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Backhoe Dolly

11K views 54 replies 13 participants last post by  TUDOR 
#1 ·
I have been wanting to do this for a couple years, finally got it done today.
It ain't pretty, but it works good.
Had a gift card from Christmas for Tractor Supply, picked up 5 inch wheels and the bolts. Reused some lumber from my deck that I tore down and rebuilt two years ago, and some scraps I had from different jobs.
 

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#5 ·
Would you mind posting some basic length x width dimensions? I would really like to make one of these and this would be a good starting point.
 
#6 ·
Well I got my backhoe dolly done last night. I built mine a little higher to save space and not stretch the hoe out so far. Garage is only so big. As a result, it has a footprint of about 3 feet by 4 feet roughly. Sits real sturdy on there and it rolls fairly well. Overall I'm very happy with the results. The picture isn't the best but I had already rolled it into the corner and put everything away for the night. I'll have to get better ones.

Question for you guys with the GC1710 or 1720. When you take the hoe off, where do you put the hydraulic lines? Mostly I just see them tied up behind the seat. I guess you just have to take care not to pinch them with the three point. I'm going to brush hog a little and run my tiller so I guess I need to secure them pretty well.

One other question concerning the shield over the PTO. I didn't look real close yet but I see two bolts holding it up in position. Does it hinge or something? It won't let the three point go down the whole way as it is. I imagine the answer to that is in my manual so I'll have to look that one up this evening.
 

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#7 ·
Nice project. Especially for those of us with limited space. Let me remind us all, including me, to beware of children playing around our implements and such. They can get into trouble like climbing on things. My implements are lined up behind the shop and I keep the grandkids away. Specially worried about v-rake and an aerator that must weigh around a thousand pounds.
 
#9 ·
Interesting to see that most owners have nice concrete floors to roll on, thus the solid casters. I want to build a dolly but as my tractor shed has a gravel floor, I'll need air-filled tires on my casters. That means the dolly deck will be 9-10 inches off the ground, which is the just below the mounted height of the backhoe.

In your calculations while designing the dolly, did you see any limitations to making the dolly deck that high? I know your casters made that a non-issue, but just wondering if I should consider the dolly height before spending 1-200 on materials.
 
#10 ·
The only limitation for height is getting the hoe onto the dolly. The floor of my implement shed is over 10" above ground level and I have a pair of 2x10s to drive the back wheels of the tractor on to clear the floor with the bottom of the hoe.

To simplify, if you can't lower the dolly, raise the tractor. There's no restriction if the tractor is tilted forward in relation to the hoe's resting position. It's a different story if it's tilted right or left.
 
#11 ·
This winter I wanted more room in the garage, so I removed the wheels and used the wood frame outