Gary Sr with his JBJr adapted onto a Bolens G9 Tube Frame 8-11-08

Hey John, 

Here are some pics of how the JBJR install on my Bolens came out. They may not show, but I made U clips for adapting the rear of main bucket frame. They are 1/2 X 3 X 5 and 1/2 cs I drilled and tapped the top bolts and through bolted to the Bolens frame. I also drilled & tapped the front part to the cast Bolens frame. Everything in the JBJR installation kit went together perfect, nice work man. 

I made a controller bracket out of 1in stainless steel tube and placed it very user friendly, I hope the pics show it well enough. Took awhile to figure that out. The wiring is inside the tube, real clean and neat. The test run was on a 3' minus or so rock pile, good test, but rear tires spun a little so I mounted the front weights on the Grader Blade arm and got a pretty damn full bucket after. I also tested on a couple of rotten stumps knocked them down and leveled the ground, worked nice. 

Thanks for a real nice product, gonna have some fun now. 

Gary Sr.

Thanks again

Thanks for taking the time and sharing your Johnny Bucket experience. GREAT JOB!!! on the linear lift adaptation and love how you mounted the joystick.. Very Clean!
John

Readers: BTW The adaptor hitch Gary used was designed for the Craftsman GT5000 style garden tractor and the total package was the same price if interested. 
Here is the  link to the page Craftsman GT JBJr. Along with drilling holes for the hitch he only had to raise his hood hinge.

Don F with his JBJr for a Cub Cadet GT2542 8-12-08

We had a "summer driveway" at our house in upstate NY, no body had lived here in the winter for over 20 years. Last winter we were "pushing through" a lot of mud. After getting several estimates for the 300 foot driveway....I though there had to be a cheaper way...There was, I bought a new garden tractor & JBJr with bucket doubler and digging teeth, took a couple of weeks of on & off work but now we have a solid driveway & a new tractor with a bucket...which worked very well.

Don

Thanks for taking the time and sharing your Johnny Bucket experience. GREAT JOB!!!
John

Elizabeth's  JBJr for a Craftsman GT5000  5-08

I’m continually amazed at how much we use the Johnny Bucket Jr. The JBJr is a small front-end loader bucket attached to a Sears Craftsman garden tractor. Now before all of you who own “real” tractors laugh, this little contraption is pretty darn amazing. In fact, one of the reasons we chose the $2500 Sears Craftsman GT5000 garden tractor over more expensive alternatives (like Kubota or John Deere) is because there was a JBJr for the GT5000. We use it all the time in place of a wheelbarrow.

Back when we were thinking about getting a full-size tractor or CUT (compact utility tractor), we realized we needed a riding lawn mower anyway, since a tractor would have trouble getting in tight spaces. I figured we could try out the JBJr as a poor-man’s front-end loader and see how well it would work. It turns out we rarely need the use of a “real” front-end loader, and the JBJr does 95% of all the tasks we do around the property. Plus, we know 3 neighbors with full-size tractors with front end loaders that can help out if we need them.

We use the JBJr so hard I might say we even abuse it. I often see my wife scraping horse manure off the ground with the bucket lowered so much the front tractor wheels are several inches off the ground, with only the rear wheels pushing the tractor. We use it a couple times a week all year long, often for moving horse manure around. Sometimes we’ll get a load of gravel dropped off and use it to carry gravel over the next few months, a little bit at a time. We also use it to help spread sand on our riding ring. I’ve used it to pull out t-posts from the ground. The uses are endless, to be honest.

It has never once broke in the 2-3 years we’ve owned it. Neither has the GT5000, and we use it hard. Elizabeth will run it at full speed bouncing over bumpy ground. She will often ram a pile of gravel or horse manure at full speed to get a full bucket’s worth.

I am 100% satisfied with the JBJr. Like the 3 bears, it’s “just right”.

The one downside is the JBJr doesn’t have much height so if you want to make a pile of material you can’t. This is opposed to a real front end loader which will lift material a good 8 feet in the air.

By the way, there is one change that is absolutely required on the garden tractor: chains and filled tires. The biggest obstacle of a garden tractor is lack of weight resulting in lack of traction. I filled up the rear tires with 100-200lbs of windshield washer fluid and added v-bar tire chains. The combination is outstanding and the garden tractor rarely gets stuck. Of course, when it does get stuck, it really gets stuck, since those v-bar chains will dig a hole in the ground in the blink of an eye, and the only way to get the garden tractor out then is to pull it out with the truck.

Thanks for sharing your feedback.
John

Mark C  JBSr for a John Deere  6-24-08

Sirs,

I acquired my Johnny Bucket Sr. early this spring and I love this piece of equipment. It has allowed me to do so much in short order that would have taken me all summer if not longer to finish. Additionally, it is extremely well constructed and has stood up to everything I can throw into it. I have moved several dump truck loads of mulch, very large rocks, large logs, in short anything that will fit into it and a few things that wouldn't.

