Dig-It towable Backhoe partial restoration

aczlan · Aug 1, 2016

On the license plate question, it depends on the state.
In NY (and in most states) it would be treated the same as a tow dolly, boomlift or a cement mixer and it would not need a plate.
However, some states (Mass perhaps?) It would need a plate to be legal.
Aaron Z

Wa11banger · Aug 1, 2016

Jesse,
First, thanks for posting your rebuild to this thread. Great work and I would be interested in hearing some of your real problem areas if you have the time to write to them. I have experienced a few myself but most of it was due to the rig job the previous owner/owners did to it. I would love to see your project posted here as it completes and I am sure all the others who subscribe to this thread would also. I have feared doing a complete tear down like you have but it looks great so far.

I do have a plate mount on one of my fender but do not have a plate there. I regularly transport mine between Alabama and Tn. and so far no problems. There are many state and local trooper in my path and none yet have said anything about it.. I believe it is as aczlan has stated and that its not a transport trailer and therefore may not need a plate.. To get confirmation you are going to have to check with your state laws. I have to date been taking my chances but in heavy trooper country so far so good.

jim44 · Aug 2, 2016

I think in TN you don't need a plate on any trailer.

JHolman05 · Aug 8, 2016

Over the past week we've got it to about 95% done. The mount that connects the bucket to the the cylinder was a little tweaked and my brother would like to replace it, so that'll be the last thing to get it going. Other than that we just need to clean it up, touch up some paint, weld the fenders on, run some lights, and put on the fresh decals.

Now we're interested to see how this little guy digs.

I'll post up some more pictures when it's complete.

Wa11banger · Aug 8, 2016

Looks great.. How hard was it to tighten back up... Mine is very loose in the boom. I already replaced the king pin and bushings but that didn't help too much although its better.

Also, were you able to test your hydraulics prior to tear down? Mine work but are not super smooth and also cant move more than one object at time.. Example I cant curl and pull or swing to the side and extend at the same time.. its one at a time for all movements

JHolman05 · Aug 29, 2016

Wa11banger said:
Looks great.. How hard was it to tighten back up... Mine is very loose in the boom. I already replaced the king pin and bushings but that didn't help too much although its better.

Also, were you able to test your hydraulics prior to tear down? Mine work but are not super smooth and also cant move more than one object at time.. Example I cant curl and pull or swing to the side and extend at the same time.. its one at a time for all movements

It has tightened up substantially from before, still has a small amount of play but not bad. We've yet to really use this, as we were wanting to get it as close to 100% as possible and it's been raining so we don't want to be digging in the mud.

I'll let you know about the two movements at once.

Attached are some pictures, only things left to do are wire on the led tail lights and put the hour meter on. This thing has been a lot more work than we thought when we bought it. We ended up replacing the front outrigger cylinders as well, they were seeping and we found a standard size one that worked with a little grinding.

Wa11banger · Aug 29, 2016

Well it looks great! You all did a great job restoring it. I'm just a little jealous, mine is calling me saying rebuild me man. Come on, don't leave me all rusty

Lynnman · Oct 3, 2016

Just purchased a Dig It 158 in Washington state. I towed it home 100 miles. I called my State Patrol about the license issue and received an "I'll have to look into that and get back to you'. Haven't heard back yet - I think I'm okay.

Question: has anyone installed a hydraulic thumb? Could one be controlled with the auxiliary hydraulic circut?

Wa11banger · Oct 3, 2016

Mine doesn't have the aux I would assume one could be controlled by any dual action circuit. I did install a manual thumb on mine and have used it a lot. I would think a hydraulic one would be slightly easier to deploy for sure.