Need advice....

[geoffburnham]

I have a Kubota B1750 (20 HP) that came equipped with a bucket loader but no back hoe... In researching purchasing a backhoe for this unit I have been told that I may be better off trading the one I have versus buying a new one for the tractor I have now. One person wanted to sell me a Woods 6000 3 pt but when I spoke to Woods directly, I was told initially, that the only one recommended for that tractor is the BH70-x and that they don't make an undercarriage for the 6000. When I mentioned this to the person who wanted to sell me the 6000 he said he had sold about 50 of these to people in the same circumstances as I was and they had no problem. He confirmed they don't make an undercarriage for the 6000 but said it wasn't needed. I called Woods again and this time spoke to a tech person, not a sales person who said the 6000 would work as long as i wasn't running it everyday. Others have told me that the 6000 doesn't really have enough power to do any real digging ie stumps etc... I do have an opportunity to buy a Kubota 2550 with both a backhoe and front loader but its about 12k .. any suggestions from anyone will be appreciated ... trade in or buy a new backhoe.. and if you recommend buying the backhoe would you buy the 6000 or the BH70-x ( the cost difference is about $1600).. Thanks

 

[KennyV]

What ever way you go get something WITH a sub frame, it only takes once to brake something… KennyV.

 

[art]

It is true what you have been told about the none frame backhoes but there also have been some tractors that didn't have such good luck!

 

[dfkrug]

A very important factor when considering a backhoe is tractor
weight. That small B-series will be dragged around easily.
The 30hp L2550DT you are considering is in a whole different
category, weighing 1000 lb more. I have owned the latter with and
without backhoes. I first tried the hoe with the 3PH and now ONLY
use subframes.

 

[rdsaustintx]

I disagree about the weight (heck I drive a BX), but totally agree about the subframe. There are many threads on this board where housings break (usually at the upper link) using a 3ph backhoe.

Unfortunately, the search function is a little kludgy and the threads I could find no longer have photos. But man, they were UGLY breaks.

Ask the salesman to guarantee it won't break. After he refuses, get a subframe mount BH.

RDnT

 

[dfkrug]

I disagree about the weight (heck I drive a BX)

RDnT

So you think tractor weight is NOT a very important factor when
considering a backhoe attachment? Why don't you try to justify
such a bizarre position?

The simple fact it that a 1200# hoe with subframe is going to
easily drag a 2500# tractor/FEL around, as well as seriously
affect its drivability. This is further exacerbated with a mounting
that hangs the hoe farther out back. The same hoe on a 3500#
tractor/FEL will be considerably more effective.

 

[KeithInSpace]

With regard to weight, the original post had to do with a Woods BH6000 on a B series tractor. Obviously, that isn't a problem. Nor is it a problem on a BX (although I do concede that my front end is considerably lighter with the BH mounted). At the same time, a B70X is totally inappropriate on a BX and would weight down a 20 HP B1750 with a pretty hefty load. I think Mr. RDnT's comments were with regard to the machines listed on the thread, not about weight in general.

I can say that the BH6000 is great, but it is marginally effective as a stump puller. Basically, plan on the same amount of TIME as "manually" digging out a stump, but do it MUCH safer, MUCH cleaner, with MUCH less effort, and having MUCH more fun than in a hole on your hands and knees with chains and the like.

And there is no question about the 3PH mount vs. the frame mount. I would never consider a 3PH mount. Ever. For any cost savings. The "if you don't use it every day" argument is weak...stress is stress whether you do it today, tomorrow, or 4 Tuesday's from now. It is not a question of IF something bad happens, it is WHEN. I can say that even the small-ish BH6000 can produce an ENORMOUS amount of force/energy that must be firmly attached to the tractor to be safe...via a frame mount. 5 hours of use and I have a great deal of respect for its destructive power.

 

[dfkrug]

With regard to weight, the original post had to do with a Woods BH6000 on a B series tractor. Obviously, that isn't a problem. Nor is it a problem on a BX (although I do concede that my front end is considerably lighter with the BH mounted). At the same time, a B70X is totally inappropriate on a BX and would weight down a 20 HP B1750 with a pretty hefty load. I think Mr. RDnT's comments were with regard to the machines listed on the thread, not about weight in general.

