Is anyone looking at the M59?

[avc8130]

Here are some pictures of my thumb set up on the L45 the L45 comes plumb for the thumb already and brackets installed. Hope these help

Those pics do help!

I WISH they L45 came plumbed...but mine certainly did not. I can see the mounts for the pedal and I can see the mounts to add the valve. Those threaded bosses are also there.

How do the hoses route from the valve up the dipper?

Any chance you could measure the cylinder diameter and collapsed and extended lengths?

ac

 

[lhansman]

Hi Anthony

I know that the Kubota thumb price is exorbitant but I don't think you will be able to cobble together a setup that is more convenient to use than the Kubota one. If your L45 was plumbed from the factory for the thumb (as many early machines were) then there would be an extra valve in the backhoe manifold of valves for the thumb. The thumb hoses are then routed with the other backhoe hoses through the boom to the clamp points on the boom. The Kubota foot pedal is a very convenient way to use the thumb although I modified my pedal by adding some blocking on the side closest to the rear to make it easier to operate with my cab enclosure in place.

I think once you price out all the aftermarket components and then the time and effort to fabricate the custom parts to fit the L45 you will find that paying the Kubota price is not really all that bad considering the convenience. Frankly I think that $3,000 for all the plumbing and the thumb is a pretty good deal if that includes installation by your dealer. My machine already had the plumbing in place and I think it cost me an additional $2,500 just to have the thumb added.

I would like to add a swivel coupler to my L45 and so I am actually considering purchasing a second L45 thumb hydraulic kit and putting the second foot pedal on the left side to operate the swivel. It looks like there is enough physical room do do this but I need to investigate the hydraulic aspects in the spring.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[natem]

Here are some pictures of my thumb set up on the L45 the L45 comes plumb for the thumb already and brackets installed. Hope these help <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303905"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303907"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303908"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303909"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303910"/>

What size bucket is that?

 

[avc8130]

Hi Anthony

I know that the Kubota thumb price is exorbitant but I don't think you will be able to cobble together a setup that is more convenient to use than the Kubota one. If your L45 was plumbed from the factory for the thumb (as many early machines were) then there would be an extra valve in the backhoe manifold of valves for the thumb. The thumb hoses are then routed with the other backhoe hoses through the boom to the clamp points on the boom. The Kubota foot pedal is a very convenient way to use the thumb although I modified my pedal by adding some blocking on the side closest to the rear to make it easier to operate with my cab enclosure in place.

I think once you price out all the aftermarket components and then the time and effort to fabricate the custom parts to fit the L45 you will find that paying the Kubota price is not really all that bad considering the convenience. Frankly I think that $3,000 for all the plumbing and the thumb is a pretty good deal if that includes installation by your dealer. My machine already had the plumbing in place and I think it cost me an additional $2,500 just to have the thumb added.

I would like to add a swivel coupler to my L45 and so I am actually considering purchasing a second L45 thumb hydraulic kit and putting the second foot pedal on the left side to operate the swivel. It looks like there is enough physical room do do this but I need to investigate the hydraulic aspects in the spring.

Regards,

Lauren

Lauren,

The thing that has to be realized is that I am a homeowner. This is merely a "toy" for the most part. Sure, it has a designated role supporting my goat operation and processing wood to heat my home, but spending $3k+ on a thumb is just out of the question. If I was shelling out $45k for the machine new it might be easier to swallow, but with what I paid for the machine used spending $3k for a thumb setup is not insignificant.

Unfortunately my L45 is NOT one of the lucky "early" ones that came pre-plumbed. If it was plumbed already, I would have a thumb already.

The other issue I think I have is that my L45 has the KX41 quick change bucket setup. I don't think this is the "normal" one used so I don't even think the factory thumb kit would work.

Are there any hard lines used for the hydraulics?

ac

 

[Tailrotor]

What size bucket is that?

I have a 12 in and 24 in bucket. The one in the pictures is 12 in one.

 

[lhansman]

There are no hard lines used for the thumb hydraulics. I believe that my dealer said that the L45 hoe QA was the same as the Kubota KX121 excavator. If your buckets don't fit you can buy ear kits for the L45 from Kubota and cut the existing ears off your buckets and weld the new ones on.

I didn't mean to be flippant about the cost of that thumb. I just know that with my limited mechanical ability I could not build my own for less.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[avc8130]

There are no hard lines used for the thumb hydraulics. I believe that my dealer said that the L45 hoe QA was the same as the Kubota KX121 excavator. If your buckets don't fit you can buy ear kits for the L45 from Kubota and cut the existing ears off your buckets and weld the new ones on.

I didn't mean to be flippant about the cost of that thumb. I just know that with my limited mechanical ability I could not build my own for less.

Regards,

Lauren

Lauren,

Having to swap quick releases would add even MORE to the cost. I have been trying to determine which quick release I have and determine if it is the "right" one for the Kubota thumb. I THINK Kubota needs the K7966 quick release for the thumb. I believe I have the K7770. I attached a picture of the quick release setup I have. Is this the same as the one you guys with the thumb have?

The other interesting thing is that Kubota lists the BTB404 as the aux hydraulic setup for the backhoe. This setup has hard lines and looks like it is installed outside the backhoe arm. I wonder if this is the setup they use for hoes not equipped from the factory with the thumb?

ac

 

[curtisfarmer]

My custom thumb on my L48s where $3,400 as they didn't offer the factory optional thumb then. Worth every $. I couldn't imagine having a backhoe or excvavtor without a thumb. Can you imagine having no thumbs on your hand?Finally Kubota has built a better thumb than their excvataors which are way too small. I had my thumb built extra wide so it closes over the entire 24" opening of the bucket, while the KX series excavators have 2 skinny pincers.

 

[avc8130]

My custom thumb on my L48s where $3,400 as they didn't offer the factory optional thumb then. Worth every $. I couldn't imagine having a backhoe or excvavtor without a thumb. Can you imagine having no thumbs on your hand?Finally Kubota has built a better thumb than their excvataors which are way too small. I had my thumb built extra wide so it closes over the entire 24" opening of the bucket, while the KX series excavators have 2 skinny pincers.

Yeah, I believe that. Trust me, the plan is to have a thumb. I simply don't have $3400 to allocate for one. I am 100% confident that I can fabricate one significantly cheaper for myself. I'm not even sure Kubota offers a thumb "kit" for the setup I have. Buying a replacement quick attach and modifying the buckets I already have will just add to the cost/work to the point that it will simply never happen. I have a plasma cutter. I have a welder. I have the motivation.

The only struggling point I have right now is fabricating the replacement pin for the thumb to ride on. If someone could take rough measurements of the diameter and the overall length of the pin the thumb/qr ride on I may be able to buy the part from Kubota and use it with my quick attach. That would be GREATLY appreciated.

ac

 

[Big Wave D]

BX22: 0

BX24: 0

BX25: 1

B21: 1

B26: 0

L35: 1

L39: 1

L45: 5

L48: 3

M59: 4

____________________________________________________________________________________________________



Now, let's hear from the rest of Tough 'Little' Brutes Nation!