Back hoe for 3830?

rk246 · Dec 21, 2005

I am sure it has been asked before but what different backhoes are you using on your L series? What sizes fit the 3830?

What kind of price is a guy looking at for one of these BH's ?

How easy to put on and off? time frame of doing so?

What kind of uses are you using them for? I have a lot of stumps to dig and am wondering if buying a backhoe would make sense or is I should just rent a trachoe? I would also use it probably for putting in a sprinkler system and building a rock wall if it had enough oomph?

Thanks for you help.

Boondox · Dec 22, 2005

I have a Woods 7500 backhoe on my L3010. Couldn't really justify the expense ($4500 gently used) for chores I had planned, but figured in the long haul it would at least be a lot of fun. I ended up using it a lot for semi-necessary busy work, i.e., harvesting field stone to rebuild my stone walls, clearing drainage ditches, digging up stumps that were behaving themselves but annoyed me, burying old junk and dead animals. Once I even dug a trench around the car of a tourist who insisted on parking on my land in a way that blocked my access to my own property and ignored polite notes left on his windshield three days in a row. The fourth day he had a mote around his Volvo and never came back.

For a tractor the size of yours, you could go up a size in backhoes. The Woods 9000 or the Kubota BH90 are properly sized for the 3830. Both are massive, formidable hoes. Both, IMO, are way oversized for the chores you listed. (Also consider the Bradco hoe, which comes highly recommended but is not sold in my area.) And both are quite easy to mount and dismount. At my local dealers, both those hoes go for around $8,000 assuming you have rear hydraulic remotes already.

It's a tough call. Sounds like you don't really need one. But using a backhoe is the most fun you can have fully dressed!

Pete

Jarrett · Dec 22, 2005

( Once I even dug a trench around the car of a tourist who insisted on parking on my land in a way that blocked my access to my own property and ignored polite notes left on his windshield three days in a row. The fourth day he had a mote around his Volvo and never came back.

Pete )

That's awesome!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Boondox · Dec 22, 2005

Thanks! Though my wife disagrees, I consider that one of my finest moments. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

L3130 · Dec 22, 2005

( Once I even dug a trench around the car of a tourist who insisted on parking on my land in a way that blocked my access to my own property and ignored polite notes left on his windshield three days in a row. The fourth day he had a mote around his Volvo and never came back. )

Nice! I would have done the same thing... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. As far as the backhoe I have a BH90 on my L3130 and it works great. Very strong hoe also. Woods or Kubota you can't lose. Good Luck.

kjb · Dec 22, 2005

I assume you have a loader on your L3830. Kubota recommends a subframe assembly. It ties the loader with the rear of the tractor. Either the BH90 or the Woods 9000 would be a good fit. I'd go with the PTO pump. Makes a huge difference with the performance of the backhoe versus tractor hydraulics.

Boondox · Dec 22, 2005

( I assume you have a loader on your L3830. Kubota recommends a subframe assembly. It ties the loader with the rear of the tractor. Either the BH90 or the Woods 9000 would be a good fit. I'd go with the PTO pump. Makes a huge difference with the performance of the backhoe versus tractor hydraulics. )

I'd disagree with the PTO pump recommendation. My L3010 has much less hydraulic volume than the larger tractors yet I rarely run it higher than 2k RPM when using the backhoe. It does just fine, plenty of power and speed. Why put your tractor thru all the wear and tear of using the PTO for protracted periods like that?

Pete

Jay4200 · Dec 22, 2005

( I assume you have a loader on your L3830. Kubota recommends a subframe assembly. It ties the loader with the rear of the tractor. Either the BH90 or the Woods 9000 would be a good fit. I'd go with the PTO pump. Makes a huge difference with the performance of the backhoe versus tractor hydraulics.)

( I'd disagree with the PTO pump recommendation. My L3010 has much less hydraulic volume than the larger tractors yet I rarely run it higher than 2k RPM when using the backhoe. It does just fine, plenty of power and speed. Why put your tractor thru all the wear and tear of using the PTO for protracted periods like that?..)

I can't comment on the wear and tear part, and don't know if a PTO-powered BH would function better, but I have a Woods 9000 on my L4200, running from the tractor hydraulics, and it strikes me as fairly slow with the tractor running mid-RPMs. I suspect that is might be more of an issue with the bigger backhoes - the 7.5'ers use smaller pistons. Power doesn't seem to be a problem though.

I wanted a 9' backhoe, which pretty much drove my search and limited me to machines that could carry the bigger 'hoe while I was tractor shopping - and boy I wish I could've justified forking out for a new L3830. While I doubt I'll ever do anything that REALLY needs the bigger backhoe, I didn't want to come up short and blow the thing up with a boulder halfway out of the ground someday. It also allows me to be less careful about what I attack with it, which is also a bonus.

