Using a backhoe for small jobs

Reg · Mar 7, 2012

powerpace said:
Practice, Practice, Practice.
I use Spray paint or duct tape to mark the depth needed. I measure from the teeth.
Be careful swinging the boom side to side. Some backhoe models allow the boom to hit the outriggers, or step.
On some models bending the boom in a hard swing by hitting the trench side or stump is not unheard of.

Something else you may not notice right away; the swing control is ALSO proportional/progressive, i.e. you don't have to idle the tractor right down to avoid violent swings that are so uncomfortable when the boom and dipper are extended.
Just develop the feather touch to accelerate and slow the swing gradually.
It barely costs you a few minutes on a day's work to swing gentle, but it is so much less tiring.

s78wingrider · Mar 7, 2012

One thing I found out when learning, was just walk away for awhile sometimes. Always seemed a little easier when I started back each time. And the less you think about it, the easier it is. :thumbsup:

:confused2:

Martian · Mar 7, 2012

To say something besides practice, you may want to check out Youtube. Sometimes going out there blindfolded isn't the best idea. Go out to youtube, find some good trenching videos and watch the operator as he uses the controls and not so much the trench itself. I can't tell you how many times I've learned stuff from just watching videos like that. But, after you know how to do it, the only way to be good, is to . . . wait for it . . . practice:thumbsup:

AndyMA · Mar 7, 2012

I've been on a backhoe for many years. I just think of it as an extension of my arm. I give absolutely no thought to the controls. If I pay attention to the controls, it makes my work jerky. By thinking of it as an extension of your arm you will be able to put the bucket with in fractions of an inch of a wall (or whatever) And remember Practice

Andy

EddieWalker · Mar 8, 2012

There is a right way to dig, and a wrong way.

NEVER dig by curling the bucket!!!!

Use the power of the boom stick to pull the bucket back and the dipper stick to pull the bucket up. The curl is used to get the angle of cut you want.

If you ever find that you are lifting the back tires off of the ground while digging, you are doing it wrong.

GREASE! GREASE! and GREASE!!!!!!

Go slow and don't get frustrated. In time, you wont even think about your hands, you'll just look where you want the bucket to be and your hands will make it happen.

Eddie

AKfish · Mar 8, 2012

Thanks, Eddie! I'll work harder this next digging season thinkin' about what you said...

Even after several hundred hours of hoe work - I'm a long ways from being an adequate backhoe operator!

Still got wavy bottoms...

AKfish

TRR · Mar 8, 2012

Like powerpace says, use duct tape for a depth gauge. Also, once you "finish" a section of trench and before you move to the next section. Put your bucket down in the bottom of the trench at a reach and flat. Then drive forward - it will help keep the bottom flat and smooth. Makes working in the trench a lot easier. And BTW, working in trenches is very dangerous due to collapse and resultant suffocation. I stay out of any thing deeper than 2' anymore.

EddieWalker · Mar 8, 2012

Did you say to drive the tractor with the bucket dragging on the bottom of the trench?

It's real easy to keep a flat bottom when digging a trench if you don't dig by curling the bucket. This means you don't dig as much from each position, but what you do dig, you get nice and smooth. The wave and uneven bottom is from curling the bucket instead of pulling it towards you and then lifting.

I'm very **** about this because its what my Dad has been doing and after awhile, be busted the boom in half. He is never allowed to dig a trench because he can't go straight, or keep the bottom flat, but he's very good at getting out trees. Unfortunately, I can't watch him all the time and he goes back to old habbits. I never expected the boom to break. I was more worried about excessive wear on the pins. Now that it's repaired, he now understands why I've been trying so hard to get him to stop digging by curling the bucket.

Eddie