The skid steer is your cleanup crew’s best friend on a messy jobsite. The question is…do you bolt on a rock bucket or a grapple? Both can clear debris or haul junk, but they shine in different situations. Save hours on the clock and spare yourself from fighting the wrong tool with an informed choice:
Rock Bucket: Sift, Scoop, and Clean
A rock bucket is made for jobs where you want to separate usable material from waste. With reinforced tines spaced about 3” apart (that’s what our Prime Attachments rock bucket has), it grabs big stuff — rocks, busted concrete, logs — while letting dirt and smaller aggregate fall through. You’ll be thankful you strapped on a rock bucket when you need to:
- Clear rocky terrain without stripping away good soil
- Pick through demolition piles and keep fill separate from junk
- Prep fields or driveways by pulling out larger obstacles while smoothing the base underneath
On jobsites where the goal is a clean, workable surface, the rock bucket is hard to beat. It’s simple, tough, and it doesn’t waste time hauling material you could reuse.
Grapple: Clamp, Contain, and Haul
A grapple bucket or clam grapple adds something a rock bucket doesn’t have — clamping force. Hydraulic cylinders and serrated teeth secure irregular loads like:
- Torn-off roofing, scrap lumber, or demo debris
- Branches, logs, and brush piles
- Uneven rubble or jagged concrete chunks
The Prime Attachments Dirt Bucket Grapple is a heavy duty grapple bucket for keeping loads of dirt and uneven debris contained. Our Dual Clam Grapple doubles the bite for heavy storm cleanup or mixed debris. The independent grapples let you clamp down on uneven piles and avoid spilling half of it back onto the ground.
Side-by-Side: Rock Buckets vs. Grapples
Task / Material
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Rock Bucket
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Grapple
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Rocky Soil or Field Prep
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Sifts rocks out, keeps soil where you want it
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Overkill — no need for clamping!
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Demolition Cleanup
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Can scoop chunks but may lose odd-shaped material
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Clamps down on scrap wood, roofing, broken slabs
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Brush and Log Removal
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Picks up bigger pieces but lacks holding power
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Serrated teeth clamp down on limbs and brush piles
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Concrete and Rubble
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Sifts smaller pieces, leaves a clean surface
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Hauls bulky, irregular chunks and prevents spillage
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Speed & Efficiency
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Fast on open ground with consistent debris
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Faster when loads are uneven or hard to control
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Sometimes it might come down to what you need by the end of the day: Want a clean surface, free of big obstacles, without stripping your soil? Go rock bucket. Need to clamp messy, irregular loads and get them out of the way fast? Go grapple.
Plenty of contractors keep both on hand. Swap them out depending on whether you’re cleaning or hauling, and your skid steer stays ready for whatever the jobsite throws at you.
Keep the Jobsite Moving With Prime
Prime Attachments builds rock buckets, grapple buckets, and clam grapples (or dual clams!) all with Grade 50 steel and field-tested designs that our dealers can attest to. They’ll hold up. Think about all the work you can get done with fewer busted welds and less time fixing cheap imported attachments found at auction.
Let’s rock! Or clamp! Heck, let’s do both! Request a quote today and get the right bucket on your skid steer.
