I am curious as to anyone's experience temporarily mounting (making removeable actually) a backhoe on the back of my truck. I need occasional maintainence cleaning of ditches and digging some holes. We have a local utility co. that has a smallish one on a one ton. I already have the wet lines to the rear, and quite frankly no problem creating the mounting system (I will forklift it onto some Quickhitch style IH mounts on the rear of the frame) w/ my steel fab capability. I have several construction projects where I will either need to rent or borrow one (or a trackhoe) to do the work. The projects are not "tight quarters" and with the money I will save it will more than pay for 2 weekends of rentals. I dont want a "midget" hoe on my 24 HP tractor w/ FEL, as in these parts the shallow bedrock yeilds them worthless. The hoe that I am looking at is from the rear of an Allis Chalmers crawler and is complete w/ outriggers, hydraulics, and is in very good shape. It is big enough and heavy enough to get me down to my "blue rock" which is untouchable once at that 3-4' level. Once into bluerock , the only option is a rock hammer, but I dont need that depth.
Any input? The truck can easily handle the weight, and weighs in "empty" (lots of tools, chains,crane,....etc onboard ::)) 12,500 lbs , which should not be too light to counter the hoe as even mid sized smaller trackhoes weigh about that. This is quickly becoming "Daddy's transformer truck" ;D
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Thanks Ironwood
If you are able to keep all of the digging pressures on the outriggers without lifting the front of the truck and mount it such that there is no, or little, pinch area, it sounds like a good idea to me.
I can already see you trying to figure out how to put the dirt on the bed of the truck. :D
You gotta stop somewhere. :D Maybe you could configure it so that it would load a trailer though. Hmmmmm :P :D
Tom, already built a dump trailer out of one of my M-105's. I can shuffle all the loose dirt with my tractor and FEL, I just can't DIG w/ it. Addressing my ONE last weakness ::)
Thanks Ironwood
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You can't see in the back, but this is now my 6 and 2 year old's space shuttle, there is an inverted van seat laying in the back ;D I will now have to evict the local astronuts if'in I want t ouse it, my fault though, their swingset is just down slope from where I parked it
It would probably work. I think satbilizers at the front of the bed would be a big help.
Brian,
Good point, got those for the manlift/ bucket, so they will work. Thanks Ironwood
I believe Unimog made by Mercedes had a backhoe attachment. Basically a military style
4 wheel drive truck. Case sold them for awhile under their name if I remember right.
Shouldn't be much different from a 3 point attached hoe, the stabilizers take the weight.
Good point as well, forgot about that. Dangerous Dan here on the Forum, has numerous 206 "Mogs", and he did once show me that literature showing the Case version (mid 1970's from what I could ascertain) w/ the hoe. Mog frames are hardened steel, and quite an interesting truck for sure. I will be sure to disperse the load over the entire rear frame of the 550.
Ironwood
Somewhere I saw one on the back of an old Willys CJ - My JD/Bradco 3pt hitch one weighs 1600 lbs. Built around 1970. Some pretty good steel in it.
Boy, the back of a CJ would be a small hoe. I suppose that would work. For me the reach on this unit (about 15') makes all the difference. I will not need to move the truck as often, or get it too near some of the drainage work areas I would occasionally need to maintain. I am big on versatility and this make sooo much sense. I thought of several other options all of which included full machines with motors, drivelines and etc.... I just dont want a whole other machine to maintain, store and keep servicable. Just plug it in and go. The other thing I look for in these units (including my man bucket) is fully hydrualic, as opposed t oelectric selenoids which when stored in marginal conditions (and moisture here in the east) would tend to corrode up and cause issues. For the manlift the hydraulic line are long and expensive, but there are no other electric gremlins to chase in time.
Ironwood
The biggest concern with doing what you want to do is that the implement will contain a full load of hyraulic fluid when detached which could get contaminated in time and end up contaminating your bulk reservoir when you hook it back up. Farm tractors run into that a lot.
I don't know of a way to control it, but it is something to pay attention to.
Morning guys, we had a parrish bobtail truck in our area that mounted a Case extended hoe to a modified 3 pt. hitch quick connect. The tank stayed on deck behind the cab full time with large dia. quick connects. Pump ran off truck engine of course. Used it to set driveways and cleanout culverts. You would see these guys scot all over the place. Later I saw a news clipping where the Army had a machine that had something similar. CV
Well, I brought the hoe unit home today from northern Md, actually southern Somerset Co. SW Pa. about 2 hours away. Very clean, not worn out. My Venturo crane (3200 lbs lift) just barely got it on my small trailer. Thanks goodness I decided to take a trailer, there is NO way it could have lifted it deck height. Pcs soon.
Ironwood
I had mine on & working the last 2 days, what an amazing thing hydraulic power is! At the farm was an old layed up stone culvert across the driveway, it had been full of sand for a long, long time. Took it out & put 18" pipe in. Rocks 4x4 ft, 3x5 ft, 8 & 10 in. thick. My grandfather had put them in with a team of horses, stoneboat & crowbars. The old-timers sure worked hard, even with the backhoe, my a** was dragging at the end of the day.
I also had another revealtion, I can mount it to the front of my 8000 lb rough terrain forklift, it will be able to get into tighter places. I will retain the Allis Chalmers factory mounts and make two adapters, one for the truck and one for the forklift. I am already digging in my head :D.
Mike V.
I never met a forklift or crane I didn't like (or want for that matter ; :D). God bless those old timers. I had the occasion to build some stone roads on a Christian camp outside Mexico city and hand dig some water lines as well (that where the stones came from). A "proper" stone road you expose the smallest face of the rock and bury the rest. Needless to say the 11 boys and 4 staff had a whole new respect for a stone road and plumbing ;) Plus we got acclimatized to the altiitude 5000+', can you say headache?
Ironwood
Ironwood