Using a backhoe for small jobs

[Tommilton08]

Just mounted a JD260 backhoe on my 2305 any suggestions on how to use it properly to trench etc. ?

 

[thatguy]

Not to be a smart @$$ - but practice, practice, practice LOL

hopefully you have some land you can go and practice on a) dig hole, b) cover hole, c) lather, rinse, repeat

Brian

 

[jmbrowning]

The biggest thing that was hard for me was figuring out how to take all the different arcs of the boom, dipper, and bucket to make a straight scraping motion parallel to the surface of the ground. Making long even trenches was harder than making deep perpendicular walls. The key for me was getting the ratio of boom lift and dipper drop to keep the bucket scraping evenly. I still haven't figured out how to do it well yet with the extendahoe other than reaching out with the boom flat down. Good luck!

 

[moored4]

As in everthing practice, practice, practice makes perfect!

:welcome: to TBN! :thumbsup:

Happy :tractor: ing!

 

[Tommilton08]

Thanks will take your advice

 

[Tommilton08]

Thanks for the advice. I have a 300 foot trench to practice on . I felt the same way when I started to Mig Weld...

 

[billb3]

Practice.

Careful arm wrestling with tree roots. The tractor can get tossed around a bit.

 

[tractchores]

A few hours of practice and you'll start to get the hang of it. I would recommend planning your trench so that you start and finish in areas where the tractor can get in an out of. For example if one end is at a wall then start at that end so you don't have to try to cross the trench after its dug. I would also think about where the dirt is placed, if the trench is just back filled it is easier, but if you're filling with gravel or something you want to set it up so you have to move the dirt as few times as possible. I would also get the hang of it for the first few minutes in an open area, its easy to hit the wrong lever and swing the boom into something causing damage when you're feeling out the controls.

 

[Reg]

The biggest thing that was hard for me was figuring out how to take all the different arcs of the boom, dipper, and bucket to make a straight scraping motion parallel to the surface of the ground. Making long even trenches was harder than making deep perpendicular walls. The key for me was getting the ratio of boom lift and dipper drop to keep the bucket scraping evenly. I still haven't figured out how to do it well yet with the extendahoe other than reaching out with the boom flat down. Good luck!

I'll second all that (-:
As a tip I would suggest beginners watch the dipper stick as a rough guide to how far down the bucket is in the hole.
For shallow trenches, the bucket pins can give a rough depth guide.
My initial problems were mostly with trying to take out too much at once.
Take it slow, less is more, etc. (-:

 

[powerpace]

Practice, Practice, Practice.
I use Spray paint or duct tape to mark the depth needed. I measure from the teeth.
Be careful swinging the boom side to side. Some backhoe models allow the boom to hit the outriggers, or step.
On some models bending the boom in a hard swing by hitting the trench side or stump is not unheard of.