184 3-Point Bucket

O

outdoors4evr

501 Club
After years of moving yards and yards of dirt using a shovel and a trailer (seen in the background of the pic), I often wondered how my little 184 would do with a 3-point bucket. Yesterday I got the chance to try it out. Tractor is sitting on the side of a hill and handled the load with ease. No delay or struggle (at all) with the hydraulics.

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I was surprised that it wasn't very light on the front - even with a load of heavy black dirt (rain soaked the previous day). I could get the front tires to float with a load of dirt and me on the very back edge of the bucket. This is about as full as I could get the bucket before the turf tires spun.

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I had to pick it up all the way to dump the load. The bucket would just barely clear the ground when I pulled the bucket trip rope. There are 3 holes you can mount the 3-point arms onto the tractor. Perhaps more clearance would be allowed if I used the top hole instead of the middle.
Overall, a very successful day. Moved about 6 yards in an hour. Got another 7 to go. Way faster (and less painful) than a shovel and a trailer. Hats off to the "oversized lawnmower" :worthy: International 184 :hattip:
 
Very interesting post--I have been thinking of one of these for my 184 for a while. What size is your scoop? Thanks
Larry
 
Filled the bucket plumb full by backing into the pile 2x. Hydraulics had no issue lifting the bucket (even inside the pile). Front tires lifted about 1" while lifting in the pile and then dropped back to the ground.
I could still stand on the full bucket, but if I leaned back I could get the front tires off the ground. I expect that this size bucket is the maximum I would recommend without front weights.
Note: Having the mower deck mounted probably helped keep the tires on the ground a bit.
 
I've been using a similar 3pt bucket for a couple of years and they work great! Especially if you need to spread mulch. I don't use a mower deck though and it definitely needs weight on the front end to keep the tires down when completely filling with dirt.

For clearance, follow John's advice and move the lower mounts down to the bottom holes and it will give you a few more inches of clearance. I still have to lift mine to max height to get it to dump.
 
Well I got my bucket and I really like it. Aware of the light front end issues already noted and mindful of the limited lift capacity of the 184 I got a 24" model from Agri Supply and it's great. Only problem was realizing that stabilizer bas have to go on the pins on the outside of the buckets with the lift arms on the inside as mounted by the manufacturer. I did change the pins to some I had which were 7/8 vs the metric ones installed on it--they fit the stabilizer bars better. The 184 easily backs into a pile of crushed limestone and fills it , carries it safely, and dumps great. The Agri Supply bucket was also over $100 cheaper than 30" ones available from Tractor Supply and Race Bros even with lift gate delivery truck to southern MO. Should be a great tool--should also work to clean up big chunks of ice and frozen stuff at the end of the drive after the county blades the snow.
 
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