Hitch on your backhoe

[fiddler kelly]

Yes it should but I am not sure if I will have enough of room between the bottom of the bucket and the tow bar of the trailer when it is connected it to it and being pulled behind. I will have to check this out further.

 

[bob_wood]

do you guys use a cut of tool for 1/4" or 3/8" thick metal???

I cut stock 1/2 inch and greater. of course the thicker the metal the slower it cuts but I havent found anything yet that I can't cut with the angle grinder ( using a cutoff blade ).

bob

 

[bx24]

This is how I had planned on putting hitch on backhoe when I initially started this post . The reason I show this is so people will be understand what it was I was going to set up . I went with the pintel because it was a bit more forgiving especially when using it up around the cabin where the terrain is not that even and it gives fore a more secure connection. I can't see the hoe being strained here anymore than the strain it would put under during use again up here where our ground is very rocky.

Feedback would be appreciated.

If I were you, I would not be worried at all. Given the amount of torque and stress that part of the hoe gets when it is digging, I don't think you could ever come close to that even with a heavy load on a trailer. You can always push things until they break, but with that setup, you would have to try pretty hard.

Nice job

 

[ACHINBAC]

As you know from past posts I mounted a hitch to my backhoe bucket - would have prefered for many reasons to mount it directly to the chassis but on the bx24 you would have to extend the dipper stick way up for clearance and there did not appear to be a suitable location for mounting to the boom. Have found the articulation of the backhoe assembly to be a plus though when working in tight quarters and for hooking up. Something happened yesterday though that not only spoke to the strength of the Kubota's construction, but also to a dangerous situation arising when towing down hill and turning with this setup.

The two attached pictures show the approach to the last turn in my driveway and the view up from the street. As I made the last turn to the right where the driveway is steepest I found the hydraulics not able to square the boom up with the line of force from the boat I was towing (5klbs + 1k for the trailer) at that point I should have dropped the boom, instead I continued making the turn and within seconds the force of the trailer over rode the pressure relief valve of the boom skewing it all the way over to to the left stop and in the process tipped the Kubota up on it's left two wheels. I steered as hard into the tilt as I dared which put me up on the lawn which is graded the opposite way of my tilt (you can see the tracks) and stomped on the gas. Being in 4 wheel and low and having just installed Brotek's wheel spacers is the only reason I'm not road kill. Got off the tractor lit a smoke and paced around for a bit shaking my head - knees were probably shaking too. Inspected the backhoe for damage, but not tweaked - surprised as it got slammed pretty hard

A word of warning to you all - the set up works great on the flat, and up hill only or downhill with a load not capable of overiding the hydraulics.

"Took one for the team'

Dave

 

[Mustangous]

the set up works great on the flat, and up hill only or downhill with a load not capable of overiding the hydraulics.
Dave

Hey Dave, I really like your setup. I think if anyone was worried about too much weight for the boom or what happened to you in your case, couldnt you just reinstall the Drop pins so the unit didnt go left or right?

I seen a few of your pics of the hitch, but would you have anymore on how it mounts? I see the one bolt going across, is that all? You do some great work, thanks for sharing....

 

[fiddler kelly]

Well I temporarily attached my hitch to the lower part of my backhoe to see if I had enough of room for the tongue below the bucket and I did but ran into a snag and that is there is too much weight on the hitch making it hard to steer, the front wheels are not making enough of contact with the ground. I suppose I could make sure I fill the FEL with gravel first before filling the trailer with gravel that way giving we more weigh over the front wheels as so they can make etter contact with the ground resulting in better steering. Another option is to cut the trailer box shorter so I will have less weight in front of the trailer tires thus taking weigh of the tongue.

 

[ACHINBAC]

Mustangeous,

Sometimes the best fixes are the simplest ones . . . locking the boom is a great Idea.

In the attached picture, the 7/16 bolt holding the hitch in place is run through two preexisting holes in the bucket gusset. One hole held the keeper bolt that locks the bucket pivot pin in place. the other hole was not used. The curved blue mounting plate extends a few inches up past the pin which keeps it from pulling away from the bucket face - it is 1/2" plate stock and very stiff - was a ***** to bend. Had to cook it red and beat it on the anvil. I did drill a 1/2 hole through it and the bucket near it's bottom edge for an additional bolt but found I normally don't install it.

 

[Mustangous]

ACHINBAC,

I saw those pictures previously in this thread and wasnt sure if that was the only bolt holding it there. Thanks for the info.. Very slick setup!

 

[workinallthetime]

Mustangeous,

Sometimes the best fixes are the simplest ones . . . locking the boom is a great Idea.

In the attached picture, the 7/16 bolt holding the hitch in place is run through two preexisting holes in the bucket gusset. One hole held the keeper bolt that locks the bucket pivot pin in place. the other hole was not used. The curved blue mounting plate extends a few inches up past the pin which keeps it from pulling away from the bucket face - it is 1/2" plate stock and very stiff - was a ***** to bend. Had to cook it red and beat it on the anvil. I did drill a 1/2 hole through it and the bucket near it's bottom edge for an additional bolt but found I normally don't install it.

something like a grade blade there in the first pic man? love to see more of that. I think you need to just make a web site where we can all go and abmire your handy work, you have modded the heck out of that bx and done a **** good job!!!

 

[ACHINBAC]

Thanks WATT. I would like to do a website, but am a computer dope - maybe when I finish customizing the tractor . . . .

The blade is 3/8" hot rolled. We cooked the cutting edge red and quenched it in old motor oil - made the mistake of taking it out too soon and ended up with a fireball the size of a trash can as the oil vapor cloud flashed. Looked like a scene from Myth Busters. We retempered it to a straw color which is way harder than original but not brittle. It sits flat against the teeth and the two center tabs welded on lock it in place and keep dirt from jamming between the teeth. The bolts are grade 8 and have spacers ground to match the angle of the teeth. Gives me a nice flat bottom hole and the teeth take the load of wacking rocks (we sit on glacial til - a jigsaw puzzle of cobbles a couple feet deep) Was only going to mount it when needed, but now leave it on all the time. Would like to do a narrow bucket this winter like RedDirt's excellent job or buy a new bucket and cut it down to the width of the bucket pins as we can't pull irrigation here and have to trench everything.