Lets see your backhoe!

[Bindian]

Bindian,

I would think with your auger hydro line already in place just adding a flow diverter or another control valve (I seem to recall your auger is controlled by your "curl" lever )and cylinder and your thumb could be hydraulic.

My excavator has a hydro thumb and it sure is nice to not have to jump on and off to play with it all the time.

I have checked into the hyd kit for my thumb. It is right at $1,000. It uses a foot operated pedal. Dougster can attest to the pains of trying to monkey in a home brewed "kit" using Bradco's cylinder and piecing together the rest of the installation. This spring I hope to buy the kit and install it. I have installation instructions for Bradco's hyd. thumb kit and it is a nice sweet installation. Basically you have to buy Bradco's cylinder, as it is a unique design. When I was waiting on my FEL to be delivered and installed on my 6520 by Mahindra, I priced a custom thumb by www.rakesales.com for my Bradco. They wanted more than Bradco!
hugs, Brandi

 

[larryRB]

LarryRB,
That is worth a try, but bare in mind my 6520 as equipped weighs right at 13,700 pounds. I am sure the 2X10s won't last long.
hugs, Brandi

Buy yourself one pressure treated 2 X 12 X 10 L. cut off two three foot sections and two, two's. Nail them together and place the 3 ft section on the ground, lowering your ramps to this. You can pick this wood up, heavy, but not so heavy the avg size female couldn't do it.. It will raise the bottom of the hoe 4" before the front tires start going up the ramps,, You should have no problems doing it this way.,, Those 2 X 12 or 10's for that matter, the weight of your tractor isn't going to phase the wood blocking.

 

[Bindian]

Buy yourself one pressure treated 2 X 12 X 10 L. cut off two three foot sections and two, two's. Nail them together and place the 3 ft section on the ground, lowering your ramps to this. You can pick this wood up, heavy, but not so heavy the avg size female couldn't do it.. It will raise the bottom of the hoe 4" before the front tires start going up the ramps,, You should have no problems doing it this way.,, Those 2 X 12 or 10's for that matter, the weight of your tractor isn't going to phase the wood blocking.

LarryRB,
Actually, two 2 bys are not 4 inches, but 3 inches. Also, my ramps are 16 inches wide and have angles on each side, so the boards need to be the width of the ramp. They would have to straped down on the trailer also. Overall, I think it would be easier in the long run to have the ramps lengthened about a foot. You can see the ramps in the photo I posted in #14 of this thread. I hate carrying boards around to use on these fancy ramps. If scraping the dirt bothers me enough, I will lengthen the ramps. Then I would get spring assist on the ramps. But then again, if I went to all this expense, I could go buy a 25 foot trailer with a 5 foot dovetail and spring assisted ramps. This would be a heavier grossing trailer, so I could fill all my tires with water. This all reminds me of the song...........There's A Hole In The Bucket.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Bindian]

LarryRB,
Here is a better photo of the ramps. I guess the easiest and cheapest solution for me is to cut a treated 4 X 6 16 inches long and just block under the each ramp. I use one already under the trailer jack.
Yes, Dougster, that is Booger laying behind the trailer licking his.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Archdean]

I have an itty-bitty 4672 mounted on a B-7510 but since I mainly just use it around home it performs as well as any "Big one" I owned in the past. It really is the skill of the operator rather than the size of the hoe that makes it look effortless. Once you get the feel between man and the machine you will be pleased no matter what size you own!

1.Only use it when I need it so I made this little dolly to store it on (makes hook-up about a 5 minute job
2.Same dolly different view
3.Home made outrigger pads (asphalt protectors)
4.Attached​

I admire those that have to skill to build their own, as for me, little mods are my speed!​

 

[DK35vince]

I have a Rhino 85 backhoe with an 18" and 36" bucket.
Works good, been real pleased with it.

 

[Bindian]

I have a Rhino 85 backhoe with an 18" and 36" bucket.
Works good, been real pleased with it.

DK35vince,
What all do you do with your 36 inch bucket? I have been wanting one to clean out my gully and police my ditches.
hugs, Brandi

 

[DK35vince]

I've used the 36" bucket to dig off and grade/level a bank that was along the front of my property.
Dug off and leveled a small bank that ran along my driveway.
Used it to put in a grade drainage ditch's along the driveway,
Dug and leveled an area near the house to put in an above ground swimming pool. Etc.
I have used the 36" bucket fairly often and the backhoe seems to handle it well for its size.

 

[Bindian]

I've used the 36" bucket to dig off and grade/level a bank that was along the front of my property.
Dug off and leveled a small bank that ran along my driveway.
Used it to put in a grade drainage ditch's along the driveway,
Dug and leveled an area near the house to put in an above ground swimming pool. Etc.
I have used the 36" bucket fairly often and the backhoe seems to handle it well for its size.

DK35vince,
Thanks for the answers.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Mith]

Brandi, thanks for the pictures and notes. I've nearly done making the backhoe, and wish I had seen the picture of your valve before plumbing mine, I didnt know you could get those extended fittings like on yours (now i look harder, I see my supplier stocks them), my plumbing isnt nearly as neat as a result.

As to adding a hydraulic thumb to yours, could you not add an electric diverter to the curl function of your valve, so that lever would control both the bucket and the thumb. Probably be cheaper than the other options too.

 

[Bindian]

Brandi, thanks for the pictures and notes. I've nearly done making the backhoe, and wish I had seen the picture of your valve before plumbing mine, I didnt know you could get those extended fittings like on yours (now i look harder, I see my supplier stocks them), my plumbing isnt nearly as neat as a result.

As to adding a hydraulic thumb to yours, could you not add an electric diverter to the curl function of your valve, so that lever would control both the bucket and the thumb. Probably be cheaper than the other options too.

Mith,
Your welcome. Don't you just love it when a project is almost done and then you realize you could have done it neater. Then you are torn with changing it or leaving it as is.
On a hyd. thumb. Thanks for the suggestion. Dougster has almost the same BH and has researched an after marktet cylinder. But with the existing mounting brackets being narrow, and the size the cylinder needs to be and the cost factor, the Bradco cylinder is the best bet. With that said, it would be a Bradco cylinder when I do it. Then I can go design something myself for unknown dollars to get it to work (or not) the first time, or I can buy the hyd. control kit from Bradco with a foot operated pedal. That way I can curl the bucket and the thumb at the same time.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Big Dog]

Woods 90x on a DK45s .............

AFA loading ............ Last Summer I bought a 22' Appalachian deckover trailer, 4' of that dovetail with 5' ramps. If the rig is setting flat, no drag.

 

[Doc]

Awesome set up you have there Dawg. Is that a new back hoe to you or is that the one you got a few years ago? Sub frame isn't it? Would you ballpark the cost?
Back hoe envy here, can ya tell.

 

[Big Dog]

Same hoe as couple years ago, I just never ran across this thread. It's a sub-frame mount and I got the whole setup (mount, hoe, and bucket) for $7,700.

Hoe weights 1300# and the mount is right at 500#, adds a lot of weight to the ass of the tractor ....... The 90x is recommended for 40-75HP so you may have to go with the 80x when the urge overwhelms ....