Hitch on your backhoe

[ACHINBAC]

Here are pictures of the FEL hitch setup. The Blade is 1/2" x 4" weld on, the three glide plates under the bucket are 3/8" x 3", and the top bucket brace is 1/2" x 2" stock which took a while to fab - had to mock it out of cardboard for the bends. Bottom lift eyes are 316 stainless. The brace rod doubles as support for the blade when the forks are used.

 

[ACHINBAC]

The hitch assembly mounts to these two stainless tabs under the starboard FEL arm for storage

 

[workinallthetime]

The hitch assembly mounts to these two stainless tabs under the starboard FEL arm for storage

man i tell you what, ive seen alot of fab guys on here but your stuff is the shiznit, excellent work !!! need you to come over and help me out for awhile, i stick stuff together but you make it work and look good.
good ideas. seems pinnin the bh would stop the motion of the dipperstick while pulling the trailer. Somewhere i saw an add for a trailer hitch mounted to the draw bar for use with tlb units but i cant find it anymore

good work man !!!

 

[ACHINBAC]

Thank' W.A.T.T. Appreciate the offer but my friends think I should seek medical attention (as in a shrink) - so I guess that's where I'll have to go if I get some time off - as my name implies, I would have your's if you hadn't taken it already.

I had found and read the board front to back since September of last year in an effort to determine which tractor to purchase (bought new in November - could not find any local used under 1000hrs but that spoke volumes to me). A lot of the inspiration for my customization was drawn from the great work and ideas of others.

I will take some more shots and post to return the favor to everyone.

As to pinning the dipper stick, it was considered & of course would work, but limits the articulation of hooking up, unhooking, so on and so forth. May be done in the future though.

By the way, as you will see, I welded the piss out of the rop, and drilled lot's of holes in it too - I do not condone or advise this to others. As to the ones that will lean on me regarding this - don't bother putting the skirt and wig on, I already have one of you at home . . . .

Dave

 

[fiddler kelly]

Dave that is some nice work you have done there . I like the roof bit too. I was planning on also making something like that but having walls and a plastic or plexy glass front and rear windshields put into it. I also need to be able to drop the roof so I can get clearance for storing the tractor in the garage. What is the size of the square tubing you have used and the wall thickness of it.

I was going to make the walls out of canvas so I could paint them whatever color I wish to.

Getting back to your trailor hitch what kind of loads are you hauling with this. Have you found this causing any premature wear on the pin where the end of boom and arm meet,cause I am sure as you are hauling a load there is some slight swinging of the trailor tow bar left to right.

 

[Defective]

So Dave...

Tell us the truth...

You build tractor upgrades for a living, right?

 

[ACHINBAC]

Defective,

You got it amost right . . . . I LIVE to build tractor uprades...

I am a renovation, maintenance & painting contractor & had worked only in wood for 20+ years. 5 years ago I bought a miller 175 mig with some extra cash - a toy I'd always wanted to own - & a 12" dewalt abrasive chop, though I find myself doing most of my cutting with my hand held right angle grinder (10k rpm with 4" to 5" whizzer blades in it cuts wicked fast and accurately also awesome for cutting bolts to size & doesn't mess up the threads). I also have a 16" drill press and all the usual shop toys. I taught myself to weld and work with steel by trial & error and actually rarely build wood projects any longer except my day job of course.

There are very few things I own that have not been tweeked, enhanced, reshaped, (wrecked sometimes) by the desire to have them perform a little better - a curse I inherited from my Dad.

 

[ACHINBAC]

Fiddler,

The tubing is 1&1/4" x 1/8" wall with 1" x 1/8" wall tubing pounded inside it - would have used 1/4" but did not have any on hand - sounds foolish, but guarrantee you it won't be the last foolish thing I do. The bends have additional 3/4" tubing in them to help strengthen the weld. The ends are 1 & 1/4" bored rod stock from Speedy Metals (find them on the web) they are great for small quantities of any type of metal stock - a bit of a premium payed, but I work all day and don't have time to drive all over the place looking for stock. Same with the bolts I used - from the Bolt Depot in Weymouth, Ma. They have all kinds & I don't mind paying shipping.

