Backhoe OK to use Backhoe rated smaller then tractor?

npaden · Sep 2, 2007

Is it okay to use a small backhoe on a medium sized tractor. I've seen a few of the 6' dig depth 3 point backhoes go for a reasonable price but they generally show they are rated for up to 30 hp tractor. My tractor is 45 hp.

The backhoe has it's own PTO pump so it wouldn't be an issue of my tractors hydraulic capacity, could my tractors PTO could spin the pump over it's rating?

Thanks for any input or advice.

Nathan

Ductape · Sep 2, 2007

You will be OK with a smaller hoe. You will just find you have to move your tractor more, as obviously a smaller hoe has less reach, doesn't dig as deep, etc.

john_bud · Sep 2, 2007

You won't damage the hoe with the larger tractor, if that was your question. The digging depth may be less as a larger tractor sits higher, but that's only a couple inches and not a big deal. It might look a bit silly having a tiny hoe on a huge tractor, but I'll bet it's better than a shovel!

jb

dfkrug · Sep 3, 2007

When considering a backhoe attachment, weight of the tractor is
a bigger concern vs. engine power. Backhoe vendors use engine
hp as an indicator of tractor size, though that does not always work.
Your L4200 has 50% more engine power than my CK30, but it weighs
almost exactly the same and has 1/2 GPM LESS implement hydraulic
flow.

To answer your question, a b/h can be too heavy for a particular tractor,
but a tractor can NOT be too heavy (or too powerful) for a particular
b/h. We are not talking about passive ground-engaging implements,
which CAN be overpowered by a too-big or too-powerful tractor that
pulls them.

With PTO pumps, you do have to be careful. If they came with the hoe,
they prob should not be run faster than 540RPM, and they rarely have
their own relief valve protection. Some tractor owners have 2 or more
PTO speeds and can throttle their engine down and run a 540RPM PTO
pump in a higher PTO gear at a lower engine speed.

California · Sep 4, 2007

Works fine for me. I think the used hoe I bought is a size or two smaller than what the factory would have put on this tractor.

Its pto pump is rated for up to 800 pto rpm. To reduce needless racket I've been using my pto 'hi' (nominal 1000 pto rpm@2200 tach) which lets me run the tractor around 1500 tach rpm.

I ran the math first - don't recall it right now, but over 1600 tach rpm in hi was still well under the pump's rated maximum speed.

This little hoe doesn't put much load on the engine. When pulling in the boom etc you can hear the engine work very slightly harder without losing rpm. Yours shouldn't feel it at all.

And it sure beats a shovel and wheelbarrow!