Unlike so many things I purchase these days, all of the parts were included in the box. I didn't have to hunt in my shop for any missing bolts or nuts; the instructions were exact and very clearly written; and best of all the unit was constructed precisely so that no straining to make the pieces fit was required. The new Johnny Bucket Sr. went together quite easily in about an hour and I was moving mulch and the rocks.

Mark Carpenter

Thanks for sharing your feedback.
John

Brian Campbell  JBJr for a John Deere L100  6-05-08

Hi John,

I have to state right up front that this is a very biased testimonial -- Johnny Products are Great! I ordered and installed the Johnny Bucket Jr with the bucket doubler and the Universal Electric Sleeve Hitch with two accessories; 1) integrated weight brackets and 2) multi tongue hitch onto my John Deere L100. The high quality and workmanship of your products reflects your hard work in design and your genuine care for giving your customer exactly what they want. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about how good your products would work but after using them for a couple of months I can attest that they are the best investment I could have made! I have moved railroad ties, rocks and mulch. Living in the mountains of western north carolina it's hard to find a flat spot. With the Johnny Bucket Jr I was able to dig out a flat spot for a nice campfire area and with the Electric Sleeve Hitch able to grade it just right with my box scraper. Being able to apply down pressure or let the sleeve hitch float enhances and extends the capabilities of the hitch.

Installing the Universal Electric Sleeve Hitch was very straight forward. The documentation was good. The only thing I had to do differently was intall the upper straps on the inside of the hitch instead of the outside as pictured in the instructions. I also attached a light to an unused hole near the top of the hitch. With the integrated weight brackets I can leave the suitcase weights on to give me extra traction while using the box scraper. And the weight of the hitch helps when I am using the Johnny Bucket Jr. The multi tongue hitch really makes it simple to switch between pulling my trailer or pulling the log splitter. Thank you for designing and producing these accessories.

Installing the Johnny Bucket Jr was again very straight forward. You have thought of just about everything one would encounter while installing the bucket. The quality of the electrical items as well as the fit and finish of all the metal parts are superb! Instead of using paint I used some green zip ties to keep the electrical connectors straight. I ended up putting the two Johnny Bucket Jr switches on the left side and the one electric sleeve hitch switch on the right side. (This made sense to me because I like to Mountain bike ride and every control on the right hand side of the handlebar controls the rear of the bike and everything on the left side controls the front of the bike.)

I have included many pictures showing what my JD L100 looked like at the beginning and what it finally ended up looking like. I had fun installing the bucket and hitch and because of the great design and quality of your products I am rather proud of how it all turned out.

Again, thank you for great products and look forward to many years of service from them.

Best Regards, Brian Campbell, Candler, NC

Thanks for sharing your feedback.
John

Jim Lukaszka with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet GT2186 5-24-08

Johnny,

Good Day, I first want to tell you how skeptical I was when I first went to order this. At first I thought, can this really be so true on a bucket doing so much.

I must say it is worth every penny I paid for it. I built my own house this past fall and with spring around, I had a lot of dirt to level out, move and to dig to get my landscaping just the way I wanted it. I did think about renting a skid loader, but for what they want to rent one, the cost of diesel and pain of going back and forth to get it when I needed it, its worth every penny to own a JBJr Bucket.

This is a well thought out piece of machinery that you made and it takes a beating like nothing I ever seen. I have my JBJr on my Cub Cadet 2544 which it handles very well. As you can see in the pictures I moved 8 yards of dirt, scraped and leveled my lawn, harrowed my yard and used the JBJr and a plow down the high spots. My friend was so impressed with it when he came over one day that a few days later he also ordered dirt for his lawn.. Funny to say- He called me up asking if he can borrow my JBJr Bucket to move 8 yards of dirt also.

With all of the beating, hauling, scraping, digging, leveling I done with my JBJr, the only thing that broke was the 2 large bolts that connect the bucket to lift. I went to the store and $1.75 later I was back in business.

Just as I thought I was all done using this JBJr Bucket, the wife decided she wanted an above ground pool, so with the back yard not being level, there I was once again using my Life saving tool I bought. TRULY AMAZING ON HOW MUCH THIS CAN DO.

I can't say enough about how well this product is made. Its worth every penny and you have a true believer and customer for life. Here are some pictures on everything I have done while I was using my JBJr Bucket…..

Thank You,

Sincerely, James Lukaszka

Thanks for sharing your feedback.
John

G.  Provo with a JBJr for a Craftsman GT5000 5-14-08

Thanks. You guys are all right. Here are a couple of pic's for your files. Feel free to use. yes that is chicken manure in the bucket. Moved about 1000 lbs this afternoon. What a life saver this power bucket is.

Thanks for sharing your feedback.
John

K.  Reed with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet GT2186 4-19-08

John,

I received the Johnny Bucket Jr. yesterday, just as I had requested. Got it installed today. Your instructions could not have been clearer. A very pleasant project to install on my Cub Cadet. I also can not say enough about the quality of the materials that go into your products. Your welds, machining, fabrication, etc. were of the highest quality. The one thing I would ad, however, is a giant "Proudly Made In The U.S.A." decal on the bucket. It's nice to see American quality craftsmanship still in existence, in a time when many manufacturing companies are tripping over each other to get outside our borders looking for huge profits. Thank you for a great product!

