Backhoe Buying a backhoe for tractor any brands to stay away from?

[Baranx4]

I was curious if there were any brands to stay away from when buying a backhoe attachment for a tractor with 52 pto horsepower. There seems to be a significant difference in pricing.

 

[dsgsr]

Woods is the best to have. Ameriquip makes the JD's. Anything from China I would stay away from.

David

 

[john_bud]

Actually, the "best" is up to some heated debate! I know what David feels is the best. Others have the same feeling about Bradco - lots of construction sites have them on bob-cat types. Koyker also makes one that is sold into the private market and they are American made in, I think, South Dakota.

There have been some happy folks here with Italian hoe's. Forgot the brand name, sorry. The imported hoes tend to have lower quality in them and will have the strong potential for metric "oddball" fittings that may cause head aches down the road. Seal kits for the cylinders would be an additional area of concern. But with that said, the Italian made ones seem to be solid and there have been some good posts on the ones from S Korea. Stuff from China, well - I'd personally pass. A used Bradco hoe would be far preferable to a new China hoe, but that's just my take.

What ever you get, buy or build a sub-frame for it. The hoe is a lot more steady to operate than a 3pt mount. There is some extra slop from the mount.


Just for the record, What size are you looking for? A 52-ish Hp tractor can probably comfortably take a 10-12' hoe in the 2500-3000# range. The small hoe's are cheap, but the lack of reach, depth and power would probably drive you nuts. It would me.

jb

 

[Captinjack]

I own a Kama 554 and ordered it with a Prairie Dog 7.5 with PTO driven hydraulics.

The hydraulic fluid overheats and I can't use the backhoe for longer than 1 1/2 hr before it has to cool down. The return hose has melted twice and dumped the fluid all over the ground! What a mess.

I've only put about 15 hours on the hoe so far and just over the holiday discovered that the PTO driven pump was without oil! The sight glass level showed oil to be fine, but there wasn't any oil in when the plug was removed. I saw this no oil condition last winter and filled it then. Over the fourth, I got to use it again for the first time after filling it. I wanted to use Royal Purple gear oil so I drained the new oil out and found out that once again there wasn't any there! Some numb skull put the vent plug in the drain position on the bottom and the drain in the vent position on top of the drive.

Regardless of this problem, the hoe lacks power, is jerky and is of hobby value at best. If you need a good working hoe, the prairie dog is not for you.

I am a first time tractor owner , am ignorant, but I'm learning.

I checked my picture taken when I took delivery and it clearly proves that the pto pump came delivered with the plugs reversed. The mfg. should use different diameter plugs so this could not be done. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[jgbanshee]

Get a Bradco.

 

[Paul2000]

I don't know about brands specifically, but I have heard a subframe mounted one is better than a 3 point hitch type. I researched this before I purchased mine and found the tractor manufacturer will not cover damage to your tractor if it is caused by a 3 point backhoe. Some have cracked the 3 point hitch area due to the stress a 3 point backhoe can cause. I felt the additional money to go with a subframe type was worth my peace of mind. Good luck with whatever you decide. Paul

 

[joelaudi]

I have an older John Deere hoe [#165] that is manufactured by Bradco. It was a three point type but I made a subframe for it to fit my old Case 430 farm tractor. Power is from a PTO pump at 11 gpm and over 12 gal of oil in the resevoir. All I can say about the Bradco hoe is that it has never failed me once and digs pretty well with no broken parts or cracks. I would like to install a thumb for it next. All in all I think the bradco unit is great.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Stick with a sub frame mount and go with a major brand. Personally I like Woods, Bush Hog, and Bradco in no particular order. Around here you can buy the Bush Hog a little cheaper than the Woods with the Bradco being the highest price. I would be pleased with any of these three brands.

 

[flumpydog]

Hello

The Italian brand I will be purchasing is Tifermec and they do seem to be a good unit. They come with a PTO driven pump and have the hydraulic reservoir built into the backhoe. You can also get some models that sideshift. The dealer close by me here sells them and they are priced extremely great. If interested in finding out about one of these, send me PM and I can give you their contact details!

Best Wishes,
Chuck

 

[dfkrug]

I own a Kama 554 and ordered it with a Prairie Dog 7.5 with PTO driven hydraulics.
.
.
.
.
Regardless of this problem, the hoe lacks power, is jerky and is of hobby value at best. If you need a good working hoe, the prairie dog is not for you.

I am a first time tractor owner , am ignorant, but I'm learning.
.

Wow, that's quite an indictment.

Perhaps you should get a working hydraulic system, a decent subframe
mount, and verify/adjust your hydraulic pressure before you disparage
that fine backhoe.

500 of these hoes have been sold and there have been very few
complaints.