I would also like to make some sidewalls too in the future though would probably use something like Sunbrella or other marine fabric - very uv stable & available in tons of colors.

As for towing I use the arm for shuttling the boat or the tractor's trailer around my property short distances - I would not use the arm to continually trailer a box of rocks around all day for the reason you mention, though I suppose the arm could take it, you don't want to yank on it laterally - the boom and the dipper are engineered primarily for linear loads. If I had the need for heavy duty trailoring I'd fab something for the base of the boom @ the pivot, or drop the BH and fab a receiver to the frame.

Also If you look close at the top of the rops you'll see stainless marine hinges. One was bored all the way through and pinned with a bolt. With the bolt removed, the top can shift to the side an inch which unhooks the top for removal.

Dave

 

[ACHINBAC]

Fiddler,

This is the port arm @ it's lower pivot. The picture is rotated 90 to the left sorry. You can see the two walls in the 1/2" hole. Also there is an ammo box I mounted for shackles, tools, hitch parts fuses etc. It has two drawers that slide out and the smaller box fits beside the arm like factory - you can see better shots of it in some of my other pics. I also mounted one in the front of the bx - it holds 30' of 3/8" g70 chain.

 

[ultrarunner]

Amazing high quality work...

I never tire of seeing the great stuff TBN minds come up with...

TBN is one of the rare sites where people actually build, create and improve...

Are you still using the 175 Miller? Would you buy the same model if you were to buy today? I'd like to upgrade one day from my Lincoln Tombstone Stick Welder so any recommendations appreciated...

I bet you could sell all the BX backhoe hitches you'd want to make...

 

[ACHINBAC]

Ultra,

It is the only mig I've ever used so could not give you a comparison. I believe I paid a bit over a grand for it including a cart and my own argon tank - I have never used my flux core wire though save it for emergencies. It will weld anything from sheet up to over 1/2" (with multiple passes) though it's penetration may not be as good as stick in the heavier stock. I have never had a problem with it in 5 years and have run countless spools of wire through it. I recall I did a lot of research before I bought it and yes I would buy it again. When I was younger I had some experience with stick and it has it's place in fab - however I don't believe I'd ever go back for the type of projects I do.

As mentioned earlier, the hitch is an elegantly simple design and must give my older son Alex credit for turning me in the direction that created it - I was suffering from a case of severe cognitive lock (all you designers are all too familiar with this infliction) and sugestions from him broke me out of it. The toughest part was the bend on the 3/8" backing plate - I do not have a press (wishlist) so had to beat it over my anvil nose after I got it red. If I could find a quicker way to bend you guys can have as many as you want.

And by the way fiddler and for all you bx "capacity" guys, the beginning of my driveway is over 15 degrees slope and in low and 4 wheel + two kids in the bucket to keep the nose down the bx doesn't even know the 5000lb boat and trailer is behind it. I usually keep the wheel stand down just in case. The E brake also holds in the first lock position.

Dave

 

[fiddler kelly]

Dave what do you carry in the pill boxes on the tractor like the one you have on the front of your chassie.

 

[fiddler kelly]

By the way are you still able to operate the tractor with the roof not in its up right position. I ask this because I don't have the clearance in my garage door . Also do you have the roof high enough so you are able to stand up on the tractor.

 

[fiddler kelly]

Dave what is the other piece that is also stored under the back hoe base along with the hitch?

 

[ACHINBAC]

Fiddler,

The front box has 30' of 3/8" g70 chain in it - 3 10' lengths w/grabber hooks on each end. The box @ the fel arm has tools, the two other standard tow balls, a bunch of hooks and shackles, and spare fuses. By coincidence those size boxes fit like a glove, almost "0" clearance on the front one - cheap money too @ your army surplus store + waterproof.

With the top all the way down, you could get inside but you wouldn't as it's only for being on the trailer. Halfway up is where I normally keep it - easy to get in and out at bh or front though you can't stand up in it - can't stand up in my truck either & never was an issue. The top is just under 80" tall & my garage door trim is 81". That benchmark was used to determine the halfway height. All the way up it looks kind of strange - like a surrey - & never put it there unless it's raining & I'm working the fel. I initially cut 3" off the bottom legs of the rops as that's the most you can take off before the bend in it starts. Even with that the top looks too tall for the tractor with it all the way up. I would have cut more at the time but it would have meant sectioning the top sides of the rops & rewelding - it is not very thick stock & would have had to have been sleeved - looking back through all the work that has been done now, I should have sectioned them by another three inches.