K. Reed Colerain, OH

Thanks for sharing your feedback and good idea on the USA sticker,
John

Mike Heiser with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet 3225 4-11-08

Hi John,

First I want to say, great product. I bought my Johnny bucket Jr in September of 07. It is a great back saver and really fun to use. Putting it together and attaching it to my Cub Cadet 3225 was a snap. I did it myself in about 1 hr. After my first trial run…I soon realized I needed weight in the back end. So I bought tractor tires and a second set of wheels and had them filled with washer fluid. Each tire weighs about 80 lbs. I also won a weight bar on ebay, and have the availability of and extra 200 lbs for the back. I mounted my toggle switches on the top of my dash. The wiring harness is run through the tractor frame, and follows the factory wire harness into the dash area. I did change the connection at the front, adding a 6 wire trailer connector, for simple 1 plug application…I plan on adding lights to the front…for night work!

Now, for the buckets accomplishments. I had a very large bobcat come in and cut out for my retaining wall, and scrape about 4 inches of junk dirt out of my front yard. He left it very rough, which is fine…never fear. I have a Johnny bucket and a lot of determination. I did the final scraping, leveling etc with my tractor…put out 2 tri-axles of top soil, cut in a 2nd. Driveway, and put out 1 tri-axle of stone. I also used the bucket to transport railroad ties. We didn’t have much snow this year, but on one occasion, we had 8 inches of wet snow. I put on the snow shoe and proceeded to plow my driveway, and everyone else’s driveway on my street! Tip: I sprayed “slip plate” on the inside of my bucket…the snow just falls right out…does not stick. I had to give the tooth bar a try while I was redoing my front yard. I thought I had marked where my gutter drain pipe was, but found out during a very hard rain, I had marked an old one. So, in the pouring rain, I took my tractor out and dug out the right pipe with my Johnny bucket. It did great! Spring is coming and I have many plans for my Johnny bucket, and expect it will do great.

Thanks for a great product…not to mention, I saved about 1000.00 over a factory cub cadet plow…which can only plow!

Best regards,

Mike Heiser

Harrisburg, PA

PS. Tip for anyone installing railroad ties using rebar. You can rent a demolition hammer with a tent spike driver…works like a charm!

Thanks for sharing your feedback,
John

Richard Hennosey with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet 3000 series 3-30-08

Dear Mr. Scheele:

I love my Johnny Bucket Jr

I have had the opportunity to use your product for almost a year now. I am constantly amazed at what I can do with it. I have dug holes, moved lumber, dirt, grated, pryed lumber barn flooring up, moved snow...just about anything. I highly recommend it for someone who has to do most projects by themselves. It is like having a second person on every job. It appears to be as durable as the Cub Cadet GT3100 I have it attached to. Yard work is actually fun. If anyone is thinking about getting one of these I advise them to just buy it. Get the AG tires and the bucket doubler too.

Thank you so much for making exactly what I needed.

Rich Hennosy Newark, Ohio

Thanks for sharing your feedback,
John

Phillips JBJr for Simplicity/AC with new Linear Acuator Lift  1-01-08

John, 

I would like to thank you for telling me about your latest model Johnny Bucket Jr. designed to fit my 1974 Simplicity 3414S. I had been considering purchasing a Johnny Bucket for several months, but was concerned about having to use a manual lift without the benefit of a counter balance system. Your new model was the answer with its electric lift and dump feature. The bucket mounting bracket installed easily with no drilling in about an hour. With the bracket in place I find that the bucket assembly installs easily without tools in a few short minutes.

I put the bucket to work the very next day at the school, where I work, moving and spreading 9 yards of crush limestone and filling holes with a couple of yards of river silt. With a little practice I was soon proficient in using the dash mounted toggle switches to scoop, scrape, lift and dump 200 lb loads of rock and dirt. At home I easily dug up and moved a large unsightly pile of dirt and clay that had been dumped in my yard over 4 years ago. The electric linear actuators allow me to shave packed dirt using only ballasted turf tires. In a matter of days, I caught up on all the earth work and clean up I had been putting off for years. I look forward to every new project where I can employ this great little implement.

Bring it on!

Thanks again for a well designed tool,

Phillip Fried

Thanks for sharing your feedback,
John

Ray L. JBJr for a  Ingersoll 4018 8-30-07 

I took these pictures on my 2'nd day after assembling the Johnny Bucket. 
These show me moving a stump that has been hanging around the front of my property for over a year. I judge it to weigh over 200 lbs. 
I tried to move it with a wheel barrow last year and promptly gave up after it rolled right out the other side! 
Since then I have moved some dirt and am now digging out another stump in my yard. 
I have a hole about 3' deep and 6' long and almost have the stump out. Will try to get some shots of that too!

I should a bought one of these 15 years ago!!!

Thanks, Ray L.