Jay

rk246 · Dec 23, 2005

I think maybe I will look for a used one? maybe I can justify the expense a little better that way. Anyone know of a good place to find a used one? How many remotes does it take to run the backhoe? I have two... I went to the Wood site to look at them, but they didn't seem to have real good info, I was trying to figure out the exact differences of the groundbreaker 70, 80 and the 90? I couldn't find the Kubota BH 90 on the website? Do they all come with thumbs? For 8000.00 I was wondering about looking for a small excavator, used of course....

Boondox · Dec 23, 2005

( I think maybe I will look for a used one? maybe I can justify the expense a little better that way. Anyone know of a good place to find a used one? How many remotes does it take to run the backhoe? I have two... I went to the Wood site to look at them, but they didn't seem to have real good info, I was trying to figure out the exact differences of the groundbreaker 70, 80 and the 90? I couldn't find the Kubota BH 90 on the website? Do they all come with thumbs? For 8000.00 I was wondering about looking for a small excavator, used of course.... )

It's been my experience that the smaller hoes are more likely to come on the used market than the big ones. Folks like me start out small then realize their hoe wasn't up to the tasks they envisioned, so they move up.

It takes just one pair of remotes for a BH; the hoe essentially becomes part of a hydraulic loop. The Woods brochure has some pretty good info. For the BH90, go to the Kubota Webpage and enter that for your search. That's how I got the info.

Thumbs are an option. The $8000 price I was quoted included one. And I hear you about the cost. An excavator really is better for digging, but there's something to be said for having one less machine to maintain and store.

Good luck in your search! Pete

CTyler · Dec 23, 2005

That depends on the PTO pumps GPM. For example my dealer spec'd a 9GPM pump for my Woods 9000. If I had gone that route I would go with a bigger pump say 11-13GPM and run the tractor at a lower RPM.

CTyler · Dec 23, 2005

I have a Woods 9000 on my L3130 and run it off the tractors remote. Plenty of power, there is a second hole for the power mode which hasn't been used yet. The second hole provides more leverage. I bought it and the tractor when building our house and for our 28 acres.

Here are just a few things its been used for theres plenty more.
Trenches for water, electrical, comminications and septic.
Septic tanks and drain field.
Culverts.
Drain tiles.
Retaining walls.
French drains.
Yes...all plural.

Jay4200 · Dec 23, 2005

( Thanks! Though my wife disagrees, I consider that one of my finest moments. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif )

Yup - I'm with you on this one too. One of the better uses for a backhoe that I've heard. Definately sounds like something I'd do.

Jay

CTyler · Dec 23, 2005

( Once I even dug a trench around the car of a tourist who insisted on parking on my land in a way that blocked my access to my own property and ignored polite notes left on his windshield three days in a row. The fourth day he had a mote around his Volvo and never came back. )

Now THAT's FUNNY!!! I'd would have never thought of that. I'm sure that was aggrivating until you got a chuckle in the end! Did you put up a free parking sign? LOL!

kjb · Dec 23, 2005

I should have been a little more specific with my PTO recommendation. It is considerable slower with the tractor hydraulics. It'll work fine, but if you've run one with the pump you'll know what I'm talking about. I've sold equipment for 10 years now, and try to relay to my customer that for the difference in money, remotes vs. pump, you'll be happier with the pump in the long run. As far as wear and tear on the system, it's much easier than having a rotary cutter on the back, and you don't have to run the tractor at the recommended PTO speed to be very efficient.

rk246 · Dec 24, 2005

So it sounds like Woods 9000 or Kubota BH 90 are the way to go, How to decide between the two? do they make a bucket small enough to dig the trenches for my sprinkler system in my yard I am going to put in?

wushaw · Dec 24, 2005

12" is probably the smallest bucket you will be able to get with them hoes which will work but the trench will be a little wide.

rk246 · Dec 25, 2005

I was looking at them earlier, and thought I saw a 10", that would probably work out okay... rather than renting a ditcher...

CTyler · Dec 25, 2005

I have 12 and 24" buckets. You can get a 10" and I think you can get an 8" as well but not sure on the 8". With a small bucket you'll want the dirt fairly dry so it doesn't stick to much.

If you have grass already you may want to look at a vibrating puller. That way you only have a slit in the grass. This is what the sprinkler system installers use.

rk246 · Dec 26, 2005

I am basically starting from scratch, there is some grass (if you want to call it that) but I am going to take everything out, bring in some good dirt, and topsoil, put in my sprinkler system and reseed everything. So I am not too worried about tearing too much up.... Hopefully I can find the time to do all of the projects I want to do, but the grass needs to come soon for the kids...