Backhoe backhoe pull trenching?

[jimmyj]

I was wondering if it would be possible to make a shallow trench by setting the backhoe bucket about a foot into the ground and then driving the tractor forwards. I get that it would be really hard to keep it from going up and down but I wonder if any of you guys have thought about it.

To me, stability could be a problem with no stabilizers down. Intuitively it seems like a dumb idea but I still admit to wondering about it. Also, it'd have to be loose ground vs clay.

Any comments?

 

[Ken45101]

The backhoe hydraulics are designed to limit the power so that the boom, cylinders, etc. do not get damaged by overload.

If you start dragging the hoe and have enough traction, you could bend or break things. Even if it worked for a bit, if you hit a rock, your momentum could be enough to exceed the hoe design.

Actually I suspect that you wouldn't have the ground power to do what you want unless it was shallow, loose soil. But if you did have the traction, I'd be very worried about bh damage.

Ken

 

[jimmyj]

That makes sense Ken. "Use something in a way that it's not intended to be and you can count on an unexpected result"...

 

[chrisdvorak]

its a good idea but i don't think it would work

 

[RickB]

its a good idea but i don't think it would work

Calling it a good idea is a stretch.

 

[Steve_Miller]

Subsoiler , single mold board plow or a single furrow plow would probably be your best bet depending on what you plan on doing.

Steve

www.hoopermachinery.co.nz/images/subsoiler.jpg

http://www.walcoequipment.com/Images/mvc-024f.jpg

http://media.photobucket.com/image/mold board plow/kvjohndeere/100_0532.jpg

 

[jimmyj]

Just for the record, I have no intention of doing this it was just a crazy question. I was digging a few holes that were elongated and I was pulling the bucket towards me maintaining about a 1 foot depth and thinking "this makes a pretty good trench, if I somebody was driving the tractor we could make a long trench real quick."""

My mind cannot be readily explained!!!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

A good middle buster works great for trenching. Mine makes about a 20" deep trench. Way faster than any other way that I know of. But I think that you would need to have rock free earth for it to work good. I have dug a 300' trench in only a few minutes. As long as you don't need to go very deep, mine works very well.

 

[Scooby074]

As the other guys said.. Shock loads plus the lack of traction = Bad idea

 

[Ken45101]

A good middle buster works great for trenching. Mine makes about a 20" deep trench. Way faster than any other way that I know of. But I think that you would need to have rock free earth for it to work good. I have dug a 300' trench in only a few minutes. As long as you don't need to go very deep, mine works very well.

With dirt like you have, anything would work well, LOL.

Last year I tried that approach, not with a middle buster but with the single tooth subsoiler. All was going well and then suddenly it twisted, bent the top of the subsoiler and twisted and broke the heavy duty toplink!

I found that it had hit an old buried fence post and tried going sideways

I finished the task with the backhoe.

Ken