Mounting a backhoe high?

[davesisk]

Hey, just curious on thoughts here. Has anyone ever considered (or even implemented) mounting a smallish backhoe high-up on the rear of the tractor (assuming a frame-mount type of deal). I'm wondering about the possibility of this...you could in theory leave the 3PH arms, etc., in place and even attach a 3PH implement without having to take the BH off. The BH would have to curl and hang over the 3pt implement. Seems like if the stabilizers were long enough, it shouldn't present any unusual weight placement problems (like causing the front end to rise up when digging). Any thoughts?

Dave

 

[GeneD14]

I guess it would depend on: tractor size, backhoe size, etc.. If you mounted it 2' higher lets say: you would loose 2' of digging depth. Since a backhoe is generally heavy you would raise the center of gravity/greater risk of roll over.

 

[Jimbrown]

Ditch Witch makes a couple of models with the hoe high in the front over the top of the front blade and the trencher on the back

 

[Scozz]

Youd have to have it above you're top link if you plan on leaving another impliment attached .... that would pu the backhoe awfully high /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ... Scozz

 

[davesisk]

Hmmm...thanks a really good point. I was thinking of weight balance in terms of front to back. You made a very good point...having a heavy hoe high would make it easier to roll the machine sideways. If it were a light hoe (<500 lbs), might not be as bad, but still probably introducing an unnecessary operation risk.

Thx for the post!
Dave

 

[OldMcDonald]

If you are thinking of a sit on BH the first thing to make sure of is that when raised the arm does not squash you against the tractor roll bar or cab if you have one. There were problems with this maybe 30 years ago when BHs became popular in the UK. If you operate it from the tractor seat then you still have to make sure it will not foul on the roll bar or cab. Side stays, whilst complicating the job, should stop any rollover risk. Old McDonald.

 

[Mike_C]

I have a backhoe on my Kubota BX-22 mounted low. It weighs 600 Lbs and it is a small backhoe relative to a lot of other backhoes out there. It is tall enough that it really raises the center of gravity on the tractor, and I rolled mine once because of it. Knowing this, there is no way I would want a backhoe mounted high.

 

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy! Another thought. the higher you mount the backhoe, the londer the backhoes reach has to be, or the less work it could accomplish. The idea is to dig deep efficiently, the higher the BH is, the less efficient it is, and the bigger hoe you would nead. So to ME it would seem counter productive. THe best Idea I see, is trying to improve the means of removing and mounting allready existing equipment, to make handling faster and easier... so you don't compromise performance, just some thoughts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Brian Lee, Sparkeee24