Bradco Question

[Richard]

I requested a quote from nearby dealer. Part of my equation was backhoe and top-n-tilt system. I was told by him that "Kubota does not approve their backhoes for use in conjunction with the "top-n-tilt" system".

So, for those familiar with the Bradco brand (since I understand that it allows the 3pt system to remain intact) if I use the Bradco bh, can I then still use the tnt system? I have *finally* seen what one looks like, though it was on a blue machine /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif and I think I would really like the flexability/adjustability it seems to give.

I might have mentioned above that the dealer didn't carry Bradco and priced it using the Kubota brand which I inferred somehow still uses some portion of the 3pt hitch.

Thanks for any thoughts /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif
Richard

 

[MChalkley]

Richard, you didn't say what tractor you're planning to use or what model Bradco, but I have a Kubota L4310HST and a Bradco 609 backhoe.

The reason I purchased the Bradco is that it uses a subframe mount that doesn't require you to remove any of your 3-point hitch mechanism. I have a cylinder on each side link and on the top link. It works fine.

How are you planning to power it?

Mark

 

[Richard]

I requested a quote for the L4610. (humming the song "I wanna be just like Mark...er...Mike")/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Still fighting on the homefront on the merrits of getting ANY machine, I asked for a quote as above with Bradco bh, loader, box scraper...forgot about the Michelins however /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.

His reply inferred that any bh that uses any part of the 3pt hitch would not be approved by Kubota. I was recalling one of your brief /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif comments about how the Bradco leaves the 3pt intact (I presume without using any portion of it).

None the less, I infer from what you say here, that you have the tnt sytem or something essentially similar to it and you are able to use your bh just fine it would seem.

I am unsure of your question on how it is to be powered. Is there a choice with the Bradco's? If so, which way is "better"?

Again, thanks for any thoughts...with my luck, I'll end up with just my little riding mower (it IS orange though) /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Richard

 

[MChalkley]

The appropriate response to your dealer regarding his comment about backhoes using any part of the 3-pt hitch not being approved by Kubota: "Relevance, please?" The Bradco uses it's own 4-point subframe mount. It does not in any way use any part of the tractor's 3-point hitch. BTW, I assume Kubota doesn't consider the 3-point hitch side link mount points as part of the hitch - Kubota's own backhoes mount to these points, which is why you have to remove the side links.

A typical top-n-tilt kit has two cylinders, one on the top link and the other on one of the side links, usually the right one. I have a third cylinder on the left side link, also.

There are two ways to power the backhoe: a separate system using a PTO-powered pump, or plumb it into the tractor's hydraulics. I've used the latter approach. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. It's a lot cleaner and simpler to plumb into the tractor's hydraulics, if you do it right. If you get the L4610, you'll have enough flow to keep it operating smoothly.

Mark

 

[Hawgee]

Mark,
I've heard good about the Bradco in that you simply back over and with a little up on hydraulics, you've got front pins (or bolts) and a rear pin (or bolt). 3 piont is free and clear? The plumbing issue is told to me as choosing the beyond kit and run off the tractor. (horse power capable) This is what the salesman told me to go with. Are the issues in running the self contained model trivial? (better for smaller HPower, less GPM flow)

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

 

[MChalkley]

To mechanically hook up to the Bradco backhoe, you swing the 3-point side arms as far toward center as they'll go. This is a bit of a pain on the older turnbuckle style, but a 30-second procedure (if you're slow like I am) on the newer Kubota pin style. Then, you back up close to the backhoe, making sure you're lined up side to side and square with it, then hook up the hydraulics. Use the stabilizers to raise the backhoe to the correct height, and the boom arm to get the top mount bars a little farther away from the tractor than the bottom ones. Back the tractor up until the top and bottom bars are over the hooks on the subframe, then get on the backhoe and lower the backhoe into the hooks. Slide the two pins that lock it in place into their respective holes and latch them, and that's it.

Hooking up the hydraulics consists of either mounting the PTO pump or connecting the quick-connects to the tractor, depending on which approach you use. The disadvantage to a PTO pump is that you have to fabricate a resorvoir and it needs to hold as least as much oil as the pump can pump in a minute, and should be larger. So, if you use a 12 gpm pump, it has to hold at least 12 gallons. That's hard to fit in under the backhoe. I like using the tractor's hydraulics, myself. Even though the Kubota implement pumps don't put out as much flow as Bradco recommends, it's not bad. It just operates a little slower, and requires a little finer touch on the controls.

Plumbing the tractor's hydraulics to operate the backhoe, if you want to do it that way, can be a little tricky. You want as much flow as possible, so you want to take it from the loader Power Beyond circuit down at the hydraulic block, before it's been restricted from 1/2" to 3/8" lines. Here's what I did: I cut into the hose running from the Power Beyond on the loader valve to the front hydraulic block and inserted a tee, a shut-off valve, and another tee into it. (Actually, I mounted an elbow to the hydraulic block, then the tee, valve, tee combination to it, followed by the original PB hose that used to run straight into the block. Then I ran 2 hoses from the extra port of the two tees to the back of the tractor and into the bottom 2 ports on the rear hydraulic quick-connect outlet block. Now, to use the backhoe, I just back up to it, hook up the hoses, and close the shut-off valve. This forces the Power Beyond pressure back to the backhoe. Otherwise, the valve remains open allowing the pressure to go straight to tank. You can't just run the PB hoses without a valve, because, when the backhoe wasn't connected, you'd lock the pump up.

Mark

 

[_RaT_]

Mark, excellent description on the process. Thanks, Rat...

 

[MChalkley]

Thanks, Sir King Rat. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Any time...

Mark

 

[Hawgee]

<font color=blue> Ditto </font color=blue> the Rat. I'm sold.

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

 

[MChalkley]

And we haven't even talked about power or durability, either... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mark