woods groundbreaker BH modification???

[digger2]

Hey guys,I have a Woods 6500 groundbreaker on my B7610 Kubota.Its the one w/the long "A-frame" type mount that goes from mid point on the tractor
all the way back to the rear of the hoe.The hoe is great except for one thing,
ground clearance is really bad.It seems like if you run over anything bigger than a ant hill the hoe drags,at the rear.Also,i have to back it onto my trailer
when i load it or the same thing happens,even w/8' ramps.
What i was thinking about doing is to shorten up this mounting frame to give me a better "angle of departure",as the manufacturers are calling it now.
The hoe has its own seat,and this seat is about 4" away from the tractor seat
when the tractor seat is all the way back,so although it isnt much,i think it would be some help.Being that it has a pto pump w/flexible lines,and its own hydraulic tank,I think i could do this and still have room to get the pump off.Also thought about raising the hoe while i was at it,but this thing only goes 6 1/2 feet deep now and i dont want to lose any of that depth.Besides if i did raise it it would mess
up my outrigger operation.And if i did raise it then moved my outriggers down
to the original location,i'd be right back where i started from.Dragging.
SO,any ideas on this????Has anybody else tried this,or is there another solution,maybe something i havent thought of.I realize i'll have to shorten up my top link if i do this.But that plus the frame shortening isnt a real problem as i weld for a living.Does anybody out there have the same problem with their Groundbreaker or is it just me.
Digger2

 

[shaley]

The "A" frame is called a sub-frame mount. I had the same problem because of turf tires. Is the frame dragging or just the hoe? I had to raise the frame by 3" by vertically staggering the rails.

 

[digger2]

how much did this affect your outrigger operation?What i mean is,you can still raise your tires off the ground a fair amount cant you?My frame isnt dragging,just the very back of the hoe.I was afraid raising it as you did would adversly affect my outriggers.It is obvious that it reduces your total digging depth by about 4".Am i right?Your job looks almost exactly like what i'm thinking of doing.What tractor do you have?


thanks, digger2

 

[Fabro]

What kind of tires do you have? maybe you could raise it with R1's !
just a thought because tire height varies somewhat.

 

[digger2]

I have R4's.I dont want to change them as this tractor only has 130 hrs. on it
and they are like new.Thanks for your input.
digger2

 

[shaley]

The boom knuckle was the only thing that dragged as well. Stabilizers usually have a lot of extra travel so I haven't had a problem. I have the BH9000 on a Ford 2120.

 

[dqdave1]

Can you shorten toplink; I think it is adgustable; shortening it will raise rear of hoe.

 

[digger2]

dqdave1,my toplink only adjusts about 1 1/2" max. I plan on shortening my subframe about 4".I'll just about have to shorten my top link the same amount as my shortening job on the subframe so everything will work.
I see you have a woods BH also.Are you thinking about doing the same thing maybe?If you look at the picture that Shaley put on,you can see where he cut the subframe,raised the rear part,and welded them back together,
killing two birds with one stone,raising it and shortening it at the same time.
Although i'd like to, I'm not sure i'm going to raise mine yet.But i am going to shorten it as much as possible,and still be able to get the pump on and off.
Reason i'm not sure about raising it?My outriggers will only raise my tractor about 6" now,and if i raise it the same way Shaley did,it will only raise it about 2",and i'm sure someday i'll need more than that due to the places i use this thing.Shortening it alone wont do as much good as shortening it and raising it,but it may just be enough for what i need.I'm also thinking about some kind of adjustable plate set-up on the subframe.When the weather breaks!!!!! digger2

 

[3RRL]

digger2,
I have the same problem. It would be great to do as shaley did but then you lose some reach and digging depth as you pointed out. That may not seem like a big deal, but with our short reach hoes it is. Getting the hoe to sit closer to your tractor would be my 1st choice, raising it 2nd choice.
Now, to deal with the shortening, it would be easy to get (slightly) longer hydraulic hoses so you can do all your hook up before the final frame mounting. That is, get in there and hook up the hydraulics and then back in farther for the final hook up. Same thing in reverse for taking it off. On the other scenario, if you still need to raise it, you can always add "platforms" to the bottom feet of the outriggers, like platform shoes about 4" or 6' tall to give you the same bite to the ground.

 

[digger2]

hey thanks 3rrl,i never thought about the longer hoses,great idea.Doing it that way i can really shorten it up.I did have an idea about the "platform" extentions in the back of my head though.I'd like to shorten the subframe as much as possible,giving me as much "angle of departure"(as they call it)
as possible.Of course i can only shorten it up so much.Another advantage
of shortening this hoe is better manuverability.Great idea.Thanks.It might even make it easier to put on and take off!!!!

digger2