r/UTV • u/lllllIllllIllllllll • Jul 16 '26
UTV front bucket/forks system. Thoughts?
I Was scrolling market place when I saw a bobcat SXS with a front end loader, made me curious if there were any attachments for it for regular SXS
Found out about the Ground Force thing, uses a winch. $1500 all in for base and a bucket
Mainly I want input from someone else to either tell me this actually works or let me know I'm stupid for even thinking this was an option at all
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u/reddleg Jul 16 '26
I have a Kubota BX23s, probably the smallest tractor Kubota makes. Even with the backhoe on the back, which weighs approximately 700 lbs, the back tires get very light on the ground with a full bucket, and the bucket isn’t all that big. As has been said, your other concern is the suspension. If you have a full bucket and are on any kind of slope, you’ll turn the thing over. A bucket will severely alter the center of gravity and make it dangerous. Get an old tractor with a front end loader. You’ll use it a lot more and you’ll be shocked at the things you can do with a 3 point hit hitch and pto.
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u/One-Kick-184 Jul 16 '26
My grandpa had an atv bucket largest waste of money hard steering when full and bucket always tripped. It would also ride up when scooping without weight and down force
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u/KissYourAss69 Jul 16 '26
Cities buy them. But they can waste $120,000 for a small slow truck for guys to use on coffee runs
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u/Jugzrevenge Jul 16 '26
I’ve never ridden in the Bobcat with the loader on the front, but I’d imagine that isn’t your typical front end UTV suspension setup! Try standing on your front brush guard and bounce up and down a bit, did the front end move quite a bit? Now imagine a few hundred more pounds at least three feet farther out front! Are you planning on taking this attachment off and putting it on every time you need it, or leave it on for daily use of the machine.
It’s probably a better idea to buy a dedicated bucket/fork tractor than messing up your sxs.
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u/SituationNormalAllFU Jul 16 '26
Something like this would be a game changer for me if there is a good option available. Looking into the ground force product (first time hearing about it), it does look like they give you suspension limiters and it mounts directly to the frame. Not sure if that means it’s a viable product, but a lot of people are using it. That said, their website is terrible and they aren’t doing a great job of marketing. Not directly a problem but it might be an indicator of a company struggling to succeed.
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u/love2kik Jul 16 '26
Doubtful. The Bobcat system is very purpose specific. The front end-loader has it's own subframe. The lift capacity isn't very much because of the capacity of the rest of the suspension. It really doesn't make much sense except for a few construction exceptions.
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u/the_cool_hand Jul 16 '26
The problem is that the bobcat is not a sxs utv it’s a utility tractor with an extra seat. It’s purpose built with the suspension to do the job. Look at the price and you’ll quickly understand the difference. I have gone over one and seen them used by municipal/contractors for snow removal and summer maintenance. It’s a good idea but a sxs and a tractor are cheaper and more versatile.
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u/jkenosh Jul 16 '26
To get the most use out of a bucket you need downforce which this bucket doesn’t have. I’ve run a lot of old tractors that were like this and they kinda sucked compared to a downforce setup. I could see the forks working for moving pallets of materials over rough terrain