Backhoe Anyone have/tried the Woods BH85?

[4570Man]

Spending 14k on a tractor mounted backhoe is a really poor value IMO. It’s better than a shovel but on the spectrum of hydraulic diggers it’s close to the bottom. There’s decent mini excavators to be had for that money. A full-size backhoe is the best bang for your buck but I gather something smaller is probably more suitable. One of the smallest pocket size minis would probably dig equal to the BH85 and a 6500 pound one would dig circles around it. Here’s the best candidate I could find with a few minutes of looking but you could sell that and get your money back where you’re going to get hosed on the tractor backhoe and you’d have a lot better digger.

 

[4570Man]

On the original topic I think you’re probably over sizing the attachment for the tractor. I used to have a L3240 with a BH90 on it and it was a good fit. The L3240 was 3400 pounds base tractor where yours is 2400 pounds base tractor. That much smaller tractor without a much smaller hoe won’t be a good combination IMO.

 

[Beyondfubar]

Yeah I tapped some equipment dealers and Craigslist for a mini ex just to see, I found several in the 14k range but they fell into two categories in a 500 mile range: massive (well 30 to 50 horse, tried to keep it under 12k pounds) and massive hours (>5000) or small and decent, but of questionable condition. I'm not overly mechanically inclined, but I'm not necessarily opposed to YouTubeing a fix. Primary concern is definitely picking something that I can get use from, and know what to look for or to look out for, and I absolutely lack that experience.

Basically if I buy a turd and just wasted 14 grand my wife will poison me.

 

[rademamj1]

I agree 14k for a tractor backhoe is excessive. Sorry to hear Woods lacks a subframe for your specific model of tractor. I looked at your picture and those rocks are huge. Love your tractor....I almost got the JD 2038R when I was buying a tractor, but went with the equivalent CK4010SE from Kioti.

My backhoe to answer your question is the Kioti KB2475L. Its an exact copy of the Woods BH75, and is made by Kioti (Daedong) in South Korea just for their CK family of tractors. Kioti and Woods have some kind of business agreements. Kioti also makes a KB2485 backhoe and a KB2465 backhoe for their tractors. Which should now recognize as duplicates of the Woods backhoe models. Also Woods makes the entire implement line for Kioti Tractors. All the Kioti tillers, cutters, mowers, stump grinders etc etc are made by Woods in USA. Just that Kioti manufactures their own backhoe lineup.

KIOTI Backhoes | Kioti Tractors

My backhoe does not have a thumb, though one is available. And a thumb would not be helpful with the size of your rocks...which appear to range over 1000+ pounds.

I use my backhoe for utility line (water or electric) trenching, digging out rocks exposed at surface and mainly for culvert installation. I only have two buckets: a 12" and 36" bucket, and these do most of what I need for excavating. I don't do any digging out stumps with my backhoe, though many owners do use their backhoes for that purpose. I prefer to use a stump grinder for that job....grinding stumps 6" below ground. Saves significant wear and tear on my backhoe, because I grind over 60 stumps per year.

A backhoe takes a good week of experience, getting used to the hydraulic controls, before developing smooth operating procedures. You will develop the skill.

Regarding the Woodmax backhoes, those are not subframe mounted equipment. All are 3pt backhoes and are dangerous for your aggressive backhoe work. The pins on Woodmax are replaceable, but Woods uses greased swing joints like on a loader.

Which brings up the question, the John Deere OEM backhoe for your tractor is the 270B. And I believe it uses a three point hitch mount. If so, its incredible dangerous for your type of work. If you would be just digging in only soft soil or diggng out small rocks, it would be fine. But 1000+ pound rocks is a big job for the 270B.

 

[Beyondfubar]

I actually managed to get a big break in the backhoe front. I was able to find a seller willing to freight me an older but low hours line up, still making my choice, but I may go up to ~17k with a new caveat: it's a mini excavator. The company has 4800 to 8000 pound options, all are practically antiques, but they get a decent once over, none seem to have turntable play or arm flop (as I've seen embarrassing amounts of on equipment trader, gross) they're all mechanically clean as far as I can tell, if a bit spartan. I'm hoping a big down payment will net me a low monthly on something I can just about brute force rocks out with, and hey, every model they get to put a monster thumb on so it's a little more cash for 4 times the machine.

Sadly it breaks my rule: I buy another piece of heavy equipment, I'm giving up my day job too. The bigger ones look pretty sweet though..