[AT] 3 pt backhoe

[charlie hill]

Don,  I paid $1000.00 for one about 10 years ago, spent some time and money 
modifying the hook up so that it would fit my 3pt hitch correctly,
added a "reaction bar" to transfer the load off of the 3rd hitch point on 
the 3 pt hitch to the drawbar, hooked it all up, dug one hole with
it, disconnected it and it's been sitting ever since.   It had plenty of 
power and my D-14 Allis handled the load ok but it is kind of like what
a farmer friend of mine told another farmer about a Long tractor that the JD 
dealer had loaned him while they worked on his JD.
The other farmer (who owned a Long) asked him how he liked it.  He said it 
wasn't worth a crap.  The Long owner said "why, It's got plenty of power".
The JD owner said "an elephant's got plenty of power but you can't farm with 
him".

That's pretty much the deal with my experience with a 3 pt backhoe 
attachment.  It'll dig and it'll work but you can't get anything done with 
it.
You'll be better off to put your time and effort into a real backhoe or 
excavator, buy it, rent it, borrow it or steal it what ever you have to do 
but
don't waste a lot of time with a 3pt hitch rig.  You'll find it very hard to 
do accurate work with it.

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Don Bowen
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 9:14 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: [AT] 3 pt backhoe

I need to dig about 600' of 6' trench for a ground source heat pump,
excavate a foundation and maybe dig a drain field.  With two tractors
around here I wonder if a three point backhoe would be worth the
investment.  How much tractor do one of those typically require?  I know
where I can borrow one and have seen a couple of CL but do not know the
power requirements.  Is there any sort of rule of thumb regarding boom
length and bucket size?

This is the Ozarks with lots of rocks.  Bedrock is not very far down but
the area I plan to dig is the bottom of a little valley where there are
fewer rocks and a 6' excavation the PO did for a basement did not hit
bedrock.

-- 
Don Bowen           AD0BR
"A man must keep a little back shop where he can be himself without reserve. 
In solitude alone can he know true freedom."
-Michel De Montaigne 1588
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html

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