truckhoe towable backhoe

[OkeeDon]

A hoe to attach to my tractor would cost more than any of the options I'm exploring. I consider a tractor mounted hoe an inconvenience in that you have to continually hop and down exchanging seats every time you want to move a little when trenching. Plus, hoes aren't the easiest thing in the world to detach when you want to use another implement, unless it's a 3 point hoe, and I haven't heard much good about them. Finally, if I ever decide I don't need the hoe (or trencher or whatever) any longer, it's easier to sell a general, stand-alone piece of equipment than a specialized piece that fits only certain tractors.

The climbing around to move it is what really nixed the tractor-mounted how for me; the rest are rationalizations /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Have you considered a 3pt trencher for the trenching and renting a small excavator for the other jobs you mentioned? It would seem a trencher would trench better and faster than a backhoe and be much less expensive.

 

[OkeeDon]

I've looked for a used 3 point trencher and haven't found any - maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. Wonder what they cost, new? The used tractor equipment dealer down the street (same one that has the Truckhoe) just started advertising a Ford 3000 tractor with a trencher on the back and a blade on the front for $2,750. I haven't looked at it, but that low a price scares me -- knowing that this dealer is usually high-priced, the tractor must be junk. I need to stop in - if the tractor is any good, this could be a good solution. From his description in the ad, I suspect that the trencher has been more or less permanently installed on the tractor. I really need to look at it.

I just bought a dump trailer and 2 new laptop computers with wireless networking; my slush fund has taken a little bit of a hit /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> my slush fund has taken a little bit of a hit </font>

Hee, hee. I know what you mean. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[falconry]

Oh okay, I see, I didn't realize that a hoe would cost more. But, moving along with a hoe is pretty easy. You just use the machine to move, no hopping around. I know what you mean though. I'm not sure what model kubota you have and how it operates, but if it's like our case backhoes (in that you move forward and backwards by moving a lever to the left of the wheel) then you could drive and not have to switch positions at all. All you gotta do is make sure the hoe is out a ways and you won't tip.


Blake
WA

 

[OkeeDon]

My New Holland TC18 won't run with no one in the driver's seat unless the parking brake is set (safety interlocks). The hoe has it's own seat, not like your TLB (I've used a Cat 416C, so I know how they work, and it's great). I'd have to set the brake, climb down, climb up into the hoe seat, put down the stabilizers, trench for a few feet until the tractor needed to be moved, lift the stabilizers, climb down, climb up into the tractor seat, release the brake, move the tractor, then repeat the entire sequence every time the tractor has to move a little. The tractor is small, so the hoe would be small, so it would have to be moved fairly often....attached is a picture of a typical setup; you can see the small, rearward facing hoe seat.

It's not so bad for digging out a stump or digging a hole to plant a tree, but I sure wouldn't want to do it for long when diging a long trench....

 

[theonlybull]

i'd try one out, when your just moving a few feet while trenching, you can usually lift the fel, pick both stabilizers off the ground, and push yourself with the hoe, that's how i do it with our 580. course you move the machine side to side, and swing the front end aswell, but maybe only on the bigger machines.

 

[CTyler]

I can do the same thing with my Woods 9000 and L3130. Can pick up the back end, turn it, then push as well. However without the brake set and 4wd engaged its also real easy to drag yourself toward the hole.

 

[falconry]

I've never head of using your brake to help keep the machine still. If I have trouble staying still, I just life myself higher. Only option because my brakes wouldn't hold me for one, and two I would forget I had them on. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif But if I have to move a measurable distance, I just bring the hoe up a little, stabilizers up just a little and pop the backhoe into forward and drive while facing the other way. It's way easier then moving constantly front to back since the stupid 580B cabs are so limited in space for 6'2'' people. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Blake
WA

 

[theonlybull]

i've found that when diggin up hill ( back of the machine headed down) it helps to leave a little weight on the wheels and put the parking brake on..... course i built the parking brake for ours... this old junk didn't come with any lol