Application
Trenching
Trenching and ditching buckets for utility and drainage trenches.
Recommended for this job
Each family here names this work in its own description and is a tool type the job calls for.
KS Scandinavian profile cable bucket
The narrow Scandinavian profile and reinforced side plates cut a steep-walled trench in one pass. Cable, conduit and pipe bedding sits flat, and the narrow trench takes less backfill.
KS mini - cable bucket for mini-excavator
Two narrow trench profiles for cable and pipe: the KS cuts straight walls, and the wider top of the KSV leaves room to lay the pipe and keeps the trench wall from slumping.
GKB mini - deep cable digging bucket for mini-excavator
The GKB Deep Cable Bucket lets a mini-excavator dig deep trenches for cables. It works in hard ground.
KSV mini - Scandinavian profile cable V bucket for mini-excavator
The tapered V walls cut a self-supporting trench. A V-trench for cable and conduit runs takes less digging and backfill, and the body is Hardox® for stony subsoil.
VB V-shape digging bucket
The bucket angle is made to your slope. It cuts a V-shaped ditch or slope in one pass for drainage channels, swales and road shoulders.
UB U-shape digging bucket
The bucket cuts a U-shaped trench bottom to profile in one pass. Pipe laying and utility work need less backfilling, less handwork and less spoil hauled away.
TR Trapezoid profile digging bucket
The sloped side walls form the ditch section in a single pass, so drainage channels and utility ditches need no follow-up trimming.
SDB Heavy duty skeleton DB bucket
The SDB separates material as you dig: soil falls through the ribs while stone, rubble and roots stay in the bucket.
RDBF Flat-top skeleton DBF bucket on rods
Interlocking steel rods replace the solid bottom, C45 as standard and Hardox® as an option. Soil sifts out from the rocks while you dig trenches, drains and pipe bedding.
AC Excavator asphalt cutters
A 450 mm steel disc, symmetrical (ACs) or asymmetrical (ACa). It makes clean cuts in asphalt for road repairs, utility trenches and pavement and kerb work.
AC mini - asphalt cutter for mini-excavator
Asphalt cutter for mini-excavators. The 450 mm steel disc cuts asphalt for roadworks, repairs and utility trenches.
BDP mini - clay digging bucket for mini-excavator
The BDP bucket has the narrow Dutch profile for sticky clay and rocky ground on mini and midi-excavators. Anti-suction holes are an option, so sticky clay does not hold to the bucket floor.
Standard Earthmoving / heavy duty
DB Heavy duty digging bucket
A digging bucket for most materials, with a rock version for harder ground.
DBF Flat-top digging bucket for quick coupler
The flat top suits excavators that change attachments on a quick coupler. It comes in Economy, Standard, Heavy Duty and Rock versions.
DCB Grading & ditching bucket with round profile
The round profile lets material flow out with little drag. Use it to grade surfaces and to dig and clean ditches.
DS mini - Scandinavian deep digging bucket for mini-excavator
Deep digging bucket in the Nordic profile for mini-excavators, for rocky ground and abrasive material.
GD Rigid grading & ditching bucket, 12–40 t
The rigid body has no tilt joint, so there are no hoses or cylinders to connect. It is used to grade surfaces and clean ditches.
GDH Heavy duty hydraulic grading & ditching bucket
The hydraulic tilt grading bucket shapes slopes and levels uneven ground.
GP General purpose digging bucket
A digging bucket for everyday excavation in earth, gravel, and loose materials. It is used for trenching, foundation work, and landscaping.
GPL General purpose digging bucket
A bucket for digging common materials like earth, gravel, and loose soil. It is used for trenching, foundation work, and landscaping.
SB Dutch profile grading & ditching bucket
The Dutch profile has a wider opening, so sticky soil falls out. Use it for grading and ditch work in sticky soil.
Alternatives
These families also name this work in their own description, but they are another tool type or are made for another machine.
