Gar-Bro Combo Series Concrete Bucket

Gar-Bro "Combo" Concrete Buckets — 10″ x 15″ Clamshell Gate with Lifting Bail and Fork Pockets

The Gar-Bro "Combo" Series concrete buckets are American-engineered, American-made placement buckets designed for contractors who need both crane-lift and forklift compatibility in a single unit. Featuring a 10″ x 15″ double clamshell gate with vertical front discharge, these buckets deliver precise, controlled concrete placement across a wide range of pours — from columns and walls to slabs and bond beams. Available in eight configurations ranging from 1/3 cubic yard to 3 cubic yards, the Combo Series is built to meet or exceed ASME standards and has been a trusted tool in the construction industry since 1923.

What separates the Combo bucket from standard round-gate or single-function buckets is its dual-access design: the integrated standard lifting bail allows crane or hoist attachment, while the built-in fork pockets enable direct forklift loading and repositioning without additional rigging. This eliminates the need for two separate bucket types on a jobsite and reduces equipment overhead for contractors managing multiple pour types simultaneously.

Key Features & Benefits

10″ x 15″ Double Clamshell Gate

The clamshell gate design provides a tight, leak-resistant seal during transport and a controlled, directional discharge during placement. The vertical front discharge orientation allows contractors to direct flow precisely into forms, reducing waste and cleanup time. The gate size is consistent across all Combo Series models, ensuring operators are familiar with discharge behavior regardless of bucket capacity.

Standard Lifting Bail

The integrated lifting bail is engineered for direct attachment to crane hooks and hoists, making this bucket immediately deployable on tower crane, mobile crane, and telehandler boom operations. A standard bail means no custom rigging adapters are required, reducing setup time and compatibility concerns on multi-trade jobsites.

Built-In Fork Pockets

Fork pockets are integrated into the bucket frame, allowing forklift operators to load, transport, and position the bucket without crane assistance. This dual-mode capability gives project managers scheduling flexibility — the same bucket can be crane-placed on upper floors and forklift-loaded at grade, without swapping equipment.

ASME-Compliant Construction

All Gar-Bro Combo buckets are designed to meet or exceed ASME standards, providing contractors with the confidence that the equipment has been engineered to recognized safety and load benchmarks. ASME compliance is often a jobsite requirement on commercial and institutional projects, and Gar-Bro's adherence eliminates specification conflicts during pre-construction review.

Wide Capacity Range

Eight model configurations span 1/3 CY to 3 CY (10.9 to 83.6 actual cubic feet), making the Combo Series scalable to the demands of the pour — from small column fills to large slab placements. Contractors can standardize on one bucket product line and simply size up or down based on the day's requirements, simplifying procurement and spare-parts inventory.

Slide-On Accessory Compatibility

The Combo Series is engineered to accept a range of optional slide-on attachments including rubber side chutes, 6″ and 8″ vertical discharge chutes, side chutes (LRSC/CSSC), and a GAC-4 grouting attachment. Hydraulic gate operation is also available, extending the bucket's utility to specialized placements without requiring a new bucket purchase.

Common Applications

Crane-Placed Concrete Pours

The standard lifting bail makes Combo buckets immediately compatible with tower and mobile cranes for elevated slab, beam, and column pours on commercial, industrial, and high-rise construction projects.

Forklift-Assisted Concrete Placement

Integrated fork pockets allow telehandlers and forklifts to position the bucket directly over forms at grade or low-elevation placements, reducing crane dependency and improving cycle times on ground-level work.

Column and Wall Pours

The vertical front discharge and controlled clamshell gate make the Combo bucket well-suited for filling narrow column forms and wall panels where directional precision is critical to avoiding segregation and honeycombing.

Bond Beam Fills

The bucket's discharge control and range of accessory chutes allow it to direct concrete into bond beams and CMU wall cores with minimal overspill, making it a practical choice for masonry contractors working on block wall systems.

Grouting and Specialty Placements

With the optional GAC-4 grouting attachment, the Combo bucket transitions to grout placement applications — useful for post-tensioned systems, anchor grouting, and precast connections where a dedicated grout pump is unavailable or impractical.

Multi-Trade Jobsite Operations

The dual lifting bail and fork pocket design means the same bucket can serve crane crews, forklift operators, and telehandler operators on the same project, reducing the number of bucket SKUs a general contractor needs to manage and inventory.

Compatible Materials

• Ready-mix concrete
• Lightweight concrete mixes
• Grout (with GAC-4 grouting attachment)
• Flowable fill
• Self-consolidating concrete (SCC)
• Fiber-reinforced concrete
• Aggregate-heavy mixes

Available Models / Configurations

Product Documents

• Combo Bucket Brochure & Accessories
• Combo Bucket Spare Parts Drawing 02-39A
• Gar-Bro Full Product Catalog (English)
• Gar-Bro Catálogo de Productos (Español)

Technical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between the Combo bucket and the standard G-Series or R-Series concrete buckets?
A: The Combo bucket adds integrated fork pockets to the standard lifting bail configuration, allowing both crane and forklift operation without additional rigging. It also uses a 10″ x 15″ rectangular clamshell gate with vertical front discharge, compared to the round gate on R-Series or the 15″ x 22″ gate on G-Series models, making it better suited for narrower or more directed placements.

Q: Can I use the Combo bucket with a telehandler or rough-terrain forklift?
A: Yes. The built-in fork pockets are designed for standard fork tine dimensions and are compatible with telehandlers, warehouse forklifts, and rough-terrain forklifts commonly used on construction sites.

Q: What accessories are available for the Combo Series?
A: Available accessories include: Item RSC Rubber Side Chute, Item VD6 (6″ diameter Vertical Discharge Chute), Item VD8 (8″ diameter Vertical Discharge Chute), Item LRSC or CSSC Side Chutes, Item GAC-4 Grouting Attachment, and Hydraulic Gate Operation. Contact Gar-Bro or your DTS representative for compatibility by model.

Q: Which Combo model should I select for a 1 CY pour?
A: Item 4928 is rated at 1 cubic yard (28.7 actual cubic feet) and is the appropriate model for 1 CY placements. It has an outside dimension of 43 x 43 inches and weighs 550 pounds empty.

Q: Are spare parts available for the Combo Series?
A: Yes. A Spare Parts Drawing (Drawing 02-39A) is available as a PDF download and identifies all serviceable components. Contact Gar-Bro at 1-800-643-8192 or [email protected] for parts ordering.

Q: Does the Combo bucket meet ASME standards?
A: Yes. All Gar-Bro Combo buckets are designed to meet or exceed ASME standards for material handling equipment, which is a common specification requirement on commercial and public construction projects.