Backhoe Anyone have/tried the Woods BH85?

[Beyondfubar]

Thinking of pulling the trigger on a BH85 by Woods for my 2038r. It almost looks like too much backhoe for my little 2 series, but the HP requirements look right. I talked to a dealer, but they didn't have any on the lot, and wanted to charge me for some kind of bracket additional to the subframe.

I'm all on board for a subframe mount, and honestly after checking used mini excavators it's gonna be a TLB thing, but the main point is: there is *nothing* I can find on online of these things moving except one promo video that is 3 minutes long by Woods. Not a review, not an extensive clip of it moving, nothing. Just one post here about someone that seems pleased, but I think won't be using it till spring. It looks to be a great machine on paper, and everyone seems to love the brand but plopping down 14k for something sight unseen makes me highly nervous, let alone the information event horizon that seems to be most 3rd party backhoes.. anyone got any experience with them after the change to "groundbreaker"? (That's the new line by Woods I guess)

 

[TMGT]

I think the BH85 might be a bit big for your tractor, the BH75 looks like its a better fit, you can't go by HP ratings alone, that's just kind of a rough guide.

Whats the cost difference between the Woods and a factory 270B?

 

[Beyondfubar]

Yeah I was thinking that about the 85, seemed big for my tractor that is. The price difference from the 270 was about 2 grand, though they were going to pick my tractor up install and return it all for that.

Looking at ~12k for the 270b installed or
~14k for the BH85

The BH75 seemed like a better fit, though I did have a few points that may not actually matter, one was their guide listed it at topping out at 40 hp and I was unsure if that could mean being close could result in damage (I figured that was unlikely, but I'm extremely good at damaging attachments) and I did want to get the hydraulic thumb eventually if it couldn't fit the initial budget, which strangely isn't an option on the 75.

All that said my biggest concern was that I could damage the tractor with an improperly sized implement with the 85, or end up with a tool I'd be unable to accomplish my goals with and be stuck holding with the 75. Compound this with the unknowns present and it's a fret cycle!

Maybe the best thing is to highlight what I'd like to do with the potential purchase. It won't be doing a great deal of dirt digging, rather I have a limestone hill I live on, where I need to remove rocks mixed with (very little) soil from fist to head sized up to too big to lift in a bucket. Right now this is mostly accomplished with my toothbar and backbreaking prybar work. Removing the rocks once liberated has proven simple, they sled easily. I realize the only way to brute force them out probably would take a rental, but just being able to attack the larger boulders from more angles would probably make this bearable and I have several acres to go. I have all the time in the world, but I'm running low on back! I saw the Woods' bucket force and it's twice what JD can do, which is making me wonder if that could be the answer.

Either way I think you may be right about the BH75, I just wish they had a hydraulic thumb, and even more I wish I could see one attached, and hear a review of one.

 

[TMGT]

The BH75 actually specs out a little better then the 270B so I doubt you'd be disappointed with the performance compared to OE.

Based on the weight of the 85 alone I wouldn't put it on your 2 series, its almost 1300lbs plus subframe! Not to mention the higher forces its capable of exerting on the tractor.

I'm not real familiar with the 270B, Woods does make a nice quality backhoe. The 75 has a little more force and digging depth, also has 180° swing opposed to 150° on the 270B.

I think either one would work, for me it would come down to how well the subframe attaches and cost. I usually prefer OE attachments but if they aren't as well done as the aftermarket I'd just as soon buy what works better.

 

[Beyondfubar]

The convenience of having the dealership handle the movement, installation, and knowing the financing situation is high, but I do believe the Woods probably would a better option.

Yeah I need to stay a bit lighter too, the same rocks I want to move make traversing my hill a minefield. I knew clearance was going to be a problem, and Kubota and JD beat out LS which was going to be my pick. If I weigh it down too much I'll likely lose that advantage. Also for whatever reason I thought the 270b was much closer in weight to the 85. I was comparing apples to oranges there so I probably have some more homework to do, all of this taken together might also explain the mystery bracket the dealer said I would need, an adapter to fit an outsized attachment to the tractor makes sense.

Now I'll need them to price the 75 for me, because looking at it the BH75 is bigger and heavier then OEM so that's a concern. Hey the price difference might allow me to get that EA root rake I want though!

 

[rademamj1]

Looks like you received some good advice. The BH85 is a great backhoe, but due to the weight, a little too big for your 2038R. The BH75 is the better fit for your tractor, and will be good for digging and popping out rocks partially buried in the soil. I am doing that with my backhoe on between 25 to 125lb rocks. Once their out, just slide them into the bucket for transport.

Woods has been my dominant implement supplier, and all their equipment is well designed and extremely well built. They have a very good parts supply network.

 

[Beyondfubar]

That's more or less what I've been doing, except my rocks are generally 800-1500+ pounds by some crude geometry (assuming an internet average of 150-169 pounds per cu ft.) I had one I was able to outsmart that was almost certainly in the ton range and my 2038r was just able to sled it using pallet forks, chains, and destroying my driveway.. which is mostly bedrock it cut a **** of a path through actual rock. Most of these I can't brute force out of the ground, but after my second day of owning this tractor (my first.. well anything heavy equipment type. I've never even owned a ride on lawn mower) I stopped trying and started using the tractor to assist me in what I was doing before the tractor, i.e. use leverage, carefully dig, and attack the problem where I could separate it and then use my hill to move it.

