Backhoe ANY KUBOTA BH SAFETY ISSUES ON L4400 & MX5100

[GILLYS CHILLI FARM AUSTRA]

Does anyone know of any safety and stability issues with using the BH on both these models as in Australia KUBOTA are not permitted to sell the BH 92 on both machines as its regarded as unsafe. Something to do with the ROPS height or distance from the tractor seat or the attaching framework needs to be strengthened..

Anyone able to shed any light on the issues as I cant imagine the issue would have come up and stopped the sale of the BH with both models unless there were some safety concerns?

 

[Kyle241]

No issues whatsoever on the MX5100 with BH92. Not that I have a lot of hours on the tractor but I have not found it any different in feel than the commercial TLB (B20) albeit a lot more power. I'm curious as to what the exact issue is.

 

[GILLYS CHILLI FARM AUSTRA]

I'm not sure yet...something to do with Occupational Health and Safety which our government has control over to reduce the incident of death by tractor.

in their bulletin to dealers THEY ADVISE THE NEED TO MODIFY THE LA714AU-B SUB FRAME AND AND ROPS HEIGHT TO ALLOW FITMENT...thats all the clue they give...
the outcome of their evaluation by there R & D Department is expected by 29th February

 

[Grandad4]

Perhaps this will add a little insight, even though it's for an older model. When we added a 4560 factory backhoe to our Grand L4610 a while back (the BH was the predecessor to the current BH90/92 series), the installation involved replacing the original ROPS with one that was at least 6" taller, and it was included as part of the backhoe package. The backhoe mount was designed to only work with the correct ROPS. At the time, the dealer said the backhoe (it is a heavy son of a gun) altered the roll-over characteristics enough that the taller ROPS was necessary to prevent a full roll-over.

It may be that something similar is going on in your situation. Maybe the Australian OSHA standards are more severe than those in the US, and maybe the company (Kubota) doesn't expect to sell enough backhoes down under to justify financially all the steps involved in modifying the design. Moreover, one wouldn't expect a dealer to be willing to assume the risk involved in importing a "grey market" backhoe behind the company's back just for one customer.

Unfortunate if that's the situation. The BH92 is by all reports a fine unit.