Trench Digging

[4570Man]

I thought of this too. It would work but wouldnt be ideal. My hoe doesnt swing a full 90 so I have to dig at a slight angle or the one back tire will end up in the trench. In most cases I can deal with that.

Don’t drive up to the trench at 90 degrease. Back up at 45 degrees with the front end pointing away from where you’re digging.

 

[bdog]

Crossing a trench - YouTube

This isn't the best video but gives you the idea. I am not sure if a compact tractor backhoe will do this but it is no issue with a full size. Just make sure to keep outriggers low so you don't tip over.

 

[Redlands Okie]

If your machine will not lift enough to pivot you over it. You can drive forward over the ditch by sliding the front end loader on the ground with the front wheels just off the ground. Then lift the front end loader a few inches. When the back tires get close to the ditch use the back hoe to lift the tractor a inch or two or just use to support the tractor as is and drive on across. The back hoe can push you or you can just use it to lift a bit and then drive forward. With 4 wheel drive its easy.

You can do the same in reverse if your careful to not damage the back hoe.

I your digging the ditch from each end and meet in the middle your tractor is already straddling the ditch. Use the back hoe to get one rear side over and then use the bucket to support the front end as you back out.

 

[Henro]

I am not familiar with your tractor...but what I do is, as others have mentioned, back up to the ditch at a 45 degree angle, and get my rear wheel very close to the ditch side.

At this point what happens, in my case, is the outrigger on the ditch side has no place to rest, as it is over the ditch. So I use something like a 4x4 or 6x6 to span the ditch and put the outrigger down on that.

In this position the backhoe pivot is close to the center of the ditch, or on center maybe, so I can continue the ditch to the end point.

Simple and easy. Works for me!

PS - My backhoe certainly does not have the omph to lift the rear of the tractor and swing it around...

 

[JakeLS]

I was finally able to give this a dry run in the yard today and was able to lift and rotate the tractor with the BH pretty easily. Thanks again for the advice!

you have to pick it/walk it over the ditch using the hoe
practice this without the ditch a few times first

 

[tshep]

Get this book:

Operating techniques for the tractor loader backhoe Paperback – 1999
by Gary J Ober (Author)

$ well spent

 

[GeneSimm7]

Good morning,
I'm looking for a little advice. I'm new to tractors and equipment in general. Yesterday I helped a friend dig a trench from his house to his new garage for electric service using the backhoe on my MT125. The backhoe worked great, much better than a shovel! My question is, how do you "finish" a trench with a wheeled machine? I had to leave enough space at one end or the other to drive the tractor out (ended up leaving the gap in the middle due to rocks and roots near the garage and sticky clay near the house). I've seen track machines lift the front end a bit with the boom and just spin the tracks 90 degrees and drive out over the trench but that wont work with wheels.
Any advice or will I need to continue hand digging the last 6 or so feet?

Run the electric line as far as you can, drive out over the 6' section, fill in the trench where you laid the electric line, and then you can drive on the filled in trench.

 

[ray66v]

Redlands Okie, is right.

If you are only digging with a 12" bucket, that should not be a wide trench. You can drive the front right over it using the loader as a skid. You don't even need to lift the wheels off the ground. Just put the bucket down on the ground on the other side, with the front edge curled up, and drive right over the trench.

You can then walk the back end over by putting the backhoe bucket down until the rear wheels lift off the ground, and use the boom swing control to swing them over the trench. Or, if you have 4WD, put the hoe bucket down like you did in the front, and drive right over.

Under normal conditions, it's pretty hard to get a loader backhoe stuck once you learn what it is capable of.

And, it's capable of doing just about anything.