Ray,
Thanks for taking the time to share your story. Can't wait to see the other stump.
Sincerely,
John

Mike Witczak JBJr for a  Workhorse GT 1800  AKA (Wheelhorse) 6-27-07 

I just bought a Johnny Bucket Jr. for my GT 1800 Workhorse (Wheelhorse) tractor. I moved 4 yards of top soil in just 2 hours. 

Before my Johnny Bucket it took nearly 8 hours of back breaking work to move just 3 yards with a shovel and wheel barrow. 

What a great product! Thanks Johnny Bucket! - 

Mike Witczak, Massillon Ohio.

Mike,
Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to share your story.
Sincerely,
John

Joe Williams JBSr for a John Deere  6-25-07 

John,
When I bought your product it was with some misgiving. in the time since I have been very impressed with the bucket. 

I haven't used the snow plow yet but if it functions as well as the bucket I will be truly impressed. With the work I've done with the JBSr. 

I have already paid for the unit. in addition to moving tons of sand. The bucket has proven to be invaluable in "dozing" brush and moving logs around. 

Thanks for a well made product that has "taken a licking but keeps on ticking". 

Joe Williams

Joe,
Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to share your story.
Sincerely,
John

Scott Harr's JBJr for the new John Deere X304  6-9-07 Part 2

John,
It seems the more we've been around the harder it is to be impressed, especially in this day and age of claims that seldom live up to their promises. 
You and your products are the exception. 

When I traded up for a new John Deere garden tractor the thought crossed my mind that a comparably sized front end loader would be a neat deal so I searched the Internet and found you. 

After many questions, all of which you answered promptly, and finding out what others said about your product, I spent what I thought was very reasonable amount for something that claimed to be just what I needed: a replacement for the wheelbarrow for the common may with the common yard (that would be me). 

With the extent of my mechanical ability usually ending at duct tape, my 16 yr old son and I had the bucket and electrical hooked up in several hours without problem and as you can see, it lives up to your promises just fine ... except this load would have required several wheelbarrow trips. 

Thanks for a great idea, a quality and fun product, and reminding me that Americans remain the most ingenious people on Earth. 

Anyone wanting to know my experience with your product is free to write me at scott@harrs.com 

Thanks! Scott Harr, Minneapolis, MN 

"By the way, that's my 16 hr old son on the tractor in the other photos.

Scott,
Thanks for your kind words and taking the time to share your pictures and experiences with our product.
Sincerely,
John

Scott Harr's JBJr for the new John Deere X304  excuses 5-14-07  Part 1

Hey John,

Now I have a new problem with my JBJr: 
Is it normal to start making up reasons just to use it because it's so much fun? Yesterday my son told my wife to park out in the street after picking up bags of water softener salt ... that way he could take the tractor out to the street and load the bags into the bucket ... after all, what fun is just hauling the bags from the trunk of the car to the basement? We're making up work just to use it, it's that much fun!

We are loving it ... and haven't really even put it to full use yet.

Will send some good pics for your gallery when we do. Just wanted you to know how much we're enjoying it - it's everything you promised!

Scott

Roy Mitton's JBJr with the new electric lift and his newly restored 1976 Wheelhorse B100  4-22-07

John,
Just finished restoring my 1976 Wheel Horse B100. 

Roy Mitton, Berkley Ma

Roy,
Thanks for taking the time to share your pictures with our product. Very Nice!! restore. Reminds me of my old Charger 12 ;-)
Sincerely,
John

Cougar's JBJr for a KUBOTA GR2000  2-18-07

Robert P's JBSr for a John Deere X585SE  11-11-06

I've had my JBSR for over 2 years and have used it to move rock, hard packed clay soil dig deep holes and just to move heavy objects around the place. 

There was no missing parts when I got it, quick & easy to install and only takes a couple of minutes to put on/off. 

I have used and misused the JBSR and it still keeps on going strong. 

The tooth bar really adds digging power to the JBSR. Thanks for building a quality product at a reasonable price that will last for years. 

The pictures that I sent are of the grave I had to dig for our German Shepard. 

The JBSR cut right through the tree roots and hard packed clay without any problems and when I finished it 4.5 feet deep. 

slkpk

Robert,
Our deepest sympathies of the loss of your dog and thanks for your kind words and for sharing your pictures.
Sincerely,
John

Ted's  JBJr for a John Deere  GT235 9-14-06

John,

Thanks for the update. After having my back yard (previously woods) cleared last year, I had an urgent need for the usefulness of a Johnny Bucket, so I sold the LT180 and bought a GT235 which you already had a JBJr for and more importantly could handle some ground engaging tasks I had planned.

Have to say that I couldn't be happier with the both. Before getting the JBJr I paid nearly $900 to hire workers to dig, level, and help cart in 20 tons of pea gravel over 2 weekends. Could have done it all in 1 day with the JBJr. Since I got it I've moved, spread, and leveled 60 yards of topsoil, regarded an area of nearly 1000 sq ft 4-6in deep, hauled 3 yards of sand back to my son's new sandbox, moved my huge compost pile, 20+ tons of stones, and hauled 10+ cords of fire wood out of the back woods. Wouldn't have even though about doing half of those tasks without it.