Some of the design considerations were;
1) Height of garage trim.
2) With the top halfway down, the rops function is severely compromised so brace arms were added.
3) Folded all the way down the starboard front canopy arm had to be shifted outboard a bit to clear the fel control and also wanted full function of that control at that position. Also the canopy had to stop just short of the boom in it's locked up position.
4) The canopy needed to stay level for looks in all three positions - That was done on graph paper 1st and then mocked up with 3/4" wood sticks. It was achieved by the location of the pivot points and length and bend of the front arms.
5) By default the two up positions give rain coverage at either the BH or front stations.
6) Found after fab it took all I had without busting a nut to push the top up from full down and difficult to position it accurately with one hand to pin the locking bolts in. Added 2 90# struts and solved the problem -100# would be neutral & will switch them out later.
7) Wanted all wiring hidden and not get pinched inside the rops' pivot as well as up @ the marine hinges.
8) A "factory" look was important, so even with the great welds you can get with the mig, all welds were faired will aluminum powder filled polyesther resin - a little pricey @ $30/quart - but way better than plain bondo, and it's thicker consistency is easier to work with & feathers better too.
9) The coating is 1986 Yamaha dark silver marine outdrive paint from Tempo. As a laquer it touches up invisibly unlike most paints even with the metalflake in it. I bought a case for the shelf as Tempo is now closing it's doors. In the process I put about 10 coats on the intake screen - noticed most in the dealers yards were starting to rust from foot scuffs.

Spent an evening with the heat gun and vaporised all the decals except the backhoe removal instruction which I kept as a boot scuff guard. Would like to detail the loader arms and other locations when I'm done customizing with some pinstriping - am looking for some one near Cape Cod who's a good artist if anyone has advice.

The blue arm you see is for the wallenstein thumb. I store it there instead of on the thumb as it is sort of in the way when using the bucket - even when folded down.

Dave

 

[bob_wood]

Defective,

You got it amost right . . . . I LIVE to build tractor uprades...

I am a renovation, maintenance & painting contractor & had worked only in wood for 20+ years. 5 years ago I bought a miller 175 mig with some extra cash - a toy I'd always wanted to own - & a 12" dewalt abrasive chop, though I find myself doing most of my cutting with my hand held right angle grinder (10k rpm with 4" to 5" whizzer blades in it cuts wicked fast and accurately also awesome for cutting bolts to size & doesn't mess up the threads). I also have a 16" drill press and all the usual shop toys. I taught myself to weld and work with steel by trial & error and actually rarely build wood projects any longer except my day job of course.

There are very few things I own that have not been tweeked, enhanced, reshaped, (wrecked sometimes) by the desire to have them perform a little better - a curse I inherited from my Dad.

Amen to the angle grinder used for cutting steel ! I use mine all the time to cut. It cuts fast, clean and quite accurate. Only use my torch when I Have too

Bob

 

[Mustangous]

Amen to the angle grinder used for cutting steel ! I use mine all the time to cut. It cuts fast, clean and quite accurate. Only use my torch when I Have too

Bob

do you guys use a cut of tool for 1/4" or 3/8" thick metal???

 

[philbuilt]

I welded some mounts for a 2" ball on the BH lower frame. this works good . I can load the trailer with the hoe and not remove it.

I did lower the ball mounts to make it easier to clear the dump.
there are more pic on the second to the last page of
Pond dreaming is over.

 

[fiddler kelly]

This is how I had planned on putting hitch on backhoe when I initially started this post . The reason I show this is so people will be understand what it was I was going to set up . I went with the pintel because it was a bit more forgiving especially when using it up around the cabin where the terrain is not that even and it gives fore a more secure connection. I can't see the hoe being strained here anymore than the strain it would put under during use again up here where our ground is very rocky.

Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Bedlam]

If that were attached there all the time would the arm and bucket clear it when you curl it up I know mine would.but perhaps not a problem .