3 Point Lower Arms and Backhoe

[tmcj]

ScotNH, I see what you mean now. I had a different dolly concept I mind.

Not sure about yours but on mine when the arms are unpinned from the retainer they pretty much drop to the floor, and without the adjusters hooked up they swing outward pretty far also. Any chance you could just do that while dropping or installing the hoe?

 

[rScotty]

I worked the snot out of my BH. Way more convenient than renting, at least for me.

I didn't use my old BH much except for occasional digging holes or trenches. For rear weight I usually carried a heavy back blade.

But then one day we got a used BH that had a thumb attachment. That thumb and bucket combo turns out to be a whole different tool. It's so handy for general chores that it lives on the tractor permanently. We hardly ever use it for digging.

BTW, I take the lower arms off when the BH is on. But those arms are heavy and then have to be stored somewhere.
I kind of like the way yours stay on the tractor. If it were mine I'd keep that system and modify the dolly.
rScotty

 

[ScotNH]

ScotNH, I see what you mean now. I had a different dolly concept I mind.

Not sure about yours but on mine when the arms are unpinned from the retainer they pretty much drop to the floor, and without the adjusters hooked up they swing outward pretty far also. Any chance you could just do that while dropping or installing the hoe?

I think that might be an option. I bet I can just get under there and remove the 2 bolts holding the arms to the retainer, and swing them off to the side. Normally I unhook them from the retainer after unhooking the backhoe. Unless there is something about the backhoe physically preventing me from releasing them, it shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for the idea. I’ll definitely take a look at that soon.

BTW, I take the lower arms off when the BH is on. But those arms are heavy and then have to be stored somewhere.
I kind of like the way yours stay on the tractor. If it were mine I'd keep that system and modify the dolly.
rScotty

This is some of the feedback I was looking for. I guessed they created the system because it was an improvement over just having to remove and store the bars, but I don’t have the prior experience to judge that for myself. I think with the idea tmcj gave me, I may be able to release the arms from the retainer prior to removing the backhoe, and use the dolly design I had in mind. Keeping the benefits of not having to remove and store the arms just by changing the order in which I release/connect them from the retainer.

Thanks again for the replies!

 

[paulfun9]

As a new tractor owner do you have a ballast box or spreader to mount on your three point as a counterweight to your FEL for the winter?

Over the years I have saw many of those backhoes stored in different formats, not sure any are better than the other since you still have exposed ram cylinders. The backhoes main job is counterweight, on the smaller tractors they do not get much use for most people.

The backhoes main purpose is digging. Just because someone doesn’t know how to use it, does not change that.
By the time you get your excavator out here I would already have finished the digging and be on my way.