One funny story related to the topsoil. On Friday evening the driver had just dumped a 20yard pile of top soil probably 5' high and 20' wide out of his fully loaded 10 wheeler dump truck at the end of my driveway and was having me sign the receipt. He says to me "Looks like you'll be busy for the next few weeks". I told him I expected to have it spread by noon the next day when I was having another 20yds delivered then. Looked at me like I was nuts. Next day he shows up and couldn't believe the pile was gone and asks where's the Bobcat. Showed him the JBJr on my tractor out back and wouldn't be surprised if you got an order from him based on all the question he asked, including for your web address.

With the JBJr, I've tackled and am considering projects I previously wouldn't have considered doing myself. Design, quality and strength of materials used, and construction are tops. 

Great product!
Ted

Mr Swyndle with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet GT2000 series 10-26-06

Dear Mr. Scheele, 
I recently ordered, received, and installed your wonderful product.
It has already been put to good use, hauling, moving gravel, rock, dirt, and leveling areas on my property.
It makes those backbreaking chores doable for a senior citizen.
It is better than a wheel barrow, easier to use than a weed whacker, and adds tremendous versatility to my Cub Cadet riding mower.

Dr. R.C. Swyndle, Ph.D., MBA

Ken Reed  JBSr for a John Deere  445 10-26-06

John,
We hooked up the Johnny Sr. to our John Deere 445. Works Great. I don't know how we did without it this long. I moved 2 trucks of dirt in about 3 hours. 
Saturday I will be moving 10 yards of mulch. That would be a lot of shoveling, if we hadn't found your products. Thanks, It's great.

Kenneth M. Reed Vice Chair Aldersgate Umc 4055 Rockton Ave Rockford, Il. 61103

Tom G's  JBJr for a Poulan Pro  10-26-06

John, 

I finally got my Johnny Bucket Jr Installed on my Poulan Pro Garden tractor. 
My wife and I are building a house and there is a lot of things to move around. 
Here are a couple of pictures of the JbJr moving gravel around. Before we had to use a wheel barrel and shovel to move gravel around. 
This makes it so easy. 

We really enjoy using the JbJr. Great investment.

Tom :)

Martin Wickersham  JBJr for a John Deere 240 9-17-06

John, 
You posted some pictures in the past, so I just wanted to let you know know that almost three years later this bucket is still my life saver. 
Hands down the best tool I have. Here, I am moving wood to the backyard for splitting. 
I have had no back pain since I bought this. It does all of my moving. grading, you name it. 
Thanks again for a wonderful long lasting product. 
Pictures attached! 
This is a modified JD 300 version to fit my 240 before Johnny Products offered an adaptor hitch.

Scott Vidger  JBJr for a Simplicity Conquest 8-7-06

I've had my JBjr up and running on my new Simplicity Conquest for a month and can honestly say it has saved me over twenty hours of labor in that short time. 

My house requires around 40 yards of mulch each year. In April I had the first 10 yards delivered (a pile the size of a Buick). 

It took me two days @ 8-9 hours each day of wheel barrowing the mulch to distribute it around the house. 
Last week I had 10 yards delivered and attacked it with my JBjr. In less than four hours, I was done! 
And I wasn't exhausted from shoveling all that mulch into the wheelbarrow and then emptying each load. 

This past weekend I needed 2 1/2 tons of (landscaping) river rock delivered, and the truck couldn't dump it into the final resting place so I had to move 5000 pounds of rock. 
This would have easily been an 8 hour manual job, but with JBjr I was done in less than 90 minutes! 

If you do the math, 5000 pounds at 25 pounds per shovel full it would have taken 200 shovel fulls. 
That means filling up the shovel, walking it over to where it needs to be, then dumping the shovel 200 times. JBjr allowed me to scoop, dump , push and grade the rock in 90 minutes. 

And let's not forget using the JBjr is fun! The final math shows JBjr = Less Labor + Faster Job Completion + Fun.

Scott C. Vigder 
Salem, Ohio

Richard Roth  JBSr for a John Deere 7-30-06

Let's start by saying the JB Sr is without a doubt the best tool I have ever purchased to help me with maintenance of four acres of property. 

I use it constantly to rough out holes for transplanting flowers, trees etc. Also use it for hauling water to water new plants, saving on dragging hoses around, use it constantly with the tooth bar for not only scrounging together all sorts of downed limbs in the woods but also for turning over and mixing leaves and compost with soil for the plants. 

Have moved approximately 48 cu yds of mulch, top soil, and almost anything to heavy to carry by hand. 

Just this week since we have had so much rain and the ground is soft, I pushed over five or six locust trees from 2" to 6" inches in diameter and then got under the tilted roots and simply pushed them the rest of the way out and then to the brush pile.

A great little machine.

It's great for gathering up broken limbs etc from windstorms but have been trying to figure out some way to attach something like a couple of upright 1/2" bars about a foot long either to the side of the bucket at the back to keep the brush from falling back on to the front of the tractor! Something like a pair of simple uprights would increase the load and keep the brush from falling backward.

Just a thought!!

I love this thing! My neighbor made fun at first and now he's borrowing it for hauling mulch, top soil etc around his property also.

