Anybody using a backhoe attachment on their CUT?

[etpm]

Greetings All,
I just can't seem to get this out of my mind. I have a Yanmar YM2310 with an FEL and a Case 580CK backhoe. I no longer need the big backhoe. It digs well but the bucket is 2 feet wide. And the machine is huge compared to my Yanmar. Now the only digging I need to do is ditches for water lines and a few power lines. I could really use a small backhoe with a thumb.
I move a lot of rocks because we have so many and every time I dig I get more. My back is slowly fusing itself, some sort of genetic thing, and this makes it particularly hard on my back when moving heavy things. Being able to pick and place rocks with a thumb would save me a lot of trouble and pain.
I would love to have a small excavator but I can't justify the expense. I have been looking to trade my big hoe for a smaller one but haven't had any luck with that. So I'm wondering if a subframe mounted backhoe on my Yanmar would be useful. Maybe something like this: 5\' Dig Self Contained Backhoe, VL-BHM5 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:
I can build the subframe myself, I have a complete machine shop and welders and the expertise. Since I'm retired the shop is free for me to play in. The hoe would be powered with a PTO pump.
Anybody with a good amount of experience that wants to chime in I would greatly appreciate anything you would have to say.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[setxjeff]

I only have a towable backhoe so my personal opinion is if the 580 is in good mechanical shape I would build or buy a narrow bucket and thumb for the 580. you could rent a tractor loader backhoe in the same size as your current tractor for a few days and try it out before selling your big backhoe.

 

[Carl_NH]

Yes the Case is a big machine - have you considered getting a used 12-16" bucket for the Case and adding a thumb? You can find small buckets for $500 range, then add a thumb for similar cost. All in $1-1.5K

Or find a used BH to adapt a frame your machine and add a thumb - probably in the $5K range but it will be limited vs what you have today

 

[hornett22]

Greetings All,
I just can't seem to get this out of my mind. I have a Yanmar YM2310 with an FEL and a Case 580CK backhoe. I no longer need the big backhoe. It digs well but the bucket is 2 feet wide. And the machine is huge compared to my Yanmar. Now the only digging I need to do is ditches for water lines and a few power lines. I could really use a small backhoe with a thumb.
I move a lot of rocks because we have so many and every time I dig I get more. My back is slowly fusing itself, some sort of genetic thing, and this makes it particularly hard on my back when moving heavy things. Being able to pick and place rocks with a thumb would save me a lot of trouble and pain.
I would love to have a small excavator but I can't justify the expense. I have been looking to trade my big hoe for a smaller one but haven't had any luck with that. So I'm wondering if a subframe mounted backhoe on my Yanmar would be useful. Maybe something like this: 5\' Dig Self Contained Backhoe, VL-BHM5 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:
I can build the subframe myself, I have a complete machine shop and welders and the expertise. Since I'm retired the shop is free for me to play in. The hoe would be powered with a PTO pump.
Anybody with a good amount of experience that wants to chime in I would greatly appreciate anything you would have to say.
Thanks,
Eric

Says in the link it's for sub compact and three point hitch. No way

 

[Racenut]

I have the subframe type backhoe on mine, and after seeing how much banging around it can do, there is no way I would ever expect a 3pt mount to handle that.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a 3 pth backhoe for mine and wish that I had a subframe. I’ve done a lot of work with this as well as my last one, but the risk of breaking the rear housing is too great to continue using it.

Mine is a Woods 750, somewhere on TBN there is a thread where somebody converted his to a subframe. (I have it bookmarked on my computer.)

So yes, it can be done. Before selling your big backhoe though I would do as someone’s already suggested and try a compact tractor with a backhoe.

 

[etpm]

I guess I should have been more clear about the backhoe. I would not use a 3 point mounted one and included the one in the link to show the approximate size I am thinking about. I am hoping someone is using one in that size range and can comment on how useful or not the thing is. I am certain that any backhoe must be a subframe mounted one. I am not averse to buying a 3 point mount one and converting it to subframe mount. In fact, I have been looking at used backhoes online to see what's available and even though some are 3 point I still am interested because it would get converted.
Eric

 

[etpm]

Yes the Case is a big machine - have you considered getting a used 12-16" bucket for the Case and adding a thumb? You can find small buckets for $500 range, then add a thumb for similar cost. All in $1-1.5K

Or find a used BH to adapt a frame your machine and add a thumb - probably in the $5K range but it will be limited vs what you have today

I actually built a 6 inch wide ditching bucket that affixes to the main bucket. It works pretty well. But the whole machine is so big that it is really hard to use in a lot of places. I often have to park the hoe at 90 degrees to the ditch in order to dig. And that's a pain.
Eric

 

[etpm]

I have the subframe type backhoe on mine, and after seeing how much banging around it can do, there is no way I would ever expect a 3pt mount to handle that.