I've moved enough very very large rocks like this build a 4 foot high wall several hundred feet to line my driveway, most of the wall is only one rock high because they're just massive. I'm about 6 and a half feet tall and a particularly thin and tall rock exceeds my waist height, it's about a foot thick too. That one I was able to get slightly off the ground to clear a small retaining wall so the 2038r is definitely endearing itself to me, but it isn't a skid steer or a 50 ton bulldozer (both of which wouldn't actually do the job either, I have to work around a very nice oak I want to keep, and the 2038 just barely fits) so I still have to do this thoughtfully.

Sounds like the advice I am getting here is better than the dealership, and is that the consensus is that I should come down a size to the BH75 and that will save me a great deal of trouble offloading a BH85 that may injury the tractor in the meantime. I've included a picture of one of my bigger rocks. Most of these are right at the limit of what the 2038r can do even with the bucket removed and a very lightweight pallet fork frame installed.



There we go the upload button didn't look like a button. This rock is actually one of the lighter ones. But again, not trying to really brute force these out of the ground, more of trying to get an attachment that allows me to wiggle the rock with the FEL from the direction of the tractor, then spin around and wiggle from the other side with a backhoe. This (I hope) takes a 2 hour to 2 day operation and halves it. I have literal acres of this to do if it works, honestly if I could find the right mini ex that could probably be justified because I'm halfway considering national guarding this, 1 weekend a month 2 weeks a year my vacation is doing a bit of tractor work for hire. But that is a whole can of worms for later, gotta finish college first I'm like 3 credits from graduating, not to mention the insurance and bookkeeping of such a thing (and the absolute certainty of unknowns that keeps everyone from doing this with their little CUT, I won't be attempting this until I do a few months of study). But aside from the backbreaking part this is probably the most fun I've had since range days in the Army. I love the tractor, I put about 50 hours on it the first week and a half before it got a bit cold and I ran out of tasks that didn't require actual tons of exhausting footwork.

But I am curious radememj1: Which backhoe do you have? What has been your experiences with it? Do you have the thumb? Is there anything surprising that I should know before purchasing, anything you may have wished you did or looked into prior to the purchase? I saw that woodmaxx likes to talk about their bushings and how you can replace them as well as the pins, but Woods makes no mention of such a thing. Is this an issue or simply an oversight because at their price point such a thing si standard?

 

[Beyondfubar]

Well I called Woods directly and they said they would recommend the BH65 for my tractor based on weight, but that the 2017+ model of the 2038r doesn't yet have a fitting that would allow me to run it. I am guessing this is the subframe mount, and guessing that fact that it's got to fit the belly mower (A consideration when I purchased the tractor, but is rapidly fading with the price and weight concerns) makes the subframe mount a pain to develop. I guess I'm stuck with OEM or a 3 point backhoe. I dislike both options, but given my ability to wreck attachments (Being brand new to anything with wheels that powers itself and isn't a car) a three point is totally off the table. Guess I'll be angrily purchasing a 270b! ******.

I asked them about fitment on the BH85 and will parrot it here for anyone that asks the same questions as me later, since this will undoubtedly end up being one of two google search results on "Woods BH85 review" the BH85 for John deere starts being an acceptable option around the 4 series, as I have seen numerous times horse power is a poor measurement of tractor to attachment fitting. It appears for the 2 series the BH65 is about right, possibly the BH75, which is fairly close to the OEM 270b in weight, BH65 is 695 pounds and the BH75 is 842 while the 270b is 773 pretty sure all these measurements are without a subframe kit which is, of course, another consideration.

Either way a sad end to my search for the perfect backhoe to assist me in this. Perhaps I should just complete my grapple setup first and attempt to use that for this job, and delay the backhoe till I've had more time to thing about whether or not I'm ok with the original manufacture one.

 

[lostcause]

i ended up finding a final year leftover BH80x for my 3039R cab tractor. When I got mine the only compatible Woods backhoes for mine were the BH75x & BH80x. they didn't offer an attachment for the BH85 on a 3 series cab tractor then - they might for an open station 3 series, but i dunno. I had an older BH75 on my 770, which is probably just slightly larger and heavier than a 2 series, although much less in the power department. the 65 is probably the closer choice for yours. If I had an open station 3 series and the BH85 did not fit I might have gone with the deere because they offered mounting for the slightly larger 385 backhoe - 8'-7" I think? but, the Woods at the BH80x and larger have an available hydraulic thumb, which is why i went that route.

 

[rademamj1]

OMG are your rocks truly enormous. Makes my rocks I am digging out look like pebbles. Recommend to avoid 3pt backhoe implements doing your aggressive type of backhoe work. Honestly the number of posts on the forum the past 5 years, indicate aggressive 3pt backhoe usage can do costly damage to tractors. Split or cracked transmission casings are common events.