Thanks again for a great tool.

Warren with a JBJr for a John Deere L series 7-11-06 updated

Jim Allen with a JBJr for a Cub Cadet GT2554 5-13-06

Hi,

I wanted to let you know that I received my Johnny Bucket Jr with all the bells and whistles yesterday. I installed it on my Cub Cadet GT2544 (model year 2005) today. Everything worked out great! The enclosed directions were very well done and made the assembly and installation a snap. Every single nut, bolt, washer and electrical component was included. The quality of the product seems to be very good! I owned a steel fabrication company for 16 years, so I can say this with some first hand professional knowledge. The design is very functional yet simplistic, which should increase the products longevity.

I've attached some pictures of the finished install (minus the bucket doubler which I decided not to install at this time). It's raining cats and dogs here today so I haven't had the opppourtunity to put it to the test....

Thanks again for your prompt and courteous service! Feel free to post the pictures (and my email) if you think it would be of value to you or others.

I'm waiting for the arrival of my agricultural tires and second set of OEM rims to complete the package...

Thanks again,

Jim Allen Salisbury, MA

Steve Parks with a JBJr for L118 4-9-06

Hi John,

ONE PICTURE SAYS IT ALL......

I wanted to let you know how pleased I am with your product; my "Johnny Bucket Jr." 
When my bucket arrived I had 17hrs on my JD-L118, now it's time to change the oil again at 100hrs.; not bad for a couple of months use. 
My wife and I just bought a few acres with home attached out in the Wichita Mountains of S.W. Oklahoma. 
We're really getting into the landscaping; as you can see the "Lava Rock" in the picture is way to heavy for my back, but not for my "Johnny Bucket Jr.. 
Needless to say, I tell everyone about my "Johnny Bucket Jr.." 
It has saved me some major aches and pains, plus, I'm finished in half the time, and actually find myself looking for things to do. Gotta have that quality tractor time.

Bottom line....when I spend a thousand or more for attachments for my JD I want to know I got a great product. With my "Johnny Bucket Jr.," I did.

Thanks John,

Steve Parks

Devin Liles with a JBJr for L110 2-12-06

Hi John,

I am including some pic's of the unmanned. He/She is a L110 JD
modified. He/She has new 21" bar tires on the rear to handle the Plugged,
Thatcher, Sweeper, and Drop Seeder I have for it along with a weight box
(all not shown).

I used the JB Jr to remove over 40 yards of Beauty Bark. Why you ask I would
I want to remove BB? It is for the simple reason that I have two Russian
Wolfhounds and White Carpet. Say No More.

I also used it to dig a 5x1x120 foot fountain area. More Pic's to follow.

Sincerely Yours, Devon

 Mike Gairdner's  222 Case JBJr with the new Linear Actuator lift  12-4-05

Mike wanted to be able to run a rototiller at the same time as a JBJr. on the front. With the old tractor lifted JBJr, he could of only used on at a time because they used the same lifting system.

Jon Hayden with a JBJr for JDL100 made to fit his F725  12-9-05

Thanks-for your product! Jon Hayden in New Hampshire

Kevin Nash with JBJr with Power Dump for Simplicity Prestige  9-16-05

HI John,

Here are some more photos of my Johnny Bucket in action. Here there was a large willow tree that needed to be chipped and as you can see, I made a platform from several wood pallets and an aluminum ATV ramp. It took a couple of days to chip this tree and the JBJr was awesome. I have learned to spread, scrape and use my bucket to dig and sculpt the ground. I am very happy with the performance even after many hours of continuance use.

Have a great day!

Kevin

Kevin,
Love the ramp! 
John

Kevin Nash with JBJr with Power Dump for Simplicity Prestige  8-21-05

Hi John, 

Kind of a continuation of my first letter…Man oh man have I done the work with this thing. I have moved dirt, dug trenches, jacked up concrete stoops and dug a huge fire pit. I am sending just a couple of photos for your web site. I will send you more after I do more on a 2 acre piece of land I bought. 

Have a great day! 

Kevin

Kevin,
Thanks for the update 
John

Kevin Nash with JBJr with Power Dump for Simplicity Prestige  6-1-05

 John,

I just have to say that your Johnny Bucket lives up to your billing. Man did this save my body. Since I have this I moved 6 yards of dirt, 4 yards of mulch and at least 2000 pounds of rocks. It was very easy to set up and start using the first hour I got it home. It was easy to hitch on the tractor and easy to take off. I won’t ever schlep stuff around my yard again. In less than 2 weeks, I have done more that I could have done in a month. As far as digging, leveling, back dragging, it is awesome and exceeded my expectations there as well. Because it is such a work horse, I am going to help my neighbors with their projects as well. I have given your website to at least a dozen people. I give your product an 11 out of 10. I just wish I would have had it sooner. Please use me in your testimonials. You have a great thing going.

Best regards and thanks for the great customer service.

