What gear & park brake when hoeing?

[RedDirt]

What is not mentioned in my operator's manual is what position to place the HST shifter and whether the parking brake should be on or off when operating the backhoe.

Logic would say transmission in neutral and parking brake on. But I want to use my hoe to push me down the trench line (bucket and stabilizers raised a bit, of course), so I've been hoeing in neutral and brake off.

What do you do?

 

[AndyMA]

I'd don't do hydro, but obviously Neutral is the correct gear. I always set my parkin gbrake and lower my front bucket to keep the tractor as rigid as possible. I don't move the tractor with the backhoe, I climb into the operators seat and move it like normal.

Andy

 

[LBrown59]

1*What is not mentioned in my operator's manual is what position to place the HST shifter and
2*whether the parking brake should be on or off when operating the backhoe.
3*Logic would say transmission in neutral and parking brake on.
4* But I want to use my hoe to push me down the trench line (bucket and stabilizers raised a bit, of course),
5**so I've been hoeing in neutral and brake off.
6*What do you do?

1*In gear
2*Brake on
3*Not with my bx 23 It don't.
If it's in neutral & you lift the stapleizers and bucket you are in for a wild ride down the hill if you're on a slope.
Riding backwards wildly down a hill on an uncontrollable tractor that I can't reach the steering wheel and controls on cause I'm facing rearward just hain't my cup of tea.
Safety says Tranny in gear Parking beak ON.
4*i simply use the treadle
petal.
5*Should be in gear brake on.
6*See above.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If it's in neutral & you lift the stapleizers and bucket you are in for a wild ride down the hill if you're on a slope.
Riding backwards wildly down a hill on an uncontrollable tractor that I can't reach the steering wheel and controls on cause I'm facing rearward just hain't my cup of tea.

I think you would know if your tractor was going to take off on you on a slope and if for some reason your tractor starts to roll it isn't going to take off instantly, you will have plenty of time to

1* drop the bucket
2* drop the stabilizers

Doing either of these will stop a tractor if some operator did something as strange as you are thinking.

 

[LBrown59]

1*I think you would know if your tractor was going to take off on you on a slope and2* if for some reason your tractor starts to roll it isn't going to take off instantly, you will have plenty of time to

1* drop the bucket
2* drop the stabilizers

Doing either of these will stop a tractor if some operator did something as strange as you are thinking.

*I know my BX 23 will take off rolling down hill when it's in Neutral and the brake is off at the same time.
So then why should I increase the chance of that occurring by placing it in Neutral unnecessarily?
2*Why focus on stopping it after it gets under way when you can prevent it from getting started in the first place?
== L B ==

 

[john_bud]

This is an interesting question. Sure to get some interesting opinions.

Having a gear BH, it gets neutral and parking brake.

I don't know if the bh on a BX is powerful enough to toss around the tractor. On more powerful BH's you want to limit the un-intentional motion of the machine as much as possible. It's real easy to pull, push lift and toss my tractor around with the hoe. That reduces the digging effectiveness.

Having a hydro kubota grand L also, I know that in low range and parking brake on would probably be my choice. Purely theoretical as that machine does not have a hoe! But, it would seem to be more stable that way.

jb

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I personally do not lock the brake as if I am using a 3pt backhoe where I have to hop on and off the backhoe and tractor everytime I want to move forward while digging a trench. I leave it so I can move it with the backhoe. All I do is reach up for the loader joystick, raise the loader, then while the bucket is still in the trench (but curled in) I lift the stabilizers just off the ground (amazing, my machines having rolled away at this stage yet), then while the bucket is still in the trench I use the backhoe to push the tractor forward. Once the boom is at full reach I drop the stabilizers, drop the loader and continue digging. I can do this much faster then I would to hop on and off every time.

If I had a standard TLB where all you do is spin around in the cab then it is a different story but if your working in mud getting on and off the tractor and backhoe is not the safest thing when your boots are covered in mud every time you walk across the ground.

As long as the bucket is in contact with the ground the tractor isn't going anywhere.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

*I know my BX 23 will take off rolling down hill when it's in neutral and the brake is off at the same time.
So then why should I increase the chance of that occurring by placing it in Neural unnecessarily?
2*Why focus on stopping it after it gets under way when you can prevent it from getting started in the first place?
== L B ==

Why did you change what you quoted me as saying?

 

[montejw]

What is not mentioned in my operator's manual is what position to place the HST shifter and whether the parking brake should be on or off when operating the backhoe.

Logic would say transmission in neutral and parking brake on. But I want to use my hoe to push me down the trench line (bucket and stabilizers raised a bit, of course), so I've been hoeing in neutral and brake off.

What do you do?

Neutral and no p brake if on flat ground. Easier on the transmission and brakes if you want to move the tractor around with the hoe. Also this is with a TLB (tractor/loader/backhoe), not a tractor with a backhoe attachment.

I can't tell if you have a 3 pt hitch mounted or a sub frame mounted backhoe. I would personally think twice about moving the tractor around with a 3 pt hitch mounted hoe. Seems like a lot of forces on the hitch that it might not have been designed for, as well as adding extra load to the transmission/engine bolts.

