L39 Backhoe Thumb?
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shasta
Bronze Member
catvet,
Last year my dealer put a mechanical thumb on my L39 for me(~$800). If I remember correctly it is a Germore. It work great for my needs. When I when shopping for it he said the Kubota makes a kit for a hydraulic thumb. I think it was something like $1500-1700 plus the thumb.
Last year my dealer put a mechanical thumb on my L39 for me(~$800). If I remember correctly it is a Germore. It work great for my needs. When I when shopping for it he said the Kubota makes a kit for a hydraulic thumb. I think it was something like $1500-1700 plus the thumb.
I recently talked with my dealer and he said that there is no new news on a Kubota thumb for the L39. My dealer has an aftermarket Hydraulic one which he would install (around $3000 total). Also manual for around $1000. For the moment I'm holding off. The wife has agreed to allow me to rent an excavator for pond building and other chores. Would rather do that this year than get the thumb. Also looking at the M59 for a year down the road which I would certainly get with backhoe and thumb if it happened.
CurlyDave
Elite Member
I have an Addington hydraulic thumb for my Deere 110 TLB.
At the time I bought it, the word on TBN was that the Deere thumbs were soft.
I am very satisfied with it, and I believe they are available for the L-39.
A hydraulic thumb can do things a mechanical thumb just can't, although a good operator can work around some of that.
For my money, one of the biggest reasons to get a hydraulic thumb is safety. I know that I would be too lazy to reposition the TLB to change the thumb position, and the biggest uses for a thumb are in terrain which is very uneven and rocky or brushy. I just plain think the possibility of a fall in this terrain while dismounting and going out to reposition a mechanical thumb is fairly high.
At the time I bought it, the word on TBN was that the Deere thumbs were soft.
I am very satisfied with it, and I believe they are available for the L-39.
A hydraulic thumb can do things a mechanical thumb just can't, although a good operator can work around some of that.
For my money, one of the biggest reasons to get a hydraulic thumb is safety. I know that I would be too lazy to reposition the TLB to change the thumb position, and the biggest uses for a thumb are in terrain which is very uneven and rocky or brushy. I just plain think the possibility of a fall in this terrain while dismounting and going out to reposition a mechanical thumb is fairly high.
Alt5600
Member
That is exactly the reasons why I'd want one. I have 35+ acres backing up to a hill with lots of rocks EVERYWHERE ... up the hill and down into the pasture. The don't call it The Rockies for nothing. One of these days, I'll be carving switch-backs up the hill, and a thumb would be ideal.
It looks like the L39 will be a good fit for me (could use a bit more hydraulics), but I do wish it came with a hydraulic-thumb mount (at a minimum) much like the B26 and M59. I had posted another thread on this a while back and under a different username, but the dealer I spoke with was talking about welding the mount onto the dipperstick and installing something like the U25 thumb on it. I can see how that could be possible, but still it seems like it could potentially lead to problems if it wasn't done exactly right ... alignment issues, popping-off the mount due to poor weld or too much hydraulic-power. Maybe you guys can share your thoughts here.
I'll look into the Addington. The 110 has a mount already on the dipper though, right? Despite the 110 being a preference, I haven't looked at it much because I've been under the assumption that it'll cost a lot more than the fully-loaded L39 that I want. I ran the "build your own" tool on the Deere website, but it was showing something that was way out of my range.
It looks like the L39 will be a good fit for me (could use a bit more hydraulics), but I do wish it came with a hydraulic-thumb mount (at a minimum) much like the B26 and M59. I had posted another thread on this a while back and under a different username, but the dealer I spoke with was talking about welding the mount onto the dipperstick and installing something like the U25 thumb on it. I can see how that could be possible, but still it seems like it could potentially lead to problems if it wasn't done exactly right ... alignment issues, popping-off the mount due to poor weld or too much hydraulic-power. Maybe you guys can share your thoughts here.
I'll look into the Addington. The 110 has a mount already on the dipper though, right? Despite the 110 being a preference, I haven't looked at it much because I've been under the assumption that it'll cost a lot more than the fully-loaded L39 that I want. I ran the "build your own" tool on the Deere website, but it was showing something that was way out of my range.
CurlyDave
Elite Member
The 110 has a mount already on the dipper though, right?
It mounts in two places. The thumb pivots on a pin which is longer than the stock bucket pivot pin and they give you a drop-in replacement. It is not as good a quality as the stock pin, but no problems so far.
The hydraulic cylinder mounts to a plate which must be welded to the dipperstick. It cost me about $150 to have a welder come out and put it on.
I had no worries about the weld weakening something else, and so far it has been great.
Check out what a 110 really costs at a dealership. I paid a lot less than list price.
The only issue is that you need to order it with all of the hydraulics you will ever need because they can not be added once it leaves the factory. My dealer just ordered them loaded and that is how I got mine.
The L39s seemed cheaper, but when I added in the cost of all the hydraulics and considered the value of HST (which is great) vs. GST (I haven't tried that but it seems less than HST), the 110 was very competitive. About $1500 higher than a similar L39, but what is the value of HST, which isn't even available on the L39?
It mounts in two places. The thumb pivots on a pin which is longer than the stock bucket pivot pin and they give you a drop-in replacement. It is not as good a quality as the stock pin, but no problems so far.
The hydraulic cylinder mounts to a plate which must be welded to the dipperstick. It cost me about $150 to have a welder come out and put it on.
I had no worries about the weld weakening something else, and so far it has been great.
Check out what a 110 really costs at a dealership. I paid a lot less than list price.
The only issue is that you need to order it with all of the hydraulics you will ever need because they can not be added once it leaves the factory. My dealer just ordered them loaded and that is how I got mine.
The L39s seemed cheaper, but when I added in the cost of all the hydraulics and considered the value of HST (which is great) vs. GST (I haven't tried that but it seems less than HST), the 110 was very competitive. About $1500 higher than a similar L39, but what is the value of HST, which isn't even available on the L39?
yekrut
Silver Member
I'm heading down to my dealer next week to pick up a new Landscape Rake, Boxblade and to check out the M59. I will ask about the thumb options for the L39. I anyone will know they will.
I compared the 110 and L39 about a year ago. Drove both and priced both at multiple dealers. Price wise I never got closer than $4500 between the two with as similar specs as you can make them. I liked the 110. That's where I started looking. The one thing that really bothered me was how expose the hydraulic were under the machine. Crazy. They said you can get undercarriage protection for them but it just blows my mind they designed it that way. There were several other considerations that went into my decision but I ultimately went with the L39. I'm at 175hrs and have no regrets.
I compared the 110 and L39 about a year ago. Drove both and priced both at multiple dealers. Price wise I never got closer than $4500 between the two with as similar specs as you can make them. I liked the 110. That's where I started looking. The one thing that really bothered me was how expose the hydraulic were under the machine. Crazy. They said you can get undercarriage protection for them but it just blows my mind they designed it that way. There were several other considerations that went into my decision but I ultimately went with the L39. I'm at 175hrs and have no regrets.