Sincerely,

Kevin,
Thanks for all your kind words and PR, 
John

 Paul Diersen's  Ingersoll 4018 with a JBJr 

Hi John,
Here are some pics of the JBJr on my Ingersoll 4018. As you can see it works well and even has down pressure.
Thanks, Paul

Paul had bought his JBJr in 2003 for a different model tractor and recently picked up this Ingersoll. He was able to re use the bucket and just buy a different style adaptor hitch to fit his new machine

Peter Rienzo with his JBJr for Craftsman GT5000  8-26-05

Peter,
Thanks for all your kind words. 
John

James Griffith with JBSr for John Deere  6-3-05

James,
Thanks for all  your kind words. 
John

Bob P's Cub Cadet 70  with the newly redesigned electric lift JBJr with power dump 5-7-05

The wiring harness just about made it and the battery connections got extended (using 10 AWG) in order to reach the bracket over the left rear
tire.
On the days I haven't been working, we've had lots of rain, so my wife and I are anxious to give it a workout soon.

And again - very happy how well it installed.
Thanks,
Bob P.

Bob,
Thanks for the great picture and Send us more picture when the weather clears, 
John

On a side note,
Bob had the great idea of adapting his mower deck belt pulleys into the JBJr adaptor hitch so he could keep the deck on at the same time.

Brandon H with his JBJr. for the Craftsman GT  4-4-05

Here is the patio... Some demo has been started, but this is essentially what I was dealing with.

Here is the patio... Some demo has been started, but this is essentially what I was dealing with.

Another RR tie removal pic.

A few RR ties removed.

Most of the RR ties removed.

RR Ties are all removed now... here is the pile.  I believe there were about 15 ties in total.

Burn baby burn!!

Hauling away the patio bricks, took 7 loads of 30 brick each.

Bricks are all gone... hauling away the surrounding gravel next.

Dumping a load of gravel.

Time to start leveling... the fun begins.

Leveling is done... a full days work!!

Next up was grading the fill.  I spent about 2 hrs box grading and then finished by finish raking.  The finish raking resulted in another 8 buckets of gravel.  Here is a pic of gravel being loaded.

All in all demo has never been this fun. I logged 19 hrs on the GT. The JBjr performed flawlessly, and paid for itself in a matter of a couple of hours. 
My hats off to you John for a outstanding product, at a great price.

Take Care buddy, BTH

Brandon
Thanks for your kind words and great pictures Love the dual wheel weights and ag tires on the front, 
John

Mike W's Cub Cadet 124  with the newly redesigned electric lift JBJr 3-14-05

John, 
Attached are some pictures. I plan to start using it to move 16 tons of Rip-Rap next week. 
Thanks,
Mike

Mike,
Thanks for the great pictures and very nice restoration, 
John

Tony B. with his JBJr.  for the John Deere 10  6-10-04

Hi John, 
Here's a picture of my $500 tractor. In the last three days since I received the JBjr, I've moved and spread two full dump trucks full of driveway gravel. It did a killer job! I received a quote of $2400 to install 5 loads of gravel on my drive, including material. I think that I'll be able to complete it with my JBjr and another 3 loads. Material will cost me about $1000. This job alone will pay for my JBjr AND my tractor!!! I've also had time to move and spread several yards of pine mulch. This thing is great! I am very impressed with the high quality and practical design of your product. I own my own machine shop, so I really appreciate the fine workmanship that you've put into this. 
Thanks for everything, 
Tony Brucato

Hans with his JBSr. and Tooth Bar for the John Deere X585  5-16-04

John, I received my JB Sr. for my tractor during the time frame specified. The installation was easy to understand and easy to do. I was anxious to get this new addition to my tractor to make it even more useful. My John Deere X585 has 4WD, HDAP tires, rear wheel weights, and the added weight of the 62” mower deck, and I thought it would handle the JB Sr. well. After having a chance to use my JB Sr. on my X585 for several weeks now, I’ve found it to be very useful. The tooth bar makes the Johnny Bucket look pretty “mean” and it’s effective too. The tooth bar helps with digging down into the ground, ripping through roots, and scooping up material. So far I’ve used my JB Sr. to transport gravel, mulch, and topsoil. I’ve dug out small unwanted bushes in one scoop, dug out my fire pit, and done various landscaping chores. I’ve used my JB Sr. to move 12 cinder blocks at a time (could’ve done more!), move old large tractor tires, and move implements and awkward attachments for other tractors. I’ve included some pictures of my JB Sr. in action. In 2WD my X585 can get a pretty decent scoop of dirt, but when I shift it into 4WD, there’s no stopping it! The picture of my tractor with a full scoop of dirt was done by digging into hard, untilled soil using 4WD – it’ll get a full scoop every time. Just for fun, I decided to dig a hole on my property. I could’ve dug deeper, but I would’ve needed to take off my mower deck for more ground clearance. If you put the JB Sr. in the “dozing” position with the tooth bar, it can be used to break sod for a garden, or even work as a cultivator. I was even able to use it to easily move my rotary mower that is normally too tongue heavy to pick up. I’ll continue to find more uses for this thing as I keep playing with it. As Eric Sparr said, the X-Series seem to carry this thing with no problem, so it’ll most likely stay attached all the time. Thanks for a great product! 
If I find anymore interesting uses, I’ll be sure to share some more pictures. 
-Hans in Ohio