What tractor is it on? And how big is the hoe? Does it compare in size to the one in the link? I will not be using a 3 point mount, I just included the link to get a size comparison.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[newbury]

I've a Woods BH-70 on my B7610. It's a little big for the 7610 but when using it I always had plenty of power, my problem was more along the line of not enough weight on the tractor.
It's an expensive attachment but so aren't back operations.
Doesn't Yanmar make a BH?

 

[rScotty]

Sure you can do that. Yanmar used to make about 4 different models of subframe and 3pt PTO-driven backhoes for their 25 hp and under tractors. So did several other companies. Bradco still does. We had one...It was Yanmar model YBH600, and cost about $2500 back in 1985.

They aren't real popular and you could probably pick one up for under a grand today. There really isn't anything much to go wrong with them. Ours had a PTO pump and about a 8 gallon hydraulic tank with filter under your feet.
I used it for chores like you describe for about 15 years and did a ton of handy work.

It's almost a toy - but a toy that easily does the work of several grown men laboring with shovels and wheelbarrows.

Even these tiny hoes are rough and stressful on little tractors, and really throw the tractor around - but it sounds like you have the experience to avoid tearing up the machine. And if your tractor has automatic draft control BE SURE TO TURN THAT OFF! Draft Control can tear up a 3pt/subframe hoe and you with it. It almost happened to me.

But they are real handy. I replaced mine with a real TLB but if I hadn't I'd still have it. I've not seen a thumb for one. If I had mine back I'd at least put a mechanical thumb on it. No more power than it has, you wouldn't have to weld the thumb mount to the dipper stick, just use some old Chevy leaf spring U bolts ought to be enough.

rScotty

 

[etpm]

Sure you can do that. Yanmar used to make about 4 different models of subframe and 3pt PTO-driven backhoes for their 25 hp and under tractors. So did several other companies. Bradco still does. We had one...It was Yanmar model YBH600, and cost about $2500 back in 1985.

They aren't real popular and you could probably pick one up for under a grand today. There really isn't anything much to go wrong with them. Ours had a PTO pump and about a 8 gallon hydraulic tank with filter under your feet.
I used it for chores like you describe for about 15 years and did a ton of handy work.

It's almost a toy - but a toy that easily does the work of several grown men laboring with shovels and wheelbarrows.

Even these tiny hoes are rough and stressful on little tractors, and really throw the tractor around - but it sounds like you have the experience to avoid tearing up the machine. And if your tractor has automatic draft control BE SURE TO TURN THAT OFF! Draft Control can tear up a 3pt/subframe hoe and you with it. It almost happened to me.

But they are real handy. I replaced mine with a real TLB but if I hadn't I'd still have it. I've not seen a thumb for one. If I had mine back I'd at least put a mechanical thumb on it. No more power than it has, you wouldn't have to weld the thumb mount to the dipper stick, just use some old Chevy leaf spring U bolts ought to be enough.

rScottyView attachment 773024

I didn't even know Yanmar made one of these. I would LOVE to find one, especially for a grand! I'm gonna have to start looking. It looks to be a little smaller than what I was thinking of but with a thumb it would really do most of what I want it to do. If I could find one of these that cheap then I will keep the Case, just in case. Pun intended. The small size might just be perfect if I keep the big machine. And I already have a Yanmar tiller so it would have company when the post hole digger or back blade is on the tractor.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[Jstpssng]

I guess I should have been more clear about the backhoe. I would not use a 3 point mounted one and included the one in the link to show the approximate size I am thinking about. I am hoping someone is using one in that size range and can comment on how useful or not the thing is. I am certain that any backhoe must be a subframe mounted one. I am not averse to buying a 3 point mount one and converting it to subframe mount. In fact, I have been looking at used backhoes online to see what's available and even though some are 3 point I still am interested because it would get converted.
Eric

You stated that in the beginning, but sometimes things get lost over the course of the discussion. I believe that is similar in size to my Woods 750. It was one of my most used implements, second only to my logging winch. I've dug stumps, water lines, and buried animals with it. My previous BH was a lightweight CadPlans kit, about 10% less powerful than my Woods. With that, I was able to finesse stumps out that my loader wouldn't lift. I even used the Caddigger to dig a 6 foot deep hole and set a 30 foot utility pole... THAT was a challenge!
It was one of my most used implements, second only to my logging winch until I realized how easily I could break the housing on my tractor just transporting it between holes. There's quite a bit of twisting action because all of the weight is in back of the mounts. I plan to either get my old 8N running or buy a subframe so that I can use it on my Kubota again.

