Bobcat 905B backhoe attachment

[Renze]

Does anyone know what size they are ? i can buy one cheap, for 250 euro. It is missing two cylinders but i can replace them with some standard ones from (the dutch equivalent of) HF.
I was planning on welding 3pt brackets on it and use it behind my 3011 to replace the shovel on many smaller farm and house projects.

How big is this 905 backhoe and to which current model does it compare ? I cant find any specifications.

 

[Bob Rooks]

How big is this 905 backhoe and to which current model does it compare ? I cant find any specifications.

Here is an example with pics. (the hoes are kinda small, smaller than my LiTW) Bobcat Backhoe Attachments , Used Bobcat Backhoe Attachments - EquipmentTraderOnline.com

And here is a Google search that even produced some manuals.
bobcat 905b - Google Search

 

[Renze]

...found something on skidsteerforum dot com: it should be comparable to a 506 model.
Backhoe Attachment Specifications - Bobcat Company

I think its actually too small for my 3011 but the price seems right..

 

[Bob Rooks]

I think its actually too small for my 3011 but the price seems right..

I guess that's okay if you're just going to use it for a pick & shovel. Personally, I wouldn't bother with it. Get something a little larger and useful.... with a hydraulic thumb. And if you value your time and effort to repair the odd 905b, then you'll be money ahead to get a larger and more practical unit anyway.

The price is NOT right if it's use is that limited.

 

[Renze]

The price is NOT right if it's use is that limited.

Used tractor backhoes are rare in Holland. People who might buy one, are those with a CUT, people born on a farm, maintaining a property with 5 acres and a horse, will have a Ford Dexta or MF 135 and use a shovel when needed.
Its not a machine to dig some serious stumps, but CUT sized backhoes seem to sell for 2000 euro used.

If i can clean some drainage ditches with it, and dig the occasional trench, i'm happy for now. I'm sure that once done, it will sell for way more than i have in it.

The ultimate machine i'm looking for, is a machine that will pull the 5245 off its tires. It should be connected to the loader subframe then.

 

[Kernopelli]

For 250 euro Id jump on it. Shop around for the best cylinder price and it's still a bargain. Even being a little small, it will still do a lot of work and be a money maker for you when It's time to sell it.

 

[Renze]

For 250 euro Id jump on it. Shop around for the best cylinder price and it's still a bargain. Even being a little small, it will still do a lot of work and be a money maker for you when It's time to sell it.

The guy found one of the missing cylinders back and we've agreed on 300. New cylinders would start from 80 euro onwards so still not bad.

Once i have it home i'll decide what to do: Get the original size replacement cylinder for it, or get the next size up and extend the dipper, so i have a bit more outreach aside the tractor (which is two feet wider than the bobcat it was designed for) to clean ditches with a shallow 2 feet grading bucket.. Modifying and improving things is what i like to to, but the problem is time..

 

[Bob Rooks]

Modifying and improving things is what i like to to.

Had I known that in the first place I would have kept my big fat mouth shut.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I would go with the stock sized cylinders and just get it working first. If it isn't suitable then you could modify the dipper stick, etc. The one problem with extending the dipper stick is that you will also lose some digging force.

 

[Renze]

The one problem with extending the dipper stick is that you will also lose some digging force.

Thats why i want that bigger cylinder

 

[Renze]

All right, got it home, had to order JIC joints through the company as no agricultural dealership has JIC joints, other than the essential compression fittings to repair the occasional hose.

Saturday evening me and my brother ate fries from the take-away in the workshop, and got it running at 8. While i was topping up rear end oil (because of the newly installed cylinders that hadnt been filled yet) my brothers went playing with it: The hoses of the swing cylinders were crossed, and the swing cylinder doesnt have a flow restriction (a dime with a 1mm hole in it) yet: Result was that when my brother looked right, pulled the lever and knocked my other brother off his feet when the boom swung left VERY fast..
will tap M10 thread inside the cylinder elbows, screw a butt of a bolt into it and drill a 1mm hole through it.

Furthermore i can scrape only one meter horizontally, the dipper cylinder is too short, and the dipper itself too. Also the bucket geometry is wrong, it cant fully dump close to the digger, and it cant keep dirt in the bucket at full reach. I will cut the rearmost bucket pin holes from the bucket, and move them an inch closer to the other: that will give me full open and close angle, and the correct tumblerod geometry as well: I suppose someone has made his own trenching bucket for it, without fully understanding the purpose of the tumble arm (and that tumble arms need to be longer than the distance between the bucket linkage points, to create a constant breakout torque over a full working angle)

Will start another thread in DIY about further mods...