Backhoe attachment comparison

[dfkrug]

While I was looking for a method to use it on my M4700 I was in discussions with
technical people at Woods. Their thought was that as you get to larger tractors the subframe was not needed,
just an "enhanced" 3pt, with a heavy duty top link.

Of course, the M4700 is way more tractor than the 7610, even if both come with a Category 1 Three-point hitch.

All new hoe attachments that I am aware of, designed for 3-point use, come with the locking brace
and special stiff toplink. I have a pile of them here.

Note that hoe makers do not warrant tractors for damage caused by the hoe, and tractor makers mostly
void your tractor warranty if you put a hoe on their Cat 1 hitch.

Cat 2 is probably OK.

 

[fried1765]

I had the Woods 7500 attachment. It's a 1000x better than a shovel and it will dig up the rocks, stumps and whatever else you want but it's slow going. From the sounds of what your wanting to do and the $$$$ your going to spend, you'll "probably" be very disappointed trying to move those rocks around. Like some of the other guys have said, get yourself a dedicated TLB and don't look back. I sold the attachment and picked up a Ford 4400 TLB 2250hrs for $6k. It needed about $600 and some wrenching to get it right but you can't even compare it to a BH attachment. It snaps trees in half and pulls the stump out in one shot.

This is the ABSOLUTE BEST piece of advice anyone has put forth here!
26 years ago I was looking for a tractor with a backhoe attachment, something not too massive, so I could go through the woods.
Stopped in at the local Ford tractor dealer, and discussed my WANTS with the owner.
He told me: "Don't waste your money on one of those attachment thingys. Give me some time, and I will find you a real machine.
It took 22 months, but he came up with a used 46HP gas Ford 3400TLB with a quick disconnect 10' reach Ford branded hoe ($10,000 total)
The machine had come from a cemetery, was 20 years old, and had 1350 hours.
That machine now has 1900 hrs., is on it's 46th year, and is going to get a manual thumb, and a second repaint this year.
I have it ONLY for my own use. On my small property of 12 acres, it has paid for itself, and rather than renting a hoe when needing one, mine is always available when I need it.
THE MACHINE IS STRONG AS AN OX !!
It has done stump removal (big ones), major yard grading/landscaping, 2 complete septic systems, 1000 gal. underground oil tank, water/electric line, tree transplanting, etc. etc.
The machine has a 2' wide hoe bucket, and a 5/8 yd. loader bucket, and I have set of bucket curl forks also.
Buying that machine was the best equipment choice I ever made.
In the current very good condition, I believe the value might still be $8,000.
For other uses I also have a freshly restored (she's a beauty) 28 year old Ford 1920 ( 2 bottom plow, 60" tiller, and 60" bush hog ).
The moral of the story as I see it is.......
If you want a backhoe: Buy a REAL TLB, that will do REAL work! (don't buy a junker though)
Unless you are going into business, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY A NEW TLB!

I am 75 years old, and I will NEVER SELL MY TLB !!!!
I would ask that it be used to dig my grave, but I doubt that a national cemetery will allow that.

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

I got about 30 hours on my Kubota bh92 backhoe. Here is a video about my honest opinion of it.
pros and cons of a backhoe implement & what can it do? - YouTube

 

[KenB2920]

Any updates? How’s the hoe treating you? Any regrets ?

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

Any updates? How’s the hoe treating you? Any regrets ?

Hi Ken. My backhoe works very good and I like it. Of course it has it's pros and cons. Pros is it is powerful when hooked to my L4740. Other complain of performance issues when used with smaller tractors. I took out a cluster of 3 stumps, 2 foot per stumps. The removal of this stump cluster can be seen at A hack for the removal and disposing of stumps - YouTube It works well and the controls are smooth. I don't have not problem digging through clay with a 16 inch bucket. I don't suspect an 18 inch bucket would stop it either. Over all I like it but below is some factors to take into considerations:

1. the overhang(the hoe sticks out about 4 feet past the tires of the tractor) gets hung up on stumps and rocks when traveling the logging road or atv trails. You have to travel very very carefully because if the tires go down in a hole the hoe could get caught up on a rock. The hoes is robust but none the less I suppose you cold ben some stuff up. I suspect the overhand could also pose an issue when loading it on a trailer.

2. Some say there was a performance problem( slow) when hook to their tractor. At about 2000 rpms hook to my 47 hp tractor it's not to bad. You can see the speed it operates at 2000 RPMs near the end of the above video. You can decide if that is fast enough for your liking.

3. When it comes to ditching a trail it has some draw backs. It is a bit more ackward then an excavator to use if you can't straddle the ditch. I got a work around for that problem. Instead of positioning back on to the ditch I drive beside the ditch and do the digging at a 90 degree angle to the tractor. I found that it would not be very efficient to get off the backhoe then go into the tractor to reposition it so I have a rope and pulley hooked to the HST peddle. This allows me to advance the tractor along the ditch which efficiently repositions the tractor.

