I purchased the B90 Yanmar backhoe for my YT359C for right around 10K. Really, this is the black version of the Woods BH90-X backhoe with Yanmar markings. This price was for the backhoe itself, a 24inch bucket, the sub-frame for the tractor, the hydraulics kit and installation. It was purchased at the same time as the tractor. Prior to buying, I had some interaction with Woods. They indicated that the sub-frame is the same for the older "non-arched" version of the backhoe, so if I found an older back-hoe, it would fit directly on a new sub-frame for the YT359C. I thought about going this route, but I could only find the older backhoe for $5K in orange. The sub-frame could only be bought at a Yanmar dealer, so that was going to cost me in the realm of $1.5-$2K and with the hydraulics kit and installation, this would have me saving only about $2K or so. Just didn't seem worth it for a used backhoe, with whatever possible unknowns, in un-matching Kubota colors, so I went new.
I've done quite a bit of work with the backhoe over the past year, most recently putting in some drainage tile. When digging a long trench, it gets tedious switching between the backhoe seat and the tractor cab to move it forward, so I solicit help from one of my sons in the cab. It digs pretty quickly, so this really speeds up the process. I find that the backhoe is a good solid backhoe and strong enough for my needs. The backhoe can easily lift the back of the tractor even with filled tires, so care needs to be used, or you could flip it over. Always use the front bucket as a stabilizer and I recommend filled tires. I like the newer "arched" design of the backhoe boom. The attachment to the tractor is rock solid....no complaints there at all. The backhoe is pretty strong, but you will have difficulty with larger stumps. You need to dig way around the stump if you plan to remove a large one; watch some youtube videos on how to do this safely. There are a couple of other things to note. You'll want to create a nice level spot to take the backhoe on and off. This is because when backing up the tractor to attach, you don't have a lot of room for error. Things are packed pretty tightly in the back of the tractor and the sub-frame has to be hefty. If the tractor is tilted left or right, it is difficult to line up. Set yourself up a nice rest for the backhoe on blocks that won't sink in over time on one side or the other to cause tilting of the backhoe. This tilting problem is not specific to the Yanmar and I think any compact tractor would have similar issues with things cramped in the back. When the backhoe is off I find the 3pt hitch stabilizers run close to the backhoe sub-frame and need to be adjusted so that raising the 3pt hitch doesn't cause clearance issues between the stabilizers and the backhoe sub-frame.
Regarding usability, I find that the backhoe is not quite as smooth as I'd like, so it takes some getting used to. Sometimes if you are doing two operations at once, like moving the boom and dipper, one will take precedence. This can be annoying; I think Woods could have made this a bit better frankly.
The backhoe hydraulics sag over time, so use the pins to lock the boom always when storing and make sure the backhoe is set down on the blocks. If Woods had a pin for the dipper that would be helpful too, as I find that when the hydraulics sag, the lines pressurize and are harder to attach to the tractor after storage.
I have found that having the backhoe on gives an incredible difference in the traction. It is heavy, and cantilevered off the back, so the center of gravity moves more toward the back wheels which have way more traction. It helps dramatically with loader work and makes steering much easier with a bucket load. I'm not sure if others have noted this, but without good
ballast, you can't steer easily with a load in the bucket. This seems to be true with many compact tractors. When stopped with substantial weight in the bucket the steering can't move the tires. You have to be rolling. I thought this might be something associated with the Yanmar, but we've compared another same-sized tractor and it has the same issue as well. I think I'll start a thread asking if others have this issue.
