BH90-X Departure Angle

[Bob_Young]

Finally got to see the new Woods BH90-X mounted on my L4300 today. Was surprised to see how far it hung out the back and how close to the ground it was. Didn't see a departure angle listed on the website specs but ASSumed it was around 18 degrees...as that's what Kubota lists for its older designs. WRONG! It's 15 degrees.

I'm going to have to play some games to load that thing on my 20' Big Tex pipe trailer. Trailer deck is 20" above the ground sitting level and the rear gate/ramp is only 50" long.

Planning to jack up front of trailer until back of deck is about a foot off the ground. That should give me a little less than 15 degrees slope at the gate. I'll hafta chock and jackstand the heck out of it to avoid problems. This will have to do until I can buy some heavy duty ramps and weld ramp anchor rails to the back of the trailer.

What you get when you ASSume... Though even 18 degrees would've been a problem with my setup.
Bob

 

[art]

That's not a new problem with aftermarket hoe's frame units, with a lower subframe running under the tractor. In fact many of the lower subframes make 30 horsepower compacts have a lower ground clearence then the BX's!!!!

Kubota keeps the backhoe's tight to the tractor for less leverage on the tractor chassis. By having them close to the rear axxle it also helps loading and unloading off trailers.

 

[crbr]

Finally got to see the new Woods BH90-X mounted on my L4300 today. Was surprised to see how far it hung out the back and how close to the ground it was. Didn't see a departure angle listed on the website specs but ASSumed it was around 18 degrees...as that's what Kubota lists for its older designs. WRONG! It's 15 degrees.

I'm going to have to play some games to load that thing on my 20' Big Tex pipe trailer. Trailer deck is 20" above the ground sitting level and the rear gate/ramp is only 50" long.

Planning to jack up front of trailer until back of deck is about a foot off the ground. That should give me a little less than 15 degrees slope at the gate. I'll hafta chock and jackstand the heck out of it to avoid problems. This will have to do until I can buy some heavy duty ramps and weld ramp anchor rails to the back of the trailer.

What you get when you ASSume... Though even 18 degrees would've been a problem with my setup.
Bob

Find an embankment to roll it on and off. I have to do that from time to time with mine to avoid the mid-mount dragging.

 

[john_bud]

Do you need to block the backof the trailer to keep the rear of the truck on the ground? If so, you could switch to short blocks, so the back of the trailer drops while loading and unloading.

jb

 

[dfkrug]

Bob:

Can't you load the TLB backwards? The lowest part of the rear of the
hoe will go between the ramps.

 

[Bob_Young]

That's the bummer, dfk, backward loading won't work that way with the trailer's ramp-gate. The thing is full width with no open space between the heavy load bearing sections on each side. It's heavy wire-mesh with longitudinal box-section members to reinforce it. Works nice for light & narrow stuff like the B7610 and the Gator. Not so hot with a BH. If I'd only known then.....

jbud, I think I've got something that'll work.
1)Disconnect the trailer from the truck after chocking the heck out of the trailer. (Truck's 2WD so won't help control trailer if it's rear wheels are light/ in the air)
2)Place jack stands just aft of the rear of the bed set at about 10" height. These are to help support the trailer end of the ramp-gate.
3)Place a short section of 6x6 in position between the jacks to support the backend of the trailer when lowered
4)Raise the front of the trailer about 10" using a pair of bottle jacks positioned about 20" ahead of the rear wheels.
5)Support the raised trailer front with a pair of HD jack stands.

This makes it into a sort of poor man's (or idiot's?) Tilt-Bed. It could be that people do this all the time; but it's certainly new to me.

The jack stands in 2) and the 6x6 in 3) provide support on both sides of the ramp-gate hinges and (hopefully) will protect against bending the hinge pins. The support legs welded to the ramp-gate that normally support the trailer end of the ramp-gate when lowered have to be partially disassembled to get down to the 12" bed height. They can still help in this state, but I don't fully trust them...hence the small jack stands aft.

I tried this today at home and was able to get the rear of the trailer bed down to my target height of 12". Measured a ramp angle of 13 degrees with the protractor-level. Should be good to go. Ran the B7610 up and down the tilted bed several times. Seemed solid as a rock. Of course that thing weighs less than a third of what the TLB will weigh.

Loading/unloading from an embankment would be the smart way to go, but there aren't any that are suitable.

Now I just wait for the dealer to call and tell me it's ready....or wait for you guys to tell me I've lost my mind
Bob

 

[Jay4200]

I'm going to have to play some games to load that thing on my 20' Big Tex pipe trailer. Trailer deck is 20" above the ground sitting level and the rear gate/ramp is only 50" long.

I feel your pain. I have a subframe-mounted Woods 9000 on my L4200, and I can't load/unload it w/o digging into the ground with my 'hoe frame. Last time I unloaded, I did it across a hump in the ground which helped, but I still got completely hung up and had to use the 'hoe to drag myself off the trailer.