4. My tires are loaded so pushing and lifting the tractor seems to be to much of a strain on the hoe and causes to much sideways twist to always be shifting the tractor from side to side. I do it only when I have to.

5. Another disadvantage of a backhoe over a mini excavator with zero clearance rotation is that you cannot position immediately beside a foundation side on. This because of the stabilizers comes down and the hoe is hinge in the middle of the tractor. Don't get me wrong you can still dig at 90 degrees of the tractor or position the tractor back on to the wall but it's harder to end up with a clean. I never did this task yet so I am just making assumptions on this one.

6. The manual thumb is very handy to have but it cost something like $1000. Personally doing what I do which is digging stumps, moving brush and rocks I could not be without a thumb. A hydraulic would be better but it is $3000 here in Canada. I am glad I went with a manual one because it work good and is less expensive. When using the manual thumb and your are doing a task of picking things up and moving them, you can adjust the length of the manual thumbs arm. This brings it closer to the bucket and you sure can use it efficiently. But then if you go to dig when you curl the buck you squeeze the ground tight into the bucket and wet clay doesn't always come out easily. So I have the thumb adjusted so that I can still pick things up, it's not usually in the way and it doesn't squeeze and pack a heaping bucket full of hard into the bucket.

7. I heard that when you switch out the bucket you can somehow mess up the pin which can be a bit expensive to repair. Maybe somebody can shed some light on this. At any rate I kind wish I bought the quick attach bucket system. It was another $1000 or so here in Canada.

8. Taking on and off the backhoe is not to bad but keep in mind that although you can put it on and take it off without taking off the 3 point hitch system is is highly recommended that you do in fact take off the hitch. Apparently you can bend stuff up.

9. You cannot touch or use the other rear hydraulic ports when the backhoe is attached. Apparently you can cause yourself very expensive repairs if you do so like blow out the hydro pump. When I have the backhoe on I lock the lift arm leaver with the little thumb screws. This way I don't accidentally move the three point hitch cylinders. Without the 3point hitch arms on I don't know if it would do any damage or not but potentially using the rear hydro functions in anyway with the backhoe install can cause repairs so I don't take a chance. I lock the 3 pt hitch arm lever.

9. I have other projects I did with my backhoe which can be seen on my youtube channel. I have some outdoor videos as well so you may have to scroll around to find the backhoe videos. Green Acres
- YouTube

Hope this all helps.
Ray

 

[KenB2920]

Hi Ken. My backhoe works very good and I like it. Of course it has it's pros and cons. Pros is it is powerful when hooked to my L4740. Other complain of performance issues when used with smaller tractors. I took out a cluster of 3 stumps, 2 foot per stumps. The removal of this stump cluster can be seen at A hack for the removal and disposing of stumps - YouTube It works well and the controls are smooth. I don't have not problem digging through clay with a 16 inch bucket. I don't suspect an 18 inch bucket would stop it either. Over all I like it but below is some factors to take into considerations:

1. the overhang(the hoe sticks out about 4 feet past the tires of the tractor) gets hung up on stumps and rocks when traveling the logging road or atv trails. You have to travel very very carefully because if the tires go down in a hole the hoe could get caught up on a rock. The hoes is robust but none the less I suppose you cold ben some stuff up. I suspect the overhand could also pose an issue when loading it on a trailer.

2. Some say there was a performance problem( slow) when hook to their tractor. At about 2000 rpms hook to my 47 hp tractor it's not to bad. You can see the speed it operates at 2000 RPMs near the end of the above video. You can decide if that is fast enough for your liking.

3. When it comes to ditching a trail it has some draw backs. It is a bit more ackward then an excavator to use if you can't straddle the ditch. I got a work around for that problem. Instead of positioning back on to the ditch I drive beside the ditch and do the digging at a 90 degree angle to the tractor. I found that it would not be very efficient to get off the backhoe then go into the tractor to reposition it so I have a rope and pulley hooked to the HST peddle. This allows me to advance the tractor along the ditch which efficiently repositions the tractor.

4. My tires are loaded so pushing and lifting the tractor seems to be to much of a strain on the hoe and causes to much sideways twist to always be shifting the tractor from side to side. I do it only when I have to.

5. Another disadvantage of a backhoe over a mini excavator with zero clearance rotation is that you cannot position immediately beside a foundation side on. This because of the stabilizers comes down and the hoe is hinge in the middle of the tractor. Don't get me wrong you can still dig at 90 degrees of the tractor or position the tractor back on to the wall but it's harder to end up with a clean. I never did this task yet so I am just making assumptions on this one.

