Backhoe Woods BH80x or Kubota BH77?

[L39matt]

I am looking at buying a backhoe for my L3901. Does anybody have experience with a woods BH80x on a similar sized tractor? I know the BH77 is a good backhoe but I think a hydraulic thumb would be a great time saver over a mechanical. I would appreciate any input from owners or users of either hoe. It wold be used mostly for stumping and log lifting, not much trenching or heavy digging.

 

[Tompet]

I have the bh77 and for its size I am pretty happy with it. I purchased a ripper tooth that cmes in handy at times. In the past I had a scut Massey with BH and a kubota b2920 with a bh65. One reason I traded for the bh77 was full 180 bucket rotation and 180 swing with dual swing cylinders, besides a more power.

I do think the new woods BH75 is closer to the kubota BH77 as far as listed specs, so the 80x is stronger.

If you would happen to get the bh77 I would suggest the 16" bucket vs the 12" for much less clay and soil sticking in bucket. The 12" bucket on the kubota held sticky soil more than the Massey 12" for example due to a little different profile.

I would have no concern going with the woods BH. Sure, hydraulic thumb would be nicer than the mechanical thumb I have, so another detail for you to decide! I saw one on tractor house at a good price, but I don't know what price difference you will find between the two.

 

[L39matt]

Thanks for the input. I haven't priced them yet but I'm not expecting too much of a difference, especially with the hydraulic thumb option closing some of the gap. I was planning on at least a 16" bucket figuring the extra width would help with getting a good stable bite on logs. Glad to hear you're happy with the BH77, I haven't found anyone yet that isn't. Finding someone with time behind the Woods is proving to be difficult.

 

[RCman]

When I was deciding what to put on the back of my L3540 it was down to the Kubota BH92, Woods BH90x and the Woods BH80x. I threw out the BH77 as it did not have a hydraulic thumb option which was a must for me.
No matter what tractor mounted backhoe you use just remember it isn't an excavator so stumping is going to take some time. Ultimately I went with the BH80x it really came down to cost and size when stored. I welded up a simple frame from some c-channel and tossed some casters on it and it rolls easy and is pretty compact for a backhoe when off the tractor.

I'm happy with the BH80x and have no complaints this far. You can save a ton of money by doing the install yourself. It isn't complicated; especially if you don't have to get creative with the hydraulic system like I did. The wheels did NOT have to be removed on my L3540 to put on the subframe (which was a bonus since my are filled and this quite heavy).
More info here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/.../340709-l3540-rear-remotes-bh80x-backhoe.html

 

[L39matt]

I just got off the phone pricing some backhoes and the BH80-X was over 12k compared to 9k for the BH77. That is a much bigger difference than I was expecting. I do still really want the hydraulic thumb but now I have to decide if it is worth 3k to me. Your install looks good, I'm pretty sure I could handle it myself to save a few bucks. Would you still make the same decision with the price difference I'm faced with? How handy is that thumb?

 

[RCman]

You may want to call around on some pricing. I got my BH80x with the subframe, hyd. thumb, and freight shipping to a business for around the number you were quoted for your BH77. When I called around the difference between some dealers was several thousand dollars, for the exact same thing. Some want to push one product over another and some want to genuinely help. It pays to do a little homework.

The thumb is SUPER handy. With practice one can become very good with it as it is a simple foot treadle. Roots, rocks, the heads of dandelions even; just pick them right off. :laughing: :thumbsup: I don't have to leave the seat for anything other than moving the tractor. Without a doubt I wouldn't go without one and like I said above you should be able to get the price much closer with some phone calls.

 

[mguitas]

If it was me, I would get the factory hoe.

 

[RCman]

If it was me, I would get the factory hoe.

Normally I would agree but the OP is looking at a BH77 which does not have a hyd. thumb option.

 

[L39matt]

If the Kubota had the thumb option I wouldn't even be looking at other brands. I did some searching for an aftermarket thumb option for the BH77 and came up empty handed.

 

[blucoondawg]

I've got the Woods bh90x I'm very happy with it, your pricing seems to be way out of line, I got mine for around 8500 shipped, that's not including sales tax since I bought it out of state. I ordered mine from Rosseels Farm and garden in lower Michigan, check out their pricing I couldn't beat it.
I don't know about the bh77 but I guess some of the Kubota hoes use a single swing cylinder and don't have a full 180 degree range of motion, that would be completely unacceptable to me.