Recieved Backhoe today and already got it stuck!

"Roger N" wrote in news:Gb7bc.7302$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Use the hoe, really handy for that. Stick the teeth in the ground almost verticle, kind of like a stake, and pull, but don't curl the bucket.

You get better leverage if you keep it in closer to the machine....

( Dont over extend )

While curling the bucket will give you the greatest leverage possible ( however in the shortest strokes ), it is also the most likely action to result in breaking the teeth and / or welds on the bucket sidewalls.

Dont ask me how I know all this........

I've got a small loader/backhoe and have some pieces of plywood that I slide under the rear tires after using the buckets to lift them off the ground.

Steve.

And use the front bucket as a skid if the front wheels sink.

John

When you're REALLY out in the swamp, having that chainsaw along is handy. Start cutting up whatever is close and stick under the part that's a sinking in the mud. Long logs are real useful gives you a lot of spread out surface area to push on.

Karl

can you take some pictures

You need some pieces of 3/4" plywood, and maybe some blocks of something heavier to put under the stabilizers. I got in the same situation with a Lull reach forklift that weighed 21,000 Lbs. It had 4WD, too, but no way to lock the differentials! How dumb! 4WD is useless if one wheel starts to slip and you have no way to limit slip.

Using just 3/4" plywood and an assistant to crouch down so he could see all 4 wheels at the same time (may not be needed on your backhoe, but the Lull had TERRIBLE visibility on the right side of the machine, due to the boom, carriage, engine, etc.) I was able to finish the job and get the beast back on solid pavement without further trouble. I ended up making a plywood "street" for the thing to move on, otherwise it just sunk!

Jon

I've got pictures of MY mess at

Jon

Excellent job trueing the ways in situ. Very ingenious. Most impressive.

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

I got the backhoe out yesterday, sorry, didn't get pictures, keep forgetting the camera. This area was so soupy that when I lifted the tractor with the loader and backhoe, pulled with the hoe and curled the front bucket, the front bucket dug a bucket load of mud.

I took the chainsaw and cut up some of the small trees I tore out earlier. I put some limbs where the front bucket was sinking, and cut up small stuff to fill the front tire holes. Then I lifted the tractor with front loader, bucket pointing down, and backhoe. Pulled with the hoe until it started relieving and curled the bucket. Did this a couple more times and walked it right out of the mess.

Since this, I have thought of making some wood pieces big enough to fit over holes that the tires make, and strong enough to support the weight of the machine. I see others have posted that they have done that same thing.

The ground was so soft where the front loader was that if I put the bucket solid side down, it sank enough to not lift the front end very high. If I put the bucket blade side down to get more height, it sunk almost the whole bucket but did lift the front end high enough to clear the holes. When I put some limbs where the front bucket was sinking, it did the trick of lifting the front without burrying the bucket. I had walked the rear of the tractor over with the hoe and it was close to a ditch. I put the rear bucket in the ditch curved side down, the side of the ditch kept it from sliding.

After it dries out, I'll go back and repair my bumpy ground if I need to. I actually didn't see my original tire holes, the mud filled them back in!