Having a blast with our new M62

[mike69440]

I'll be curious about what Mutz says on a project that size. I've done a number of smaller projects, but never one that size. BUT..... I do have an M59 plus a full size backhoe JD310SG - typical 90 hp yellow backhoe - that has maybe twice the capability of the Kubota. Funny thing is that the Kubota is often as fast or faster on jobs than the big JD just because the Kubota is so handy and easy to get into position. Visibility with the loader is also much better on the Kubota, so you end up with a full bucket more often. And the Kubota loader controls are superb.

If I have to move the dirt any distance, the "easy-ride" feature of the JD is worth having. The Kubota rides rough. I've heard you can add loader arm damping to the Kubota, but haven't heard of anyone doing it.

The big thing I've found about dirt moving projects is that most of the time is spent doing just that: moving dirt away..... running back and forth with loader buckets full of dirt. I wonder if a dumptruck adds time or not? Guess it depends entirely on how far the dirt is to be moved. Also if there is a place to put it. Around here, good dirt is easy to dispose of. Everyone around here can use good fill dirt.
rScotty

I have a cushion accumulator in the hyd. circuit of my modified L39. The response is a bit slower and delayed , but worth the protection.
When it was new under warranty, I blew the hydraulic pump fro pressure surged running down a dirt road with full buckets. Been 13 years since that incident, with no issues, but I drive slower now.
When I dug my ponds I recall that a day's work went as follows.

1 hour on my PC75UU2 excavator to dig, then the rest of the day on the L39 just to move the spoils. A toothed bucket helps. I've thought about a dump truck, but fortunately I'm not digging as much, just having stuff hauled in to spread level and gravel.

 

[rScotty]

I have a cushion accumulator in the hyd. circuit of my modified L39. The response is a bit slower and delayed , but worth the protection.
When it was new under warranty, I blew the hydraulic pump fro pressure surged running down a dirt road with full buckets. Been 13 years since that incident, with no issues, but I drive slower now.
When I dug my ponds I recall that a day's work went as follows.

1 hour on my PC75UU2 excavator to dig, then the rest of the day on the L39 just to move the spoils. A toothed bucket helps. I've thought about a dump truck, but fortunately I'm not digging as much, just having stuff hauled in to spread level and gravel.

Can you turn the accumlator on/off? Yes, I agree about the toothed bucket. Particularly if the dirt has any rocks in it at all then even some very small teeth on the bucket edge helps a lot.

 

[mike69440]

Can you turn the accumlator on/off? Yes, I agree about the toothed bucket. Particularly if the dirt has any rocks in it at all then even some very small teeth on the bucket edge helps a lot.

Nope, Never though of installing a shutoff valve. Would have been a good idea I guess.

Teeth also allow bucket to hold more. I upsized all 4 Lift cylinders adding just 5mm dia., just to push the machine to it's max potential. Inner and outer wheel weights and other ballast add about 1,100 lbs. Just needs about 60 hp now.

 

[MutzFarm]

Really been enjoying this thread. Thanks for all those posts!

Did you ever get the problem with the front end fixed on your M62? Any further issues?

Saw an M62 at the dealer last week after having gone there to test drive an MX. But the MX had the same design loader mounts that broke on my L3240, so that was a show stopper. Then I walked by the M62 and saw those massive loader mounts and the backhoe and the gears in my head started turning. I need to dig a 100'x100' terrace into a hillside for a shop building, and since the Camp Fire swept through here, all the trades people are super busy and every one of them is writing sky high quotes. I could just about pay for the M62 just digging that pad. So when I saw the video on digging the pond, I got to wondering how long that job took, and how I could adapt your technique to my hillside. Seems doable, but I've never tackled a job that big before.

Dealer says he'll let me try out the M62 on my property next week, and I think I'll take him up on it. Could be risky, though, I might end up buying it!:laughing:

Thanx.... :drink:

They told me there is 2 bearings where the shaft goes into the axle. I guess inner and outer. They said the inner one NEAR the oil was shot. Couldnt give me a reason why.

The pond with the video? It took 6 days, but that was not all digging. There was a lot of loader work to move the dirt that came out. Pushing it and hauling it away from the hole. The entire area behind it came way up from all the spoils out of the hole. I think the highest point in the back came up close to 2 feet. Also I lined it with the clay I dug out and wheel rolled it (drove over it) to pack it all down to hold water. Customer has contacted me several times as to how satisfied they are.

I believe I got everything, but the hydraulic quick attach and extra work lights. $70k. Payments $1k a month for 5 years.

 

[MutzFarm]

I'll be curious about what Mutz says on a project that size. I've done a number of smaller projects, but never one that size. BUT..... I do have an M59 plus a full size backhoe JD310SG - typical 90 hp yellow backhoe - that has maybe twice the capability of the Kubota. Funny thing is that the Kubota is often as fast or faster on jobs than the big JD just because the Kubota is so handy and easy to get into position. Visibility with the loader is also much better on the Kubota, so you end up with a full bucket more often. And the Kubota loader controls are superb.

If I have to move the dirt any distance, the "easy-ride" feature of the JD is worth having. The Kubota rides rough. I've heard you can add loader arm damping to the Kubota, but haven't heard of anyone doing it.

