Wow. Thanks for all the feedback. I’ll try to answer some of your questions.
Derek – (Rowski) – The thumb does have two positions in addition to the folded (stowed) position. The bar slides into itself and remains attached to the thumb and hoe in the stowed position. If you look closely to picture #4 you can sort of see it.
M. Sullivan and Mark Vagle – As to price, the initial quote was about $5500 for the hoe and $600 for the thumb, including installation. When I started negotiating, we were talking the entire package price and didn’t get into individual components. So I don’t know what percentage I talked him down on just the hoe and thumb. For info, the Kubota hoe listed for about $1100 more than the Great Bend. Another thing is that when I checked the forum and compare prices that many of you pay back east and in the mid-west, we seem to pay more here in the Seattle area (all those Microsoft millionaires driving up cost of living). You can probably get it significantly cheaper elsewhere. I got one quote for a
B2710 with Kubota hoe for $22,300. I called four other local dealers and none would attempt to beat it. As I visited the different dealers, they didn’t seem to be hurting for sales. I finally went with my favorite dealer (not the cheapest, but close) and the Great Bend backhoe to get the price lower. I’m happy with my selections so far.
Another note about the hoe, it is the frame mounted version. They also make a 3-point that is a little cheaper. Also, I found a great use of the thumb. When you clear land around here, you have to move fast or you’ll soon have a alder grove where you didn’t want one. The alders are like weeds, grow very fast and are a pain to pull. I Back the tractor up to them, swing the boom into them, bending the saplings in between the thumb and backhoe bucket. Close the bucket on the thumb and rip them out like nothing. No digging needed.