6. The manual thumb is very handy to have but it cost something like $1000. Personally doing what I do which is digging stumps, moving brush and rocks I could not be without a thumb. A hydraulic would be better but it is $3000 here in Canada. I am glad I went with a manual one because it work good and is less expensive. When using the manual thumb and your are doing a task of picking things up and moving them, you can adjust the length of the manual thumbs arm. This brings it closer to the bucket and you sure can use it efficiently. But then if you go to dig when you curl the buck you squeeze the ground tight into the bucket and wet clay doesn't always come out easily. So I have the thumb adjusted so that I can still pick things up, it's not usually in the way and it doesn't squeeze and pack a heaping bucket full of hard into the bucket.

7. I heard that when you switch out the bucket you can somehow mess up the pin which can be a bit expensive to repair. Maybe somebody can shed some light on this. At any rate I kind wish I bought the quick attach bucket system. It was another $1000 or so here in Canada.

8. Taking on and off the backhoe is not to bad but keep in mind that although you can put it on and take it off without taking off the 3 point hitch system is is highly recommended that you do in fact take off the hitch. Apparently you can bend stuff up.

9. You cannot touch or use the other rear hydraulic ports when the backhoe is attached. Apparently you can cause yourself very expensive repairs if you do so like blow out the hydro pump. When I have the backhoe on I lock the lift arm leaver with the little thumb screws. This way I don't accidentally move the three point hitch cylinders. Without the 3point hitch arms on I don't know if it would do any damage or not but potentially using the rear hydro functions in anyway with the backhoe install can cause repairs so I don't take a chance. I lock the 3 pt hitch arm lever.

9. I have other projects I did with my backhoe which can be seen on my youtube channel. I have some outdoor videos as well so you may have to scroll around to find the backhoe videos. Green Acres
- YouTube

Hope this all helps.
Ray

Wow! Lots of great info! Thank you!

Can you add quick attach bucket or hydraulic thumb after the fact? (I realize it may cost money, just curious if its possible)

As for your videos, I watched one the other day. I will now scroll through and watch more.

As bad as this sounds, I’ll probably rent a stump grinder for a day to clear out a ton of stumps I currently have. However, I would like to use the hoe in certain stumps.

I can totally see the overhang causing some issues. Does this actually stop the machine? Or does it bang it up?

Our machines are extremely similar so hopefully speed is adequate. Even if it’s slow. And I am sure after a long day of using it, it may get annoying. But it’s better than spending double on a comparable mini and it beats using a shovel.

I’ll have to look at my three point. Is it mostly Lynch pins and a couple bolts ?

Good call in locking out the 3pt when hoe is on.

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

Yep... you can add quick attach and quick attach bucket and a hydraulic thumb after the fact. Stump grinding is not that bad but it does leave the stump in the ground and on big stumps you hard to get 6 inches below ground level. As for the overhang I did not bend anything or know anybody that did however I crawl in bad condition because if you hit a big sold rock going even 5 to 10 km it would give it a bad wallop. I suspect if it hit the stabilizer mount it could bend them. If you really don't want a backhoe and it's just for the one project you could rent an excavator. As for getting off the 3ph it's not to bad. The worse thing is if you loose the hardware it cold cost me 4 hours maybe 4 days to get another one as I live in a remote area. take care.

Wow! Lots of great info! Thank you!

Can you add quick attach bucket or hydraulic thumb after the fact? (I realize it may cost money, just curious if its possible)

As for your videos, I watched one the other day. I will now scroll through and watch more.

As bad as this sounds, I値l probably rent a stump grinder for a day to clear out a ton of stumps I currently have. However, I would like to use the hoe in certain stumps.

I can totally see the overhang causing some issues. Does this actually stop the machine? Or does it bang it up?

Our machines are extremely similar so hopefully speed is adequate. Even if it痴 slow. And I am sure after a long day of using it, it may get annoying. But it痴 better than spending double on a comparable mini and it beats using a shovel.

I値l have to look at my three point. Is it mostly Lynch pins and a couple bolts ?

Good call in locking out the 3pt when hoe is on.

 

[KenB2920]

Yep... you can add quick attach and quick attach bucket and a hydraulic thumb after the fact. Stump grinding is not that bad but it does leave the stump in the ground and on big stumps you hard to get 6 inches below ground level. As for the overhang I did not bend anything or know anybody that did however I crawl in bad condition because if you hit a big sold rock going even 5 to 10 km it would give it a bad wallop. I suspect if it hit the stabilizer mount it could bend them. If you really don't want a backhoe and it's just for the one project you could rent an excavator. As for getting off the 3ph it's not to bad. The worse thing is if you loose the hardware it cold cost me 4 hours maybe 4 days to get another one as I live in a remote area. take care.

Thank you much

No, I really would like one and know it would come in handy for years to come. Plus, it’s the next step in business to grow just a touch.