The big thing I've found about dirt moving projects is that most of the time is spent doing just that: moving dirt away..... running back and forth with loader buckets full of dirt. I wonder if a dumptruck adds time or not? Guess it depends entirely on how far the dirt is to be moved. Also if there is a place to put it. Around here, good dirt is easy to dispose of. Everyone around here can use good fill dirt.
rScotty

You are correct on moving the dirt. Half the time was probably hauling and pushing the dirt that came out of that hole.

 

[MutzFarm]

I have a cushion accumulator in the hyd. circuit of my modified L39. The response is a bit slower and delayed , but worth the protection.
When it was new under warranty, I blew the hydraulic pump fro pressure surged running down a dirt road with full buckets. Been 13 years since that incident, with no issues, but I drive slower now.
When I dug my ponds I recall that a day's work went as follows.

1 hour on my PC75UU2 excavator to dig, then the rest of the day on the L39 just to move the spoils. A toothed bucket helps. I've thought about a dump truck, but fortunately I'm not digging as much, just having stuff hauled in to spread level and gravel.

I dont hink mine has that cushion accumulator. I was probably right at the point where a way to haul and dump was soon to be needed, but a small one.

 

[MutzFarm]

Nope, Never though of installing a shutoff valve. Would have been a good idea I guess.

Teeth also allow bucket to hold more. I upsized all 4 Lift cylinders adding just 5mm dia., just to push the machine to it's max potential. Inner and outer wheel weights and other ballast add about 1,100 lbs. Just needs about 60 hp now.

OOOOOOOOO. Wheel weights? O man I need some. Manual says to remove ballast when using as a backhoe, but to have it when using as a tractor. So I never took the time to research, but man now I want some. What is a inner wheel weight?

I cannot put anything in the tires except a good sealant due to all the thorns and some debris on what couple of job sites I have done. Did that with another unit we had and all the fluid came right out of the tire over a little nail hole.

I Would like to see a little more muscle in the backhoe.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

They told me there is 2 bearings where the shaft goes into the axle. I guess inner and outer. They said the inner one NEAR the oil was shot. Couldnt give me a reason why.

Oh, man. That sounds like the same kind of failure I've seen already on my L3240. Maybe Kubota hasn't learned how to build a stout enough front axle yet? It's only been 14 years since my '05 was built.:confused2:

The pond with the video? It took 6 days, but that was not all digging. There was a lot of loader work to move the dirt that came out. Pushing it and hauling it away from the hole. The entire area behind it came way up from all the spoils out of the hole. I think the highest point in the back came up close to 2 feet. Also I lined it with the clay I dug out and wheel rolled it (drove over it) to pack it all down to hold water. Customer has contacted me several times as to how satisfied they are.

Yep, that's the one. ONLY six days? You're a regular busy beaver! Even if it took me twice that long, I'd still tackle it. Being retired, It's not about wages, but what it would cost to have someone else do it (if I could even find someone to actually do it right) vs. what else I should be doing with my time. And you make it look so easy!

I believe I got everything, but the hydraulic quick attach and extra work lights. $70k. Payments $1k a month for 5 years.

That's the same ballpark I'm seeing now. I've heard some folks get the dealer to come off suggested retail by 15%, but I'm only seeing half that.

Are you happy with the traction with the R4 tires? I'm gettin' nuthin' but a runaround from the local dealer and Kubota corporate on fitting R1s for better traction on my 20%+ hillsides.

As an aside, I was late to dinner tonight because I was helping a neighbor repair the torn up loader arms on his Cat backhoe. They'd failed in exactly the same way as those on my LA724 Kubota loader, circumferential cracks around the stiffener tube welds between the two arms. But now he wants to repair another failed set of arms, this one had a pin back out on the forward end with a full bucket, which broke the weld holding the opposite pin housing and slightly twisting the arm. But at least the pivots were bushed, so once we cut the housing off the arm and weld it back in place, we can clean up the weld distortion in the housing and get a bushing back in so it'll work again. That is until the stiffener tube welds crack.

I guess you names yer poison and takes yer chance...

 

[mike69440]

I dont hink mine has that cushion accumulator. I was probably right at the point where a way to haul and dump was soon to be needed, but a small one.

I added it.
https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...RjvR5yAW46MafGUptP815HHEfo-w6LDhoCwgUQAvD_BwE

 

[mike69440]

OOOOOOOOO. Wheel weights? O man I need some. Manual says to remove ballast when using as a backhoe, but to have it when using as a tractor. So I never took the time to research, but man now I want some. What is a inner wheel weight?

I cannot put anything in the tires except a good sealant due to all the thorns and some debris on what couple of job sites I have done. Did that with another unit we had and all the fluid came right out of the tire over a little nail hole.

I Would like to see a little more muscle in the backhoe.

Had rings made from durabar.

Buy Cast Iron Dura-Bar Cut to Size - Price and Order Online

One acts as spacer, while the other bolts to outside of lugs.

As my old excavator will still out dig an M62 and my L39 bucket is smaller than an M62, I spend way more time moving spoils than digging dirt.

Inner rings are from 16" diameter bar around 3.5" thick