The original post also included the Kubota L2550, a much heavier
tractor, as a consideration. The issue with tractor weight is primarily
one of digging ability and drivability. Although the B1750 is a bit
bigger than the subcompact BXs, it is still a very small tractor and
Woods provides subframes for their older 6500 hoes only for that
unit. The BH70-X subframes they list include the B1700, but not the
B1750. A custom subframe can be made for that tractor, but the
BH70-X is still a lot of hoe for that small unit.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...but the BH70-X is still a lot of hoe for that small unit.

I concur with that statement.

 

[Soundguy]

I'm no kubota guy.. but 3pt bckhoes are only toys if they don't have a subframe.. IE.. if you do anything mor ethan leisurly work.. you can break your tractor in half.

Soundguy

 

[KeithInSpace]

That's the trouble with the whole 3PH argument...what is "more than leisurely work"? I can work my BH for 1 hour and push it to the absolute limit for that whole hour. If it were a 3PH mount, I would destroy it by the end of that hour, I'm quite certain. Not to mention the safety element (of the BH popping up and possibly squishing you between it and the tractor...a real, documented fear when using a 3PH unit).

What's the alternative? Happy use for 400 hours but all you do is scrape the daisys off the ground and pick up, what? Balloons? A scoop of loose mulch? That's useless. A 3PH BH is a notch better than the junk backhoe toy-thing you hang off the reciever hitch of your pickup. Good for shuffling sand around but not much good for digging anything out of the ground...that is if you love, you know, life.

 

[rdsaustintx]

So you think tractor weight is NOT a very important factor when considering a backhoe attachment?

Where did I say that?

Why don't you try to justify such a bizarre position?

Um, 'cause I didn't say it?

The point of my post was the 3ph mount is scary. Interpreting it as saying weight doesn't matter might be a little "bizarre".

The same hoe on a 3500# tractor/FEL will be considerably more effective.

Well, yeah. It might be even more effective on a 7000# TL.

Russell in Texas

 

[dfkrug]

rds:

I quoted your post in my post. You said you "disagree about the
weight", without further explanation. I only asked what you meant
by that statement.

 

[geoffburnham]

My thanks to everyone for taking the time to read and post.. after reading everybody's post, I am convinced that putting a backhoe on a 1750 3ph is not the way to go.. as some of you noted, there is a great potential for cracking the frame of the tractor and then I would be out not only the backhoe but also the tractor... that is not an acceptable risk.. even from those of you who were the most optimistic, it was a marginal thing at best... so I will not put a backhoe on this tractor... again, my thanks to all of you...

geoff

ps... as an aside, if any of you have had any experience with the trencher type of backhoe that you can tow around, i would be interested in your experience

 

[crbr]

....but 3pt bckhoes are only toys if they don't have a subframe.. IE.. if you do anything mor ethan leisurly work.. you can break your tractor in half.

Soundguy

Sums it up quite well.

 

[dfkrug]

......if any of you have had any experience with the trencher type of backhoe that you can tow around, i would be interested in your experience

I started with a home-built CADDigger 728. You can sort of see it in my
avatar. It was approx 900 lb or so, somewhat bigger than the Northern
"Trencherman", which is no longer sold. Harbor Freight seems to sell the
same unit for $3K.

The 728 had 3" cylinders and exerted a lot of force, but what you
could do with it was very limited by its weight. Starting a hole was
difficult as the action of the boom and dipper would often just lift
the whole machine. Once a hole was started, the force of the machine
could be brought to bear by pinching the bkt between the back edge
of your hole and your firmly planted spiked outriggers. It served me
well to do some things I could not do with larger heavier equipment.
One project was to excavate a bench on a 40% slope hillside for a
water tank. It dragged itself up the slope with the aid of a winch.

Like most tools, it can be useful in the right application. At the time
I had no tractor. Owning a tractor, a backhoe attachment is more
useful and does not cost much more.

I sold it on Ebay and recovered my costs of about $3K (not incl my
labor).