New trailer excavator backhoe for ATV or car

[aigeezer]

kill 2 birds

As luck would have it, we placed the order yesterday with Princess Auto. They've been good to deal with so far. We'll see what the future brings. Today there was an interesting ad at Kijiji Halifax for a used 2000 Bobcat mini-excavator 331 for $6500, but I don't yet feel any buyer's remorse in choosing the FCM rig.

I also reread the fine print on the local guy's Asian 2-wheel towable backhoes offered at Cdn $8k, and I still wasn't tempted to go with them.

Now that I'm committed I'll probably get really really defensive (at least until the wheels fall off or some such fall from grace).

Delivery is promised for May 28.

 

[aigeezer]

I took delivery today. Today was the promised delivery date, so no problems there. There were some on again/off again promises for earlier delivery that fell through because of confusion over what kind of rig was needed for transport. The factory had made it clear, but as A told B who told C and so forth things got garbled. I ordered (Nova Scotia) from a dealer thousands of miles away (Manitoba), and the factory is about half way between us (Quebec) - some confusion is inevitable, especially since this is the first-time for the dealer and for me. Everyone was very accommodating, and it all worked out ok.

The backhoe arrived on a tilt-bed truck. The driver off-loaded it easily, with a gentle pull from a chain on my tractor to put the first few inches of the pallet on the ground. The truck then just pulled away, leaving the pallet safely on the ground.

The pallet had some transport damage, leaving a few nails protruding where they might puncture a tire, so I decided to disassemble the pallet rather than risk pulling the backhoe off it. The factory rep had thought it could be off and running in five minutes, but it took much longer this way.

I jacked the backhoe up and put the wheels into towing position (easy to do) then noticed that it needed a 2" hitch ball. I had switched to a 1 7/8" ball a few days ago - I was sure they said only the self-propelled models used 2" balls! Oh well, no harm done but I was glad I wasn't at some remote site with no backup. Other than that, the backhoe hooked up easily to the drawbar on my JD755.

I took a quick look at some of the main features (see photos), then shoehorned both tractor and backhoe into a 30' membrane building that was already pretty full as my barn is getting repaired. I'll read the manuals carefully before I do anything further. I'll post here in a few days when I have some experience with the backhoe. So far, so good.

 

[farmboy12]

Looks great! Good luck!


Kyle

 

[yankeerider]

Any experience to post? Or can that new machine still be sitting inside undirtied?

 

[aigeezer]

Thanks for the reminder yankeerider. Good to see another JD755 owner - I bought my 755 new in 1998 and have been very happy with it. Um... I've only put about 4 hours on the backhoe, as other commitments and rainy weather have got in the way. Everything works as it should so far. The JD755 tows it without fuss, the Honda motor starts on the first pull, and so forth.

I've been using it to clear a path of rocks and roots. The rocks so far are all about 100 pounds or less, so the task is easy for the machine but it's good for me to learn the controls. My technique so far is very amateurish: Stare warily at five joysticks so I don't inadvertently lift a stabilizer leg; agonize over whether to extend the boom or the dipper stick next; tentatively push the boom swing in case it's really the bucket curl.... Everything takes me quite a bit longer than it will once I get some more hours in.

So far, I've only used the backhoe coupled to the tractor because I've been on slopes. This means it's less independent than I would prefer. One reason I didn't want to buy a backhoe for the tractor itself was that people here have said it is a hassle climbing from seat to seat every time you change from moving to digging and back again. I now see what they mean firsthand, and I have the extra nuisance of starting the tractor up and shutting it down for every move of a few feet. On the other hand, I've come to appreciate that the Honda engine on the backhoe is much quieter than the Yanmar diesel on the tractor. Once I'm working on level ground, I'll decouple the two and the seat-dance will be a non-issue.

When my hands do what my head wants them to, it's a joy to use - just like the big machines, I guess - with various simultaneous degrees of freedom so it all moves seamlessly.

Weather here is supposed to be good this week so I'm hoping to get some decent time in and improve my skills. I'll look for photo ops! When I can pluck mosquitoes out of the air with the thumb I'll post a video for sure.

No regrets so far. Oh, I should perhaps have ordered the hour meter. At the time I figured it was really for the rental market, but now I realize it would be handy for maintenance scheduling. Speaking of maintenance, it has over 20 grease nipples and the handbook warned that all should be greased before the first use. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had done it at the factory so I didn't have to.

 

[aigeezer]

Here are a few photos from my first "learning sessions" with the little FCM backhoe. Nothing very exciting, but possibly useful if you are planning to do similar things.

More recently, I've done some much more ambitious stuff with it and I'll post details when I get a chance.

For now, this is just about light duty path making in the woods.

 

[aigeezer]

Oh... I damaged a tooth on the bucket while attempting to dig up bedrock (I didn't know it was bedrock at the time). I replaced the tooth with a JD T2A, and I think I've come up with a good way to replace peened-on bucket teeth. Since I'm a rookie at this, let me know if you think I'm making a big mistake.

 

[aigeezer]

I know this thread is very old but perhaps this update is useful.

Yesterday I lost a bucket tooth - more than five years after replacing the first one! I had pretty much forgotten how to do the replacement but I remembered the details were posted here so I wound up using my own old instructions from the archive. I hope they have been of use to others also.

The little FCM backhoe has been a real workhorse. I've broken a couple of hydraulic fittings over the years (my fault) but there have been no other maintenance issues and the Honda engine still starts on the first pull. I tow it behind my JD3520 these days and it looks ridiculously small but it has handled any stump it's encountered so far. Yesterday was a five-stump day, for example - 12-inch spruce.

 

[schmism]

Its my understanding that the normal way to mount those teeth is to bend the ears over into the dimples in the tooth roots.

you heat them up till they are cherry red, then use a ball peen and 2lb hammer. This is not a sissy job, its a reach back and swing the hammer with determination!

I have a thread of how I did mine. from like 8 years ago.

to recap

roots

"tacked" inplace

finished version

FYI I lost one root shortly after I installed them. After I 2nd passed them with a proper 220v welder I have had 0 issues in the past 8 years with them and i have NOT been easy on them. I also dont regret for one min welding them on to my bucket.

 

[aigeezer]

My little FCM backhoe has finally had a serious setback. I was digging out stumps as usual when the stick control suddenly had no effect. I looked up and saw that the pin coupling the cylinder to the stick was missing - no big deal, I thought - it must have worked loose and fallen out. A closer look showed it had sheared, and on the way out had bent the housing badly. Yikes! Didn't hear a thing. Didn't feel it get hung up on anything. One moment it was fine, the next it was toast. I'll contact the manufacturer to see what my options are - warranty was over long ago.