My new B2620- 1st week review

[rider0]

BH65 Backhoe w/ thumb:

Not a whole lot of seat time on the backhoe. Part of that is it makes quick work of what I've thrown at it. Right off the delivery trailer I used it to dig up a 8" dogwood stump. Not huge, but it literally took 3 or 4 scoops to haul it out cleanly, even with me fumbling at the controls. Would have taken forever by shovel to due it. The clay is dense and hard.
I was talked into the 16" bucket and was glad I did. Its not overly large, but the BH has plenty of power for it and it makes quick work of things. The only thing I don't like is certain movements with the boom and dipper can't happen at the same time.

The backhoe's actually pretty nice compared to many other CUTs out there. The basic problem is that the tractor doesn't have a whole lot of hydraulic flow - you might practice with the RPMs up so it's more obvious what controls can be easily paired (and the answer is basically any of them). The trick comes with feathering the controls properly, and takes a bit of practice, again, because there's not a lot of flow in the system. Even with the RPMs up, you need to feather the controls precisely to keep the BH action smooth and free from jerkiness. You should be able to curl the bucket, crowd, and raise the boom simultaneously. Try that on some of the competing compact utility tractor backhoes- it's not happening.

 

[rider0]

4' Box Blade by Taylor Way:

I did notice the BB is just narrower than the tires. This did make it a pain when I was trying to ride close to something and grade. The Pt wood timbers were partially buried. I filled in around the outside w/ dirt and drove over it to compact. I also had the BB down to clean up and level the excess. Problem was I was always in 2-3" from the outside of the tires. Might be able to force an offset with the stabilizers, but really a 5ft BB may have been better. Seems like power and traction should be fine in most circumstances.
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You'll notice that several manufacturers (Landpride, Gearmore, EE, etc.) make 54" BBs specifically for tractors of this width. Your BB sounds a little on the light side, also. Something closer to 100lbs/ft. cuts a lot better. Try adjusting your top link to help the BB bite better.

 

[kcender]

Thanks. What mods have you done so far?

Hard to remember all of them but some are replacing TPH turnbuckles with adjustable stabilizers,adding LED lights to rollbar,bending loader control arm to a more comfortable position,raising throttle pedal for more comfort,adjusting brake arms to a more comfortable position,making a guard for the fuel filter,replacing the cheap lug nuts on the front wheels,making a bucket level indicator,making a guard for the hydraulic lines on the loader cross brace,welding a cross piece between the loader support stands to make it one piece,adding a plate to the seat bracket and painting it black,made a tow bracket bolted to the front frame,raised the PRV 10% to get the most out of the loader,and painted various pieces such as the exhaust and throttle lever.I am in the process of having wheel spacers made for the rear wheels to add chains for snow plowing and I will be getting a five foot bucket for snow removal.I haven't decided on a quick hitch for the FEL yet.Apparently one from the new 2650 will fit but it reduces your lift capacity,like all quick hitches,so I am still thinking on that.I also added mulching blades to the mower deck.I am also thinking of adding a spill guard the the FEL bucket with hooks,not quite ready to burn the paint off the new bucket :laughing:I am also making up a hitch receiver for the drawbar location.One other thing was to remove about 25 stickers from the tractor,Kubota couldn't get too many more on it.

 

[josolar]

Wow I'm surprised to hear about the mowing quality. I plan on turf tires, and am hoping for a good cut quality. Any pics of the mowing quality you can post. Thanks for the great review.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Great reviews and looks like you men are enjoying your Bs.:thumbsup:
The B may be quieter than a BX to you but I'm not sure about that. May be a judgment call.

 

[ericher69]

Great reviews and looks like you men are enjoying your Bs.:thumbsup:
The B may be quieter than a BX to you but I'm not sure about that. May be a judgment call.

JOHNTHOMAS; Check 4shorts video of his bx25D (oh yeah he deleted them) and you will see how loud and whiny the bx's are.

I believe it is because of the 2 range tranny vs the 3 range in the B

 

[Finnster]

Great reviews and looks like you men are enjoying your Bs.:thumbsup:
The B may be quieter than a BX to you but I'm not sure about that. May be a judgment call.

Yeah don't get me wrong, the bx is a fantastic machine with a slightly different set of specialties. You can't go wrong with it. If I ran out of projects for the B, I would seriously consider going to a bx. I can totally see how you traded around so much. They are all too much fun.

 

[Finnster]

The backhoe's actually pretty nice compared to many other CUTs out there. The basic problem is that the tractor doesn't have a whole lot of hydraulic flow - you might practice with the RPMs up so it's more obvious what controls can be easily paired (and the answer is basically any of them). The trick comes with feathering the controls properly, and takes a bit of practice, again, because there's not a lot of flow in the system. Even with the RPMs up, you need to feather the controls precisely to keep the BH action smooth and free from jerkiness. You should be able to curl the bucket, crowd, and raise the boom simultaneously. Try that on some of the competing compact utility tractor backhoes- it's not happening.

The backhoe is really nice, I'm just a crappy operator right now. I did kick the rpms upto about 2200. Maybe more would be better.
The bh also still scares me a bit right now. Lots of power to toss the whole machine around. I can see getting into a lot of trouble really fast of you are not careful.

Only one operation seemed locked out. It was moving the dipper in wouldn't let the boom move one way iirc. Idk, mostly I need to practice.

 

[murphy1244]

Fine job on the write-up! enjoy, very nice tractor.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

The backhoe is really nice, I'm just a crappy operator right now. I did kick the rpms upto about 2200. Maybe more would be better.
The bh also still scares me a bit right now. Lots of power to toss the whole machine around. I can see getting into a lot of trouble really fast of you are not careful.

Only one operation seemed locked out. It was moving the dipper in wouldn't let the boom move one way iirc. Idk, mostly I need to practice.

I had a similar experience with my BH65, now after 60+ hours of which easily half has been BH work the controls are second nature. Drop the RPM's to 1800 to start, movements will slow down and be less jerky though there won't be enough flow for some combo movements which may be what you are experiencing. Get smooth with the controls at 1800 then move up to 2200. I found I was using more fuel at 2200 so I dropped back to 1800 and instantly felt the BH was moving way too slow, its funny how quickly you will get used to working the controls faster while still maintaining smooth non jerky moves. Someone on the forum here pointed out that the BH just gets faster at higher rpm's not more powerful that was key.

Digging stumps was very good practice, working the boom, dipper stick, and bucket curl in unison ripping roots and stumps, positioning the bucket between, over, under roots, working the thumb, moving lots of dirt, digging large pits to bury the stumps in, stump digging was a fast track to learning the BH for me. Good luck and enjoy the new machine!