Hans,
Thanks for your kind words and great pictures, 
John

John Perillo with his power winch lift adaptation on his Cub Cadet 105  5-13-04

John,
These are the photos of my winch addition to a Cub Cadet 105 w/hydrostatic drive (no clutch). However, in viewing the operators manual, There apparently is no clutch pedal on the right side, so this application should work on other models as well. I mounted the control on a piece of steel stock bolted to the left side of the upper frame. I copied myself on these photos to make sure they came out ok. You have my full permission to use any of these photos. Let me know if I can be of further help. 
John Perillo

John,
We would normally add this to the "User Field Mod" section it was so cool, thought we would add it to both.
Thanks for sharing this great idea with us,
John

Glenn White with his JBJr. for the Craftsman GT  4-29-04

Hello John,
Glenn White here. I got my JBjr. on last Thursday as promised. I must say you make a high grade material transport kit. Very happy with fit Finnish. When I had a problem on Sat. morning, I called you and left a message and to my surprise you retuned my call asp. I did as you suggested with the cable and all is well. I cannot say enough about this Jbjr. This weekend I moved around, about 70 yards of fill. I have put over 27 hrs. of heavy duty use on it with only minor tweaking here an there. Let me assure you I did more work this weekend than I did in the last 3 weeks. I believe I have done everything with your Jbjr. that you said it would do and so much more. I'm sending you PICS, from the start to end of what I'm doing now. I have much more to do so please be advised I got your kit in 4 days and I have been waiting since 3/26/04 for my sleeve hitch from Sears. So as to be able to use my box blade I bought it at the same time. I'm supposed to get it on 05-05-04 and it sure would have been nice to be able to use it with the Jbjr. Now I have a great home owner package with my Gt. 5000 with hydro unit. I have been unable to find fault with either unit with the exception of the back order from Sears for my sleeve hitch. Thank you for your support with my glitch. A very happy owner of your great kit. 
Glenn White Okeechobee, FL. 
Thanks again Glenn.

Glenn has broken a new Johnny Bucket record for moving the most amount of material in the shortest amount of time.
Thanks for your kind words and great pictures, 
John

Adil Kadri with his JBJr. for the Craftsman GT  3-1-04

Hi John,
I finally got the front bucket installed. All parts went in easy and perfect fit. The bucket trip and reset up grade installation was easy with your accompanied instructions. I love this up grade, I think it's an excellent design. I used the tractor for about two hours and did a lot of dirt and rock moving. Attached some pictures I took this afternoon for use.
Thanks for a great job and good luck.
Regards
Adil

Adil converted his JBJr for sleeve hitch to a front mount once we had it available for the Craftsman GT 
Thanks for your kind words, 
John

Ed Greene with his JBJr. for the Craftsman GT  2-28-04

John,
Wanted to get these pictures to you. Haven't completed set up entirely but good enough for now. 
Pic 1 - Took black rope off and installed a rod. Attached to link you welded on top of bucket. Rod used to reset bucket. I'm going to use a push/pull cable to trip the bucket. I'll route the cable along the frame and put the knob on the dash like the choke. Won't be able to see it when installed. 
Pic 2 - Different view 
Pic 3 - My back driveway out to my back road. About 500 feet altogether. Hence the grader blade on the back of the tractor. The JBJr should save me a lot of work hauling and dumping gravel, etc. Note no mowing deck. Had that sucker off within thirty minutes of getting it home. I have another GT for cutting grass. 
Pic 4 - The back of my property. There are mountain lions up on top of that knoll. About 5 or six in all. One Tom two females and some youngsters. Plenty of rattlesnakes also. The mountain lions have never bothered us (plenty of wild food for them in the area) and the snakes don't come up to the house much. Ran into a clump of sawgrass once and disturbed a small nest of rattlers. Kind of exciting for a few minutes. Got the heck out of there in a hurry. 
Pic 5 - An area that I do mow out back where the septic tank is. I'll send some better pictures when I am finished. Suppose to get snow tomorrow night - about 7 or 9 inches. Will try out the JBJr as a front pusher blade. 
ED

Martin Wickersham with his JBJr. for the JD 240   6-28-04

Martin Wickersham with his JBJr. for the JD 240   1-26-04

We didn't make a JBJr for the 240 at this time but Martin modified the hitch for the older 200 series and said it works just fine 
Thanks, John

Mike Graney with his JBSr. for the Simplicity Legacy  2-28-04

Hey John!!
My life just got easier with the tooth bar for the Johnny Bucket on the Legacy. I had to try it out today and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I have a gravel/limestone drive and parking area that is in need of some attention. The weeds are growing all over and there are too many low spots where water stands in heavy rains like we just had the last day or two. Anyhow, here are some pictures of what I was playing with today. I used the tooth bar on Johnny bucket to dig into drive and then the blade on Bolens to drag/level what I had turned up with tooth bar. I have a roller and a harrow but they are way back on property sitting the other side of some very big puddles of standing water.