket is to decide which machine you want to use. You can find bucket attachments for:

• Backhoes, front and back
• Telehandlers
• Skid steers
• Loaders
• Compact wheel loaders
• Excavators
• Mining shovels

Within each machine category, you can find bucket attachments for all types of jobs. 

• General purpose: These buckets are great tools for tasks like carrying, dumping, loading and grading. General-purpose buckets are designed for maximum material retention for light to medium weights. You can usually count on these attachments for basic construction tasks such as moving aggregate.
• Light duty: When you need to move high volumes of low-density material, light-duty buckets are the way to go. These attachments have much higher capacities than general-purpose buckets, and they’re excellent tools for moving mulch, snow and similar materials.
• Heavy duty: A heavy-duty bucket may also be labeled for severe duty, and it’s made for the toughest jobs. These buckets utilize a durable construction that allows them to handle high-density loads with ease — think boulders and heavy blocks. This bucket type is also ideal for leveling dense material like stone and gravel. Heavy-duty buckets are often used in construction, roadwork and industrial projects.
• Side dump: A side dump bucket isn’t available for every machine, but it’s a great attachment for skid steers and other loaders. Rather than having two sides like a standard bucket, this style has an opening on one end so operators can pivot the machine and unload materials in a single motion. Side dump styles are ideal for high-traffic areas where a machine doesn’t have the room to use a regular bucket.
• Multipurpose: As the name states, multipurpose buckets can handle many tasks. While these buckets can have similar specs to general-purpose buckets, they’re built differently — the back of the bucket detaches from the bottom and sides, allowing the bucket to act like a grapple. Being able to grab with a tool that also digs, grades, dumps and carries makes it easier to handle multiple jobs on-site. 
• Rock: When you handle sediment and rocky debris, a rock bucket has the best design for efficiency. While these buckets don’t have the high volume of other bucket styles, they feature tines on the end. These comblike pieces sift out dirt and fine materials to ensure you only pick up rocks. You often see this style on excavators and mining shovels.
• Grapple: Standard buckets usually can’t handle bulky or unwieldy materials. For these jobs, a grapple bucket is the best move. These buckets have a claw on top to close around materials, letting you keep everything secure as you move.

When you find the bucket type you want, make sure to look at the size and capacity specs to get the most from your attachment.

Find Bucket Attachments at The Cat® Rental Store

At The Cat® Rental Store, we offer a range of work tool attachments for your construction equipment. Our dealers carry buckets for all types of machines, ranging from excavators and skid steers to backhoes. We also offer different bucket styles, like grapples, side dump and more.

Using the right bucket for the job is essential to your efficiency. If you’re not sure what you need, our experts can point you in the right direction. With our flexible rental terms and competitive prices, you can get a bucket attachment that suits your timeline and budget. Find a dealer near you today to get the right bucket for your next project.