GC backhoe stabilizer feet

[tsteahr]

Has anyone flipped their stabilizer feet over so the pointy end goes into the ground? The BH on the GC is very strong and has no problem yanking the tractor around. The flat side of the feet are smooth and seem to slide on the ground. I'm wondering if flipping the feet over would give the stabilizers a little bit of bite on the ground and keep the machine in place a little better. They seem to be designed to be flipped over, but I don't remember the manual making any mention of this. I'm a little concerned about the hydraulic cylinder fitting at the end of the stabilizer are getting damaged if I flip the foot over. I'm also thinking I could bolt a couple pieces of channel steel to the feet to have a edge to bite into the ground. Then the fitting would remain protected with the feet in their normal position.

Any thoughts?

 

[Tompet]

Hi,
I had a 2310 and yes, absolutely flip the over for ground use. Actually the stabilizers on these units are very well designed IMO and you will be surprised at the difference. When you pull the pins to flip them you will see how the position holes line up to reinsert the pin in a different position to prevent your concern.
The flat side is ideally for the optional bolt on rubber street pads for hard surfaces like concrete or a surface you did not want to damage.
tp

 

[ray66v]

The main reasons the backhoe moves the tractor around are:

1. Because these tractors are lightweight. Weight gives resistance.

2 . Technique. As you gain experience, you should notice that these are ways to dig, that minimize movement, and ways that drag the machine all over the place.

 

[dragula]

Yea, flip them over. They're made for it and it can definitely make a difference.

As Ray mentioned, these things are so light that it's easy to drag yourself along especially on a lawn or grass.

I find that using the curl of the bucket more during digging helps a lot. Technique does help. I let a friend borrow mine not long ago and he called me up and asked me to come dig his trench for him because he was dragging himself everywhere. :laughing:

 

[irvingj]

Yep- pull the pin, flip over, re-insert pin. Here's some pics of how I did mine.

 

[tsteahr]

Thanks for the input gentleman! I will be flipping.:laughing:

Excellent point about using the bucket curl for most of the digging. I have learned that as well. Where my skill and experience is sorely lacking is getting rocks out of the ground efficiently. I have most of my issues when trying to give a rock a little tug to loosen it up.

Watching a skilled excavator operator is a site to behold. I had the opportunity to watch a veteran operator excavate a basement foundation that was blasted out from ledge. The machine never revved, never strained and the operator used the rock to build a retaining wall terrace with the skill of a mason. At the same time the builder for my house had just bought a brand new machine to do the excavation himself. He worked at half the speed, the machine bucking and surging the entire time. He beat the crap out of that machine so bad he ended up developing a crack in the boom. Had to have extra plate welded over it.

I learned then, it's all about the operator, not the machine.

 

[rjmack]

i found that the 'pins' in the stabilizer feet are basically useless, and once you really put the machine to the test they will just fall out and dissapear.

i run without them now. its quite easy to just raise the outrigger and flip the base one way or the other from the operators seat, depending on what you want.

one thing i did notice is that, when flipped (pin or no pin) there is a piece of flat bar running crossways that hits against the outrigger cylinder rod. there is just no way around it and no adjustment of the pin makes any difference.

btw, being able to easily move the machine around with the hoe can actually come in quite handy. when digging a long trench, it enables you to easily put the machine just where you want it. one tip, when you are moving the machine forward, (boom down and out) let the machine set back down on the outriggers before you stop the process, that spares your hydraulics a lot of grief. if you go too far and need to drag yourself back toward the ditch that's easy to do. i have also found that the machine works better closer to the ground, basically just enough to get the outriggers to grab... that also helps to minimize the amount of times that your heads bounces off the roll bar in the process of learning to walk the machine around with the hoe.