Bradco 609 on a L3710 GST

[Jim1764]

I don't want to take away from JohninCA and his Bradco troubles and all the great help he is getting from the list, But I just bought a used Bradco 609 and I need some input from anyone out there that might have the same setup as I do. I have been talking to Bradco and my local Kubota/Bradco dealer about what I need to install this backhoe on my tractor. The backhoe came off a John Deere 4500 so I know I have to change the mounting bracket on the hoe. I also know I need a mounting kit for the tractor. The problem is I have a Curtis cab on the tractor and Bradco says I need one type of extended mounting bracket for the hoe and my dealer, who has installed many of these backhoes says that even with this extension bracket I will still have to remove the rear panel of the cab.
So I ask the list, does anyone out there have a Kubota L3710 GST with a cab and a Bradco 609 backhoe?
What type of mounting brackets were used in your installation? Can you see any part numbers on the mounting frame on the backhoe?
How far back past the ROPS does the operators seat of the hoe go?
Any help would be great. I will be installing the hoe myself with the help of some freinds so I would like to order the mounting parts once and hopefully get the right ones.
I will try and get some pictures up of the tractor and the mounting brackets this weekend if that would help.

Thanks,

Jim Scheffler

 

[radman]

I have a Bradco 611 mounted on a 3710 Kub (no cab). The back of the backhoe seat touches the rear seat of the tractor. My head is just beneath the ROPS. It would probably require 1 foot extensions to miss the back of a cab.

 

[Jim1764]

radman, the extension bracket that Bradco recommends only gives 4" extra clearence.

Thanks for the reply,

Jim

 

[digger]

Jim, I had an L-3600 GST , which is the model the 3710 replaced, they appear the same except for stickers. With the 609 attached the hoe seat would touch the tractor seat unless it was fliped forward. The hoe seat was over the small tool box on the tractor. I haven't seen the extended brackets ,but I would be careful extending the brackets much. The 609 is alot of hoe for this machine and any relocation further back would probably require some weight added to the front. Great hoe I hope you can make it work with a cab.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi Guys,

I'm not ready for a Bradco backhoe quite yet (unless I tripped over a bargain at an auction.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) but had a few questions...

With the weight of the 609/611 approaching 1 ton, mounted on the rear of example L3710 w/loader... doesn't the front end still get light...?

How's the maneuverability of the tractor with that setup being "rearend heavy"?

Same with road travel... can you?

Did anyone start out using the tractor hydraulics and then later switch over to using a PTO pump... were there major/minor differences...?

Thanks... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Jim1764]

Thanks digger for the feed back.
>I would be careful extending the brackets much.
The guy I spoke with at Bradco said pretty much the same thing to not extend the hoe anymore than the 4" kit they recommend.
>I hope you can make it work with a cab.
Worse case I will remove the rear panel of the cab, which is easily done by removing 10 or so bolts and make some sort of temp panel to keep the rain out when I'm not using the tractor and put the factory panel back in for the winter for snow removal as I will leave the hoe off for the winter.

Thanks for the reply,

Jim Scheffler

 

[MChalkley]

John,

I had a Bradco 609 installed on an L3-something-GST and an L4310HST. Both had a FEL, of course, both with and without liquid ballast in the front tires.

I never had any problems with "lightness" in the front end. I did have a somewhat heavier 4-in-1 bucket on the FEL. Maneuverability was no problem on or off the road.

I used it with both tractors exclusively with the tractor's hydraulics. The only problem I encountered was that, unless you rev'ed the tractor up to at least 3/4 throttle, you didn't have enough flow to execute two functions at once. But, that was little bother, especially compared with the hassle of messing with a PTO pump, an extra tank, etc. One advantage of a PTO pump, of course, is that you have less chance of oil contamination with two separate, sealed systems. But it's not that much trouble to keep the quick-connects clean.

 

[radman]

On my 3710 w/FEL, the front end does not seem light at all. Yes, the hoe does wiegh nearly 2000 lbs., but the hoe sits very close to the tractor. If you think about it the 3pt lift is rated for 2300 lbs 24" behind the lift. Most of the hoe sits further forward than 24" behind the lift. Even with a full bucket of dirt and the hoe extended all the way, the front end does not see light (stabilizers are down). I have extended the bucket all the way without dirt in the bucket and again, it did not seem to be a problem.
With the hoe on, I can tell the wieght has been increased but not really different than other heavy 3pt equipment on the tractor. Road travel not really an issue although like anything, the more weight the slower up hills. My hoe fits very tightly and there is absolutely no looseness. Feels like it is permanently mounted to the tractor.
I currently use the tractor hydraulics but am considering buying a pto pump kit. I already have the pump (most expensive part) but would need to purchase the rest of the kit. As I become more proficient, the hoe seems a little slow. For the 611 model the recommended output is 10-12 gal/min and currently tractor has max about 8 gal/min.

 

[digger]

My comment on the front end being light wasn't meant that their was a problem keeping the front on the ground , just that when grading with the FEL it was too light on the front for a good feel for the bucket. I was very happy with the 609 and the 611 I had after. I felt that if either one had the mounting brackets extended rearward , that the handle on the FEL would be lost , at least to my feel for the machine . But that's just the way I like a FEL to work.