 

[etpm]

I looked into a CadPlans kit, at least I think it was CadPlans, some time ago, over a year ago. It could have been someone else though. There was a death and 3 different folks in my close family had strokes in the last year or so and all that stuff has been stressful and kinda messed my sense of time up. Anyway, I contacted them and the hoe kit I looked at would only swing 150 degrees (I think it was 150) and I really want 180 degrees. I say that having experience with a hoe that swings just slightly over 180 degrees and even that has been limiting sometimes. I contacted CadPlans and they said the swing limitation was because their kits don't need machining and 180 degrees would require machining. Did you like your CadPlans hoe? should I maybe consider one and then modify it for 180+ degrees swing? Bear in mind that I do own a machine shop, with all kinds of welders and a plasma cutter available any time 300 feet from my house. I really only lack a hydraulic press, but I know a guy who will let me use his.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[Racenut]

What tractor is it on? And how big is the hoe? Does it compare in size to the one in the link? I will not be using a 3 point mount, I just included the link to get a size comparison.
Thanks,
Eric

Its an LS XR3135 and the backhoe is a bit bigger than the one in your link but it's not a monster or anything.

 

[Jstpssng]

I looked into a CadPlans kit, at least I think it was CadPlans, some time ago, over a year ago. It could have been someone else though. There was a death and 3 different folks in my close family had strokes in the last year or so and all that stuff has been stressful and kinda messed my sense of time up. Anyway, I contacted them and the hoe kit I looked at would only swing 150 degrees (I think it was 150) and I really want 180 degrees. I say that having experience with a hoe that swings just slightly over 180 degrees and even that has been limiting sometimes. I contacted CadPlans and they said the swing limitation was because their kits don't need machining and 180 degrees would require machining. Did you like your CadPlans hoe? should I maybe consider one and then modify it for 180+ degrees swing? Bear in mind that I do own a machine shop, with all kinds of welders and a plasma cutter available any time 300 feet from my house. I really only lack a hydraulic press, but I know a guy who will let me use his.
Thanks,
Eric

The Cad Kit has it's place but is pretty lightweight. It was way too easy for it to rip itself apart if I wasn't careful. You would be better off sticking with the plan you originally outlined; buying a manufactured unit and making modifications as needed. Since you know how to weld it wouldn't be a big deal to make a stationary or even a hydraulic thumb.

 

[mikester]

If you have back issues climbing in and out of the BH seat to get into the tractor seat every 3 feet will get old and stale real fast. Do yourself a favour and find a CUT/SCUT TLB that has a swivel seat.

I've owned an AG CUT with subframe BH and will never buy one again. AG tractors just aren't made to handle construction duty. Sub-frame BH's suck almost as much as 3PH BH.

Sell your Case 580 and buy an older used mini-x with a thumb. Thank me later.

 

[hornett22]

I have a Mahindra 1626 with factory backhoe. The 1626b . I like it and have used it quite a bit. Buried 4 horses with it. Dug out multiple stumps, dug several trenches. I definitely wouldn't want one smaller. The thumb, I rarely use. If I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't have bought it. Especially for the price. Seems likes it's more in the way than anything.

 

[check]

I have a Mahindra 1626 with factory backhoe. The 1626b . I like it and have used it quite a bit. Buried 4 horses with it. Dug out multiple stumps, dug several trenches. I definitely wouldn't want one smaller. The thumb, I rarely use. If I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't have bought it. Especially for the price. Seems likes it's more in the way than anything.

Not for me! My Kubota BX25 came with a frame mounted BH, and I find it very useful. Bought a thumb for it, and also a ripper tooth. It detaches easily in the fall when I swap it out for my rear-mounted snowblower, and it is stored out of the eay on a dolly in the garage.

It also serves as ballast for lifting heavy stuff with my FEL. If I didn’t have it, I would have to install weights back there instead, which serve no other purpose.

 

[hornett22]

Not for me! My Kubota BX25 came with a frame mounted BH, and I find it very useful. Bought a thumb for it, and also a ripper tooth. It detaches easily in the fall when I swap it out for my rear-mounted snowblower, and it is stored out of the eay on a dolly in the garage.

It also serves as ballast for lifting heavy stuff with my FEL. If I didn’t have it, I would have to install weights back there instead, which serve no other purpose.

I meant I wouldn't have bought the thumb again. I don't think it's worth anywhere near 500 for a manual thumb. It's gotten in my way a lot more then I've actually used it.

I love the backhoe itself which is frame mounted. I use it all the time. It's definitely worth what I paid for it. I have a 10" and 16" bucket. I don't think I need the ripper. Seems to rip through roots just fine. Installation and removal is pretty quick and easy. 5 minutes tops.