Backhoe Backhoe

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey guys - just wanted to report in - I dug a trench 36 inches
deep and 75 feet long yesterday for a power line to the shed building - the little backhoe mounted to the 1845 worked like a charm and even pryed out a 25inch rock - got the task done in short order

Was jsut wondering - how do you guys see with the mini hoe?
the backhoe works great - but you sit outside the cab when using it (like you do with a skid steer) - there are positives and negatives to that - the view is fantastic you are right on top of your work - but when digging a ling trench you have to keep getting off and back in the cab to reposition the tractor

Soooo - as usual I got to thinking (which always gets me in trouble with time and money) - what if I took off the backhoe seat and relocated the controls to two joysticks mounted off the ROPS so you can control themfrom the cab - the joysticks would have quick disconnect lines or I could also have the joysticks mounted with a pin or something so you just take them off and they go with the backhoe when not in use - because if you remove the seat and the control console from the backhoe - you could see pretty good form the cab - but the 1845 is fairly low the ground - you would not see nearly as well as with the backhoe seat especially if you go deep like 5-6ft or more - Any thoughts

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Oh no - at it again - what if I set it up so that you could use it either way - have the seat drop on a stub post with a pin and the main controls be removeable - that way if you are moving around alot and digging fairly shallow - you operate form the cab - but if you are digging stationary and deep - you can use the seat / controls outside the backhoe - but there are a lot of hoses - twelve I think (with supply / return for each cylinder
Ugh

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, that's one of the bad things about a tractor with no neutral. If you had neutral, you could just lift the outriggers and push it around with the backhoe, lower the outriggers and keep digging. The only way to move the PT is with the treadle pedals. It just won't move without depressing those pedals, and you could damage it if you tried.

You could mount a second joystick to the left of the steering column and get a selector solenoid for the right joystick. Then you could operate two functions of the backhoe using the existing joystick and the other two with the new joystick. Sounds like lots of work and plumbing, but you could probably get away with under $500.00 if you didn't go with an electric solenoid.

For as unoften as I would be using a backhoe, I think I could live with having to get off every few minutes to relocate the machine. I'm still wondering if I should get a CAD Plans backhoe and power it off of the PT or if I should go with the PT unit for the 1400 series as you did. Either way, it will be a few years until I have the funding $$$$$ /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Ed:
I've had the Lackender hoe for a year or so. The visibility isn't great, but will be improved when I get around to cutting the skidsteer mounting plate down to the PT size. I don't have any problem with the type of trench you describe. In fact, I use the reverse pedal to hold against the curl, and for a shallow trench in the saturated ground this Spring, i put the hoe in about 6" and back up. (I knew there was some advantage I could claim for the Lackender and mini-hoe over yours. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Except for moving the machine, however, I suspect you can out dig us easily, and not run the risk of running into the hole when you turn to empty the bucket.)

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Yea the swing part - Charlie is nice to drop the stuff your digging out of the way - also i can get down pretty deep right away - i suspect that would be tough for the mini hoe -
I had it down around 5ft - I think it will dig like 6 1/2

If you were in the cab - I don't think you would be able to see what your digging at that depth - but for the stuff I was digging the other day - 24 to 36 inches and really long the cab position like the mini - hoe would be great

I would suspect that for some jobs the mini - hoe would be great

Maybe I could have a jack up seat , put a trap door in the ROPS and grow some arms to reach the controls

We need sun - this rain is making me odd

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey David - thanks for the idea - I didn't think of the switch and the second joy stick - well won't be doing something anytime soon - was just thinking out loud - I'll tell you - for the money the PT backhoe is fairly nice - it has some drawbacks - most of the others are heavier in the frame where PT just uses simple square stock and it only swings 120 degrees I think - but that is OK for most jobs - it is really compact for storage and is probably much lighter than the most of the others out there Great Bend, Woods ETC It is also much cheaper - most of the small skid steer units are $6k and up - I never thought of building one - that really sounds like fun

Weight is an important factor - I don't think the 425 could handle much more than my backhoe - with that mounted it was quite a load moving it around -

One thing I have to do something with is the mount - it is much better on the 1845 but on the 425 it bent the bucket roll rod a bit - When you set it down to use it - the cylinder is pretty far out there and the curl bar is pointed down at a very large mechanical disadvantage - so when pull back on the "stick" cylinder to dig / pry into your work - you put a lot of pressure on that bar and it flexes a lot - the cylinder does not give - just the bar because of the very weak postion it is in - so I checked out the skid steer mount and - they don't rely on the roll cylinder to hold the backhoe in place - when they mount it they roll it into place and then a steel bracket locks on to the frame so you can't roll or move the cylinder any more -

So I need a similar set up - my will be more simple

ed

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue">One thing I have to do something with is the mount - it is much better on the 1845 but on the 425 it bent the bucket roll rod a bit - When you set it down to use it - the cylinder is pretty far out there and the curl bar is pointed down at a very large mechanical disadvantage - so when pull back on the "stick" cylinder to dig / pry into your work - you put a lot of pressure on that bar and it flexes a lot - the cylinder does not give - just the bar because of the very weak postion it is in </font>

I was wondering about that. That is why the CAD plans seemed like a good alternative. It supports itself and puts almost no load on the tractor at all. But then the CAD plans unit is about the same price as the PT unit and I'd have to build it as well. But it looked a little heavier duty and I think the model I was looking at had a little better specs as far as weights, reach depth and swing. Thanks for the info. I'll keep thinking and re-engineering it in my head for a few years and see how it goes. I might have the funding by then. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey David - where is the CAD plan ? do we have a link or a post - I would like to take a look at them

 

[davesisk]

Hey Ed:

Sounds to me like your best decision might be to add a mini-hoe in addition to your existing backhoe! The selector valves are actually relatively inexpensive, but you'll spend at least as much on the hoses and fittings as you'll spend on the selector valves!

Dave

 

[MossRoad]

Here's the link to their homepage.
http://www.cadplans.com/

And here's a link to the model I would be most likely to build if I were to do so. http://www.cadplans.com/821.htm