 

[bx23barry]

I personally do not lock the brake as if I am using a 3pt backhoe where I have to hop on and off the backhoe and tractor everytime I want to move forward while digging a trench. I leave it so I can move it with the backhoe. All I do is reach up for the loader joystick, raise the loader, then while the bucket is still in the trench (but curled in) I lift the stabilizers just off the ground (amazing, my machines having rolled away at this stage yet), then while the bucket is still in the trench I use the backhoe to push the tractor forward. Once the boom is at full reach I drop the stabilizers, drop the loader and continue digging. I can do this much faster then I would to hop on and off every time.

If I had a standard TLB where all you do is spin around in the cab then it is a different story but if your working in mud getting on and off the tractor and backhoe is not the safest thing when your boots are covered in mud every time you walk across the ground.

As long as the bucket is in contact with the ground the tractor isn't going anywhere.

X2

 

[drtydeed]

X2

Ditto.

If I have some not so straight lines or tree holes to dig, I often leave in gear without brake. Then I can reach around and push the treadle by hand while sitting in the backhoe seat and slowly "drive" to the next hole.

On slopes, I make sure that the brake is set and in gear. When about to move, I leave the hoe and stabilizers down until I am physically in the drivers position. Then raise hoe bucket, fel and stabilizers.

 

[pat32rf]

If I find that the tractor(JD4300HST) is moving around too much I engage 4wd,low range,bucket down. If just doing a trench type job I leave it in 2wd and lift the back end with the hoe to move forward or sidewise. I can reach the joystick and range lever from the hoe seat but not the 4wd lever. I just have the small (7' reach) hoe so am constantly on the move.

 

[Hookblock]

I almost never use the park gear, I leave the tractor in a low gear, with the bucket down as a drag on the tractor, and bump the shuttle shift forward or reverse or push the tractor with the bh

 

[Harry c]

Neutral, no parking brake. It wouldn't happen but if it did, it would totally embarass any professional hoe operator to move the machine any way besides with the backhoe. The first time the Boss saw him turn the seat to move the machine forward, he'd send him for his check.
That being said, most TBNrs aren't Pros. Whatever works best and safest for you is the way to go.

 

[joe48]

*I know my BX 23 will take off rolling down hill when it's in Neutral and the brake is off at the same time.
So then why should I increase the chance of that occurring by placing it in Neutral unnecessarily?
2*Why focus on stopping it after it gets under way when you can prevent it from getting started in the first place?
== L B ==

I don't know of an experienced operator that doesn't move the machine with the hoe, in neutral and brake off. It's much more productive and you keep your bucket and out riggers close to the ground and by definition you're pushing or pulling the unit with the hoe so you will be keeping it in contact with the ground.

 

[Aquaman]

I don't know of an experienced operator that doesn't move the machine with the hoe, in neutral and brake off. It's much more productive and you keep your bucket and out riggers close to the ground and by definition you're pushing or pulling the unit with the hoe so you will be keeping it in contact with the ground.

Newbie BH owner here. Do you keep the FEL bucket down when moving with the hoe or do you raise it each time? Also, keep the FEL bucket flat? or cutting edge down? Probably a dumb question but I don't have anybody around to teach me these things.....

 

[Rara Avis]

Newbie BH owner here. Do you keep the FEL bucket down when moving with the hoe or do you raise it each time? Also, keep the FEL bucket flat? or cutting edge down? Probably a dumb question but I don't have anybody around to teach me these things.....

Buy this book and read it...
https://www.equiptrain.com/backhoes.htm

 

[Aquaman]

Paul,
THANK YOU!!! That's exactly what I've been looking for. I will be ordering one pronto!!
Randy

 

[joe48]

Newbie BH owner here. Do you keep the FEL bucket down when moving with the hoe or do you raise it each time? Also, keep the FEL bucket flat? or cutting edge down? Probably a dumb question but I don't have anybody around to teach me these things.....

It depends on conditions and what your doing.
Usually if I'm onflat ground and digging a trench, I keep the bucket flat and just off the ground as I go along,lift the outriggers and push with the hoe and you can steer with the front wheels to follow a line.
If you're digging in tough stuff, ie: roots ,rocks etc and encounter resistence that tends to pull the rig back to the hole ,then I curl the bucket over and use the cutting edge for extra "bite" to help stop that pull back.
With different situations try different things and use what works for you, JUST ALWAYS USE GOOD SAFETY PRACTICES.

 

[Aquaman]

It depends on conditions and what your doing.
Usually if I'm onflat ground and digging a trench, I keep the bucket flat and just off the ground as I go along,lift the outriggers and push with the hoe and you can steer with the front wheels to follow a line.
If you're digging in tough stuff, ie: roots ,rocks etc and encounter resistence that tends to pull the rig back to the hole ,then I curl the bucket over and use the cutting edge for extra "bite" to help stop that pull back.
With different situations try different things and use what works for you, JUST ALWAYS USE GOOD SAFETY PRACTICES.

Joe,
Thank you. That makes good sense. I hope to get a little better with practice. Thanks again.
Randy