A bucket is the attachment most telehandlers spend their working life with, loading, carrying and rehandling soil, aggregate, muck, grain and waste. Choosing the right one comes down to three questions: what you're moving, how wide the bucket should be, and how much it weighs when it's full. This guide takes you through each one so you can choose from our telehandler buckets with confidence.
Telehandler Bucket Types
| Bucket | Best for | Needs auxiliary hydraulics? | Our range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digging and rehandling bucket | Soil, aggregate, sand and general loading | No | Heavy duty telehandler digging bucket, 1980mm to 2450mm wide |
| Multi-purpose (grab) bucket | Bulky waste, muck, brash and loose material you need to grip | Yes | Telehandler multi-purpose bucket, jaw openings from 1460mm to 2260mm |
| Teletruk bucket | JCB Teletruk (TLT) forklift telehandlers | All models except the rehandling bucket | JCB Teletruk bucket, 1500mm or 1700mm wide |
Digging and Rehandling Buckets
A standard bucket scoops, carries and tips using the machine's own crowd and dump, so it needs no extra hydraulics. If you're digging into compacted ground or loading abrasive material every day, choose a heavy duty build. Our heavy duty telehandler digging bucket is made from 6mm steel plate, with full-length side gussets, underside wear plates and a heat-treated base edge, and comes with a bolt-on reversible toe plate or digging teeth.
Multi-Purpose Buckets
A multi-purpose bucket opens like a grab, so it can scoop, grip, carry and place material that would fall out of a standard bucket. The jaw is driven hydraulically, so your telehandler needs an auxiliary service at the boom head. Our telehandler multi-purpose bucket comes with jaw openings of 1460mm, 1760mm or 2260mm and capacities up to 2.90m³.
Buckets for the JCB Teletruk
The JCB Teletruk takes its attachments on a class 2 or class 3 carriage rather than a telehandler quick hitch, so it needs buckets with matching fittings. Our JCB Teletruk buckets come as rehandling, ag spec multi-purpose, waste claw and high tip models, with quick release class 2 or 3 fittings.
How Wide Should the Bucket Be?
A wider bucket fills faster and clears more ground in each pass, but it's harder to push into a heap and heavier when it's full. As a rule of thumb:
- Choose a bucket at least as wide as the outside of your tyres, so the machine drives on ground the bucket has just cleared.
- Go narrower for dense material such as wet soil, clay and hardcore, so a full bucket stays within your load chart.
- Go wider for light material such as grain, woodchip and silage, where volume matters more than weight.
- Check the width suits the trailers, bays and hoppers you'll be loading.
Our digging and multi-purpose buckets come in 1980mm (6ft 6in), 2133mm (7ft), 2286mm (7ft 6in) and 2450mm (8ft) widths.
Check the Weight of a Full Bucket
This is where most bucket mistakes happen. A telehandler can lift much less with the boom extended than it can close in, and a large bucket of heavy material can be more than the machine can safely handle. Work out the weight of a full bucket by multiplying its capacity in cubic metres by the weight of your material per cubic metre.
| Material | Approximate weight per m³ |
|---|---|
| Wheat | 0.75 to 0.8 tonnes |
| Farmyard manure | 0.7 to 0.9 tonnes |
| Dry soil | 1.2 to 1.5 tonnes |
| Sand and gravel | 1.5 to 1.8 tonnes |
| Wet clay | 1.8 to 2.0 tonnes |
These are typical figures, so use your own if you have them. As an example, the 2286mm (7ft 6in) heavy duty digging bucket holds 1.41m³ in its deeper version. Full of wet clay at about 1.9 tonnes per m³, that's roughly 2.7 tonnes. Full of wheat at about 0.78 tonnes per m³, it's around 1.1 tonnes. Add the weight of the bucket itself, then check the total against your telehandler's load chart at the height and reach you'll be working at.
Check How It Fits Your Machine
Most telehandler makers use their own carriage design, so a bucket needs brackets to suit your machine. Tell us your make, model and year when you ask for a quote, and read our guide to telehandler quick hitch types to see what we check. If you want to move one bucket between different machines, ask about telehandler brackets.
Looking After Your Bucket
- Turn the reversible toe plate before the bucket's own edge starts to wear.
- Grease the pivot pins on grab buckets as the maker recommends.
- Don't use a bucket to drag, lever or knock things down.
- Check the brackets and locking pins at the start of every shift.
Telehandler Bucket FAQs
Do I need auxiliary hydraulics for a telehandler bucket?
Not for a standard digging or rehandling bucket, which works with the machine's own crowd and dump. A grab or multi-purpose bucket needs an auxiliary hydraulic service at the boom head, and so does a telehandler bucket brush.
What size bucket do I need for my telehandler?
Start with the width that suits your tyres and the jobs you do, then check a full bucket of your heaviest material against your load chart. If you're not sure, send us your machine and the material you're moving and we'll suggest a size.
What's the difference between a digging bucket and a multi-purpose bucket?
A digging bucket is a fixed scoop for digging and loading. A multi-purpose bucket adds a hydraulic jaw so you can grip and place material, which makes it better for bulky waste and anything that won't stay in an open bucket.
Can I sweep with my bucket?
Yes. A telehandler bucket brush fits buckets from 6ft to 8ft 6in wide. Our guide on which telehandler sweeper you need compares it with the other options.
Browse Telehandler Buckets
Compare every model in our telehandler buckets range, or request a quote with your make, model and the material you're moving. For site waste and concrete, read our guide on choosing a telehandler skip, or browse all our telehandler attachments.
