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Digging and ditching

Trapezoidal bucket

On the left, the shape of the bucket gives the ditch its profile in a single pass. On the right, for changing profiles, the tilting ditching bucket takes over. Computer-generated image.
Left: the shape of the bucket gives the ditch its profile in a single pass. Right: for changing profiles, the tilting ditching bucket takes over. Computer-generated image.

The shape of the bucket is the shape of the ditch.
One pass is enough to give the section, both banks and the bottom — with no reworking, no levelling, no finishing.

Other names for this tool: V bucket, drainage bucket, ditch bucket, trapezoidal-section bucket, channel bucket, bank bucket.

The essentials
Family
Digging and ditching
Classes (t)
0.6 to 52 t
Coupler
All, by plate
Power source
None — passive tool
Function
V profile

Compare with the ditching bucket →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the shape of the bucket gives the ditch its profile in a single pass. On the right, for changing profiles, the tilting ditching bucket takes over. Computer-generated image.
the shape of the bucket gives the ditch its profile in a single pass for changing profiles, the tilting ditching bucket takes over
Left: the shape of the bucket gives the ditch its profile in a single pass.
Right: for changing profiles, the tilting ditching bucket takes over.
What sets it apart:
the profile comes out regular because it is imposed by the tool, and not by the driver's hand.
Computer-generated image.

Its sides are sloping and its bottom is narrow:
it directly reproduces the section of a drainage ditch.
The operator moves along the line, and the profile comes out regular because it is imposed by the tool, not by the hand.

It is the tool for linear work:
agricultural drainage, a roadside ditch, a drainage channel, reworking a filled-in ditch.
Over hundreds of metres, the regularity is worth as much as the speed.

Its shape cannot be adjusted. A trapezoidal bucket gives one section, and one only.
If your profiles change from one job to another, it is the tilting ditching bucket that suits:
it adapts, at the price of a hydraulic line and slower work.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

They exist for machines from 3 to 21 t.
For example, on a 2 to 5 t mini-excavator, the weight is generally from 75 to 210 kg.
It attaches to all quick couplers, via a mounting plate, or directly on the pins.

What the tool does

It digs with a V profile.
For example, for a width of 300 mm: capacity from 145 to 260 l, weight from 135 to 210 kg.
Its weight: we calculate it with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It needs no hydraulic connection.

Figures taken from 15 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model and the ditch section you are looking for — width at the bottom, slope of the banks, depth.
If a drawing or a section exists, send it:
it is what decides the tool.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Trapezoidal bucket in a V-section ditch it has just profiled
The ditch has the shape of the bucket, not that of the operator's hand. That is what makes the profile regular over hundreds of metres — and what forbids changing it.
Synthetic image.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

The choice is not made on the machine, but on the ditch to be obtained.
It is the profile that governs, and the profile is often imposed.

  • 01 — The angle of the sides It fixes the slope of the banks, so how they hold.
    An angle that is too open gives a wide ditch that eats into the plot; too closed, the banks slip depending on the nature of the soil.
  • 02 — The width at the bottom It is what decides the flow the ditch can carry.
    On a drainage structure, it is calculated beforehand:
    it is not chosen from a catalogue.
  • 03 — The depth reached in one pass A ditch deeper than the height of the bucket means going back over it, and going back over it loses the regularity you came for.
  • 04 — The nature of the soil In stony ground, an added, replaceable cutting edge avoids writing off the whole tool.
    In sticky ground, it is the surface finish of the sides that decides whether the soil comes away or stays inside.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The profile required, if it is imposed A public contract, a drainage specification, an engineer's prescription:
    the bucket must match the works expected, not the other way round.
    Send us the section, it is worth more than a description.
  • The weight at the end of the arm A ditch is dug from the verge, arm extended.
    It is the worst case for stability, and it is more constraining than the weight alone.
  • The reach needed If the machine cannot go down into the ditch, the bottom has to be reached from the edge.
    That is a matter for the dipper arm as much as for the bucket.
  • The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
    The tool is supplied with the matching plate — see the couplers.
In the same family
Case studied
On the interface
To go further
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