redsox1
Silver Member
If you go w/ a BH I strongly recommend getting the mechanical thumb at the same time. It will greatly increase what you can do with the bucket i.e. lifting rocks, logs, etc. IMO an absolute no brainer.
Backhoe for L3800
- Thread starter Mac in PA
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- kubota l3800
Kyle241
Platinum Member
Agree the thumb is nice but doesn't it add another $3-4k on the BH? That was my reason not to go for it. They are handy though got to admit.
zmjc
Silver Member
No, it adds a couple hundred dollars.
It's a mechanical thumb, not a hydraulic thumb. Just a piece of metal with a pin to lock it in place.
It's extremely useful.
Kyle241
Platinum Member
Gotcha. How does a mechanical thumb work then? The price is attractive. I have used the hydraulic one and really liked it but could not swing it along with the new tractor and other implements.
zmjc
Silver Member
You just swing the thumb out to the desired angle roughly, find the closest matching hole on the boom, and insert the pin to lock it in place. I forget how many positions there are - enough, anyway. Simple and effective.
redsox1
Silver Member
Ditto on the mechanical thumb, mine is from Kubota and has 2 positions. As mentioned the thumb is fixed in position by which ever pin you choose and then you just curl the bucket towards the thumb to grasp objects between the thumb and the bucket itself. You can then rotate the boom left/right and drop the object nearby out of the way or leave it in the grasp and drive it to another spot (for example I will dig out a stump, grab it and drive it to the nearest burn pile). I'm sure hydralic would be better but for the price difference the mechanical works great for this size tractor.
