Price Check Buying a BH92 with Hydraulic Thumb NH

mike69440 · Mar 4, 2017

Luke'sScreenName said:
Also, $12k will buy a serviceable full size backhoe. Something else to think about... :drink:

If you shop, you may be able to get a second heavier stronger tractor for near the price of the BH 92, so, yup I'd think about it if you have room and can fix stuff.

buckeyefarmer · Mar 4, 2017

Welcome to tbn. Love my bh92. I don't have a thumb, for that amount of money I'd get a grapple instead, or a manual thumb.

scdeerslayer · Mar 6, 2017

You should be able to take your tractor there and have them assemble and install the backhoe for that price. Also the manual thumb should be around the neighborhood of $750, and it meshes really well with the bucket teeth. In the thread linked above I mention about converting my manual thumb to hydraulic, copying what some others on this site have down. It's basically an electric over hydraulic setup, teeing into the bucket lines and using a normally closed solenoid valve on the cylinder side port of the thumb cylinder. I did have to remove some metal from the thumb to clear the fittings on the rod side port, and it's a longer cylinder than OEM so the thumb doesn't sit as tight against the dipperstick, but you should be able to do the entire conversion for less than $500, and the OEM thumb cylinder costs over $600.

Fosterz · Mar 6, 2017

scdeerslayer said:
You should be able to take your tractor there and have them assemble and install the backhoe for that price. Also the manual thumb should be around the neighborhood of $750, and it meshes really well with the bucket teeth. In the thread linked above I mention about converting my manual thumb to hydraulic, copying what some others on this site have down. It's basically an electric over hydraulic setup, teeing into the bucket lines and using a normally closed solenoid valve on the cylinder side port of the thumb cylinder. I did have to remove some metal from the thumb to clear the fittings on the rod side port, and it's a longer cylinder than OEM so the thumb doesn't sit as tight against the dipperstick, but you should be able to do the entire conversion for less than $500, and the OEM thumb cylinder costs over $600.

Thanks for your response!

You mentioned the mechanical thumb... Can the mechanical thumb be converted to hydraulic using all of Kubota's parts? In other words.. Could I buy the cylinder and valve kit later and mount everything that way? Or, does the mechanical thumb differ from the hydraulic thumb?

Tough choices when you're about to lay out a lot of money!

scdeerslayer · Mar 6, 2017

Fosterz said:
Thanks for your response!

You mentioned the mechanical thumb... Can the mechanical thumb be converted to hydraulic using all of Kubota's parts? In other words.. Could I buy the cylinder and valve kit later and mount everything that way? Or, does the mechanical thumb differ from the hydraulic thumb?

Tough choices when you're about to lay out a lot of money!

The thumb itself is the exact same thing. I've looked at the part numbers of both and it's the same part number. I would imagine though that it's going to be more expensive to buy the parts separately than to buy them as a kit when you get the backhoe.

Fosterz · Apr 14, 2017

Still shopping around

Went to a dealer who had two BH92s on the lot in crates. He quoted me $7700 with an 18" bucket before tax translates to $8162. Only problem with this is I'd have to move it 7 hours north.

I think that is a pretty good price! As mentioned before, I have the frame and hydraulics on my tractor already.

Luke'sScreenName · Apr 15, 2017

You have a "saved search" on CL for each of the New England states?

Fosterz · Jun 27, 2017

Pulled the trigger yesterday on a BH92. Picking it up in a few days in a crate and putting it together myself. I think it'll be a fun project!

I did not go with any thumb at this point, too much added cost up front.

I hope to make a pretty extensive youtube video documenting the whole thing.