- FLB - levelling bucket for front loader
- GB - rigid grading & ditching bucket, German profile
- GBH - hydraulic tilt ditching bucket for mini-excavator
- GBP - rigid grading & ditching bucket, Italian profile
- GBPH - hydraulic tilting grading & ditching bucket
- GPLO - GPL bucket with perforated bottom
- GPO - GP bucket with perforated bottom
- TH - hydraulic thumb for excavator
- MR - heavy duty excavator multi-ripper
- RGPL - skeleton rod GPL bucket
- RGPR - skeleton rod bucket
- RIP - heavy duty ripper
- RIP mini - ripper shank for mini-excavator
- SB mini - Dutch profile grading & ditching bucket for mini-excavator
- SGP - heavy duty skeleton GP bucket
Ask for an engineering review first
Our catalogue data does not decide these cases. Send us the machine and the job before you order.
- Your machine weighs more than 65 t, the top of the weight ranges on this page.
- You want a hydraulic family (GBH, GBPH, GDH, and HYDRAULIC) and do not know the oil flow and pressure of your machine's auxiliary circuit.
- Your quick coupler or pin size is not listed on the family page.
How to choose
Work through these questions in order, from the surface to the machine.
- 1
Is there asphalt on top?
Cut the surface first, so the trench and the reinstatement both start from a straight edge. The AC asphalt cutter for excavators from 12 to 30 t has a 450 mm steel disc and a cutting depth of 150 mm, adjustable to the thickness of the asphalt layer. The AC mini does the same job on a mini excavator.
- 2
What goes in the trench?
Cable, conduit and pipe bedding: a KS cable bucket in the narrow Scandinavian profile holds a steep-walled trench, so the bedding sits flat. Pipe laying and foundation work: the UB cuts a U-shaped bottom in one pass. A drainage or irrigation ditch: the sloped side walls of the TR form the ditch section directly. A ditch, swale or road shoulder cut to a slope: the VB has the angle of the V built to that slope.
- 3
- 4
- 5
What happens to the spoil?
A profile bucket digs out only the trench shape. The UB leaves less spoil to haul away, and the KS keeps backfill volume low. If the spoil is stony and has to go back in, a riddle bucket sorts as you dig: with the SDB or RDBF the soil falls through the rods back into the trench and the stone stays in the bucket. Rods are C45 steel as standard, Hardox® on request.
- 6
Which machine carries it?
Match the bucket to the machine weight: GKB mini from 1.0 to 12 t, KSV mini from 0.6 to 10 t, SDB and RDBF from 10 to 50 t, AC from 12 to 30 t. Ask us for the KS, UB, VB and TR that fit your machine. For stony ground, the TR, UB, VB and SDB take CAT J series, BYG Futura or ESCO UltraLok teeth, so the teeth can be matched to the ground.
Attachments by job
Choose by the shape of the trench the job needs, then by what comes out of it.
A narrow trench for cable, conduit or pipe
A cable bucket holds a narrow, steep-walled trench, so the bedding sits flat and there is less to backfill. KS on a full size excavator, KS mini or GKB mini on a mini or midi excavator.
A V-shaped trench or ditch
The KSV mini cuts a self-supporting V-trench for cable and conduit runs. The VB cuts a V-shaped ditch with the angle built to the slope, in one pass.
Pipe laying and foundation work
The UB digs a U-shaped bottom in one pass, so the pipe bed needs less backfilling.
A drainage or irrigation ditch
The TR has sloped side walls that form the ditch section directly, so there is no trimming afterwards.
Stony spoil you want to put back
A riddle bucket sorts as you dig. With the SDB or RDBF the fines go back in the trench and the stone stays in the bucket.
A trench under asphalt
Cut the surface first with an asphalt cutter, so the trench starts from a straight edge.
Need a price for Trenching attachments?
Tell us the machine and the attachment you need. We usually reply within 1 working day.