At any rate, don't bother with trying to muck with the trailer height or ramp length - it's a loosing battle. As far as jacking and blocking the trailer - you're crazy. That has some kind of horrible accident written all over it.

The ticket is to get some blocks for behind your ramps (between the trailer and the unloaded tractor). A stack of 2x10's layed flat that are ~4'-5' long will work fine. 4 boards will give a 6" lift, which should be plenty, and shouldn't be too heavy. You lay them on the ground in line with your ramps - stagger the edges so you can ride right up onto the planks and nail/screw them together. What you are doing is making a flat riser, so your back wheels get lifted off of the ground before your front wheels reach the top of the ramp, and before your 'hoe frame hits the ground. Picture as the front of the machine is rising, the back of the hoe frame is getting closer and closer to the ground. Just before it hits, the rear wheels get to the edge of the pile of boards, then ride up onto the pile, lifting the rear up clear of the ground. Get it?

JayC
Supergenius

 

[john_bud]

That's the bummer, dfk, backward loading won't work that way with the trailer's ramp-gate. The thing is full width with no open space between the heavy load bearing sections on each side. It's heavy wire-mesh with longitudinal box-section members to reinforce it. Works nice for light & narrow stuff like the B7610 and the Gator. Not so hot with a BH. If I'd only known then.....

jbud, I think I've got something that'll work.
1)Disconnect the trailer from the truck after chocking the heck out of the trailer. (Truck's 2WD so won't help control trailer if it's rear wheels are light/ in the air)
2)Place jack stands just aft of the rear of the bed set at about 10" height. These are to help support the trailer end of the ramp-gate.
3)Place a short section of 6x6 in position between the jacks to support the backend of the trailer when lowered
4)Raise the front of the trailer about 10" using a pair of bottle jacks positioned about 20" ahead of the rear wheels.
5)Support the raised trailer front with a pair of HD jack stands.

This makes it into a sort of poor man's (or idiot's?) Tilt-Bed. It could be that people do this all the time; but it's certainly new to me.

The jack stands in 2) and the 6x6 in 3) provide support on both sides of the ramp-gate hinges and (hopefully) will protect against bending the hinge pins. The support legs welded to the ramp-gate that normally support the trailer end of the ramp-gate when lowered have to be partially disassembled to get down to the 12" bed height. They can still help in this state, but I don't fully trust them...hence the small jack stands aft.

I tried this today at home and was able to get the rear of the trailer bed down to my target height of 12". Measured a ramp angle of 13 degrees with the protractor-level. Should be good to go. Ran the B7610 up and down the tilted bed several times. Seemed solid as a rock. Of course that thing weighs less than a third of what the TLB will weigh.

Loading/unloading from an embankment would be the smart way to go, but there aren't any that are suitable.

Now I just wait for the dealer to call and tell me it's ready....or wait for you guys to tell me I've lost my mind
Bob

Bob,

Uh - that's crazy man. Seriously.

I think you may be able to do something safer.

1) put some blocking front / rear of the trailer tires so the trailer can't move.
2) trailer is connected to the truck.
3) put a 6x6 under the trailer, across the back so when it drops, it lands on the 6x6.
4) drive slowly up the ramps.

The weight of the tractor may be enough to drop the back of the trailer (and raise the back of the truck off the ground). My Kubota L3410 with FEL and Woods BB600 can pick the back of my 4x4 Silverado 2500 duramax off the ground. I have to use HD jack stands under the back of the trailer to keep it from squating. This is sort of an uncontrolled tilt trailer, except the 6x6 limits the distance of the drop and the blocking keeps it from rolling away.

The other thing you can do is to make a ramp extension. A 6x6 across the full width of the ramp (maybe a 6x8?) for the ramp to sit on. That will raise it up and may give you enough clearance. Then just add enough to the front of the 6x6 so the tractor can climb it. A 3" vertical is probably all the tractor will easily climb.

 

[Bob_Young]

Well I picked the hoe up today and got it home. No problems. Did NOT use the bottle jacks or front set of jack stands. Did NOT disconnect from the truck. Did put the 6x6 under the back end of the bed; though the bed never dropped enough to rest on it. Thought jbud's uncontrolled tilt was worth a try; and that turned out to be enough.

The back of the trailer did drop about 5 or 6 inches when the tractor got on the ramp-gate but did not raise the back of the truck off the ground. According to witnesses, the back of the hoe didn't drag on the ground, though it came very close....pretty much a non-event

The rig was too long for the trailer, however. With the ramp-gate up, I was about a foot overlength. Got around that by resting the bucket on the front pipe and making wide turns.

Thanks for the help, everyone; particularly talking me out of the bottle jack scheme. Jay's riser idea sounds worthwhile as well. I may make up a set for future insurance.

Now to lurn how to operate the durn thing.....
Bob

 

[john_bud]

Good deal! Gravity comes thru again.


Ain't that the truth about tractors and trailers? They never seem to be in harmony for long.

jb