Hydraulic Thumb on Backhoe

[4tillingdirt]

I noticed some owners don't have this on their backhoe - just a fixed thumb. Is a hydraulic thumb really needed for most CUT backhoes?

 

[LMychajluk]

I would say most don't have either. Which you get (if at all) is dependent on what you're doing. You probably don't need one at all for digging, unless maybe pulling big rocks that won't fit in the bucket out of your holes.

We got the mechanical one because it was relatively inexpensive (~$400) compared to the hydraulic, and becuase we figured we'd use it occasionally to reach into a brush pile to pull it apart.

 

[Oldoak]

I would say most don't have either. Which you get (if at all) is dependent on what you're doing.

I totally agree with that statement. :thumbsup:

I went more than 30 years without any thumb on my backhoe. However, this year when I purchased a new tractor and backhoe, I bit the bullet and ordered the hoe with a hydraulic thumb after going back and forth, manual or hydraulic.

I can tell you it's useful for a lot more things than just pulling large rocks out of a hole.

 

[ning]

For digging in mostly-dirt I'm rarely needing my thumb, but occasionally I find a big rock that I know my wife will want put somewhere so I get off, adjust the manual thumb, and do my best to pick up said rock and relocate it... often having to get off and reset the manual thumb to a different extension at least once before I manage to pick up the rock.

I'm sure I'll get better at using my thumb eventually, but I can tell that a hydraulic thumb would be easier to pick up the rocks, and no dismount needed.

Is it worth a third again the price of the backhoe? Probably not for me - the backhoe itself is a convenience more than a requirement (I use it plenty, but I doubt having it will ever save the cost of renting a digger, though being able to get on and have the hole dug long before I'd even get to town to rent a digger is worth the backhoe to me!), and I don't encounter things I actually want to pick up with the backhoe often enough and I can make do just fine with the manual.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I made a hydraulic thumb for my backhoe about 4 years ago after doing without for 10 years.
It makes the hoe more versatile, and I am glad I did it. But you can do a lot of work with a backhoe and never need a thumb.

 

[Newby first timer]

I chose to get the Hydraulic Thumb and glad that I did
My first job was digging a new leach field 50 ft long and another 40 ft for piping in Boulder land.
It took me aprox. 60 hours to dig and back fill leaving me with a small pile of large boulders 24 ft wide 8 ft deep and 5 ft tall.

I am giving them away to anyone who wants them and am even loading the big one up with the backhoe and thumb so the total job is not complete yet.

for me the Hydro Thumb was a must have and I am sure after this pile is gone I will find more uses for the Thumb.

I am even thinking on building a grapple that will mount onto the backhoe with longer fingers than the bucket in and using the Hydro ram of the Thumb for a longer third finger for the grapple. to make it easier to pick up the real big rocks.

Trying to get under them with FEL with out a full load of dirt is quite hard for me at my tractor experience level at this point.

Hydro thumb. I would not be with out it for what I do.

 

[tman1020]

I thought this was a pretty good alternative and built something like this for mine.