B3030 with BH75 or BH80-X Clearance?

[Charlesaf3]

Stimpee - What you need in a hoe depends on your conditions. If you are digging small holes in loam, anything will work. Stumps on the other hand, you want the strongest hoe possible.

re depth, the Woods is a bit more, but I bet that won't make much difference in your life. More a length issue when dealing trenches, but still its nothing. Digging stumps strength matters a lot. And the curved boom is great.

All in I think the Woods is a bit better than the kubota (hence I bought it) but nothing dramatic. I do find the thumb quite nice, and if I kept the hoe I'd try to make it hydraulic.

I paid around 7-8k with thumb and subframe. No doubt they aren't cheap. I do find them phenomenally useful. You can get by fine without one with occasional rentals of a mini ex, but once you have one you will find millions of ways to use it.

 

[stimpee]

Yeah, I keep telling myself I could make do with rentals when needed.

I have no stumps to deal with. However my soil is not loam either, mostly clay.

Again, I can figure out some short term tasks that I would use it for over the next year or so, but that does not seem like enough to justify it. Sounds like the Woods hoe is more expensive than the Kubota hoe too, as I think I could get the Kubota hoe installed for about $6.4k.

I can't believe I am even thinking about this!

Steve

 

[swampvol]

I can't believe I am even thinking about this!

Steve

Too funny....thats exactly what I was saying a few weeks back. I had always wanted a bh, but when I found out (through MDM) that they fall under the 0%-42mos deal with Kubota I went for it.

I have already dug a 125 foot trench for a water line, dug a huge burn pit, transplanted a 4"x20' water oak and a maple the same size....all this past weekend.

The bh75 had no problems digging up either of those two trees...maple 10 minutes, oak maybe 30, and would have probably taken less time for someone who knew what they were doing.

The bh75 is pretty stout. It moves my 3400 around all over the place...again probably because I don't know exactly what I'm doing.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Yep, it'll move you. Loaded tires and weight in the bucket help. You also eventually get a feel for how to avoid it.

Backhoes are like crack. Now that I've had one the question isn't whether I need it, but whether to buy one twice as big

 

[vic4news]

Thread Revival:

Another thread revival for me today. Quick question, did anyone look into whether you could mount the BH80X on the B3030 using the B7800 subframe attachment, and just "modify" the offending piece of sheet metal that caused them to push the hoe out an down a bunch? Seems like that would be the best of both worlds.

Maybe I will sweet talk Charles into selling me his BH80X and then buy a B7800 subframe for it, and make it work on my B3030? Of couse it doesn't hurt that I have access to welding equipment, and a CNC shop at work if I get in a bit too deep...

Steve

I wouldn't want to raise the subframe on the B3030. It seems like this would impact the reach of the stabilizers, so you would be left with either a narrower stance or they wouldn't extend enough to take the weight of the rear tires.

Vic

 

[Charlesaf3]

That's a very good point.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Here is a pic of the bh 80x and an oak stump I dug today. Tree was around 40' high, 8" wide - not huge. But the tap root went straight down 8 feet !!! Doesn't look that big in the picture, but compare it to the length of the dipperstick.

This is something I find the thumb really useful for. First it lets me cut roots between the bucket and the thumb. Then it lets me grab the stump and lift straight up, which makes things like this a lot easier to get too.

Other pic is the tractor going from my driveway up a steep grade. Tough to see in the pic, I'd say 25 degrees or so. No problems with the hoe hitting, either going up or down.

 

[art]

The lower ground clearence will hinder loading on trailers if the unit is to be moved. We have only seen a couple of cylinders bent on the 75, no more then on any other make and actually less as a percentage of the units we sell.
Every tractor manufacturer builds their attachments to match the tractor performance. After market builds to fit as many tractor makes and models as they can to lower their investment. That being said one end of the spectrum or the other has performance issues compared to others.

There are plenty of after market companies that have slotted holes for mounts to be bolted to the tractor. Many of them on initial mounting you have to egg the holes.

 

[Northland]

Other pic is the tractor going from my driveway up a steep grade. Tough to see in the pic, I'd say 25 degrees or so. No problems with the hoe hitting, either going up or down.[/quote]

Charles-that 2nd picture is a beauty-it looks like the Shire

Nice rock wall

 

[madslick]

Hello everyone,
Once again thank you for your input.
I installed the BH75 last weekend. I volunteered the help of a neighboor and a friend for the last 1/2hour of installation. Overall, it took me 6 hours to install it. Not too bad.
I dropped the FEL before I installed the BH75 to facilitate the Hydraulic work and the installation of the subframe.

Everything that I needed was in the kit / crate including zip-ties.
THe instructions were pretty good also.

I love this hoe... works awesome.
Contacted local dealer and asked him about the over the center stop kit for the main boom.
THere is a service bulletin out on it and the stop-kit is free. Pulled pin and installed kit. That was it. Although the stop kit is simple, it is very effective.

Once again, thank you all for helping me make the best decision for my application. If you remember, I was really unbiased and worked the Pros and COns for my application.
In my case, the winner was the BH75.

Later,
Rick