Bradco Backhoe Thumb

[Sysop]

Well, since Paladin took over Bradco, they no longer make the 485 backhoe. Now they make the 490! It appears by all I can find to be the same unit, just built from a milder steel (80ksi versus 100ksi). What do you think the chances are that the thumb is the same? The few pictures and measurements that are available, it appears to be. I can't find any way to get the info from Paladin. Nobody I've talked to seems to know the answer. The thumb for the 490 is built as ordered, so it isn't anything anyone has in stock. I really don't want to spend the loot if I am just buying it for parts to build my own.

Opinions please. :mur:

 

[Stimw]

From what I have seen the model number 485 usually means 85 inches digging depth.
If that is so then the 490 would be 90 inches. ???
There are generic thumbs available.

 

[thepumpguysc]

TITAN bh thumbs..

 

[Sysop]

I thought about that.

Reading up, I had found a couple instances of various add-on/universal thumbs bending the dipper arm.

Looking at how Bradco designed my hoe, it already has a thumb mount integrated into the thicker steel at the top of the dipper where it attaches to the boom.

I fear I would be one of those folk that bent my dipper arm from using the universal styles that bolt or weld onto the dipper arm, so I prefer to use the mounting points already engineered into the unit.

 

[kneedeep]

I have the Mahindra thumb on a 509 BH. It is a pain to remove when I change buckets from 12" to 24".
I can use it to move the machine around or push on stumps, rocks, etc. Tough chunk of iron and makes the BH even more useful grubbing brush and trees out.
Cost was more than it should be but it does fit on the boom without much adjustment. The holes that fold everything up against the boom did not align, smaller diameter pin and 4# hammer fixed that. The arm on one side barely hit a bucket tooth so had to use torch and bottle jack to 'bend' it so when closed the teeth meshed together.
If there was a fab shop near, I could have had it fabricated for way less than I paid Mahindra.

If you could wait, I could get dimensions of mine since putting BH on tractor will be first order of business next week.

Email is good

 

[Sysop]

I agree they overprice thumbs. The price is definitely based on usefulness rather than the cost of materials and labor.

For that reason, I wouldn't order through Mahindra. Extra middleman and all... Dealer has their markup, MUSA has their markup, and then the cost from Bradco. MUSA will not sell direct to me without going through a dealer. There are other sources that deal directly with Bradco that will sell direct to me. EverythingAttachments is one such place, and there are many others. I hate cutting my local dealer out of the loop, but with something priced higher than it should be, I seek to save every buck I can.

I checked on the thumb with the dealer when I purchased the tractor a few years back. At that time the mechanical thumb was $800+ and the hydraulic option was an additional $600. At that price I'd fab my own, I've just had too many other projects going on. I can order the mechanical thumb for the 490 for just over $600, which is acceptable to me as long as it works.

Differences I can find between the 490 and my 485 are minimal. The main boom and buckets are slightly different now, and the entire thing is made of a milder steel. They're using less steel in the main boom and leaving the boom cylinder exposed (probably also to keep it cooler). The buckets now have three pin holes, one for extra digging force, one standard position, and one for extra digging depth. The dipper arm and attachment points all seem identical.

 

[N2DFire]

I agree they overprice thumbs. The price is definitely based on usefulness rather than the cost of materials and labor.

For that reason, I wouldn't order through Mahindra. Extra middleman and all... Dealer has their markup, MUSA has their markup, and then the cost from Bradco. MUSA will not sell direct to me without going through a dealer. There are other sources that deal directly with Bradco that will sell direct to me. EverythingAttachments is one such place, and there are many others. I hate cutting my local dealer out of the loop, but with something priced higher than it should be, I seek to save every buck I can.

I checked on the thumb with the dealer when I purchased the tractor a few years back. At that time the mechanical thumb was $800+ and the hydraulic option was an additional $600. At that price I'd fab my own, I've just had too many other projects going on. I can order the mechanical thumb for the 490 for just over $600, which is acceptable to me as long as it works.

Differences I can find between the 490 and my 485 are minimal. The main boom and buckets are slightly different now, and the entire thing is made of a milder steel. They're using less steel in the main boom and leaving the boom cylinder exposed (probably also to keep it cooler). The buckets now have three pin holes, one for extra digging force, one standard position, and one for extra digging depth. The dipper arm and attachment points all seem identical.

I would contact BXpanded.com - He has vastly broadened his product line from just the Piranha Tooth bar to include several things including some mechanical backhoe thumbs - His average in the $350 price range and he may be willing / able to fab up something for your model hoe to add to his product line.

Can't hurt to ask - only cost an e-mail or a phone call & from my experience a couple years ago - great people to work with.

 

[Sysop]

By the time you mentioned contacting BXpanded I had already bit the bullet and ordered the 490 thumb.

I had contacted Bro-tek, but received an automated message that they weren't taking new orders at this time. The sizes of backhoes the Bro-tek thumbs are made for are closer to the size of my 485 as compared to BXpanded. Bro-tek also had a few different price points, indicating they were making various sizes.

In the end, I really didn't want a unit that was going to use mounting points other than what was built into my 485, so I kept digging and calling around. For everything I could find, all the measurements and mounting points seemed to line up on what specs I could find. Only thing I wasn't sure of were the pin sizes, which I can make work with minor modification easy enough.

Well, it arrived the other day. Beautiful piece. The weight with the little pallet it came on was right at 100lbs. Just had a chance to unload it from my pickup today. I dragged it out to the tailgate and went to latch the backhoe onto the tractor. Parked the tractor by the tailgate, cut the straps holding the thumb to the pallet, and moved it over to the backhoe. Everything lined up perfectly and pins appear the same. :cool2:

Unfortunately, a couple weeks back I was rear-ended on the interstate and I've unloaded my toolboxes from the truck so it can go to the shop; therefore I had nothing on hand to work with to get it mounted. It was also a bit cumbersome to try to hold it in place, so no pictures yet. I'll be installing it tomorrow or Sunday and will get some pics.

 

[Sysop]

OK

Installed the thumb today. It fit like it was made for it. So for anyone ever wondering about buying a thumb for a Bradco 485, a Bradco 490 thumb is 100% interchangeable.

Having been a 2012 model and never having a thumb, the pin holes on the arm were a little rusty.

A little hit with a little sanding wheel polished the rust away for a clean fit.

A little grease to keep that from happening again. Everything else slid together so quick and easy I didn't take any other pics until it was together.

Had time to do some testing on a tree that was down. Sectioned the tree up and used my grapple to tote some logs over near the splitter, used the new thumb to hold individual sections of logs while sectioning woodstove sized lengths to run through the splitter. Also used the new thumb to gently place the heavier sections on the splitter.

The "action shot":

Much more handy than a pocket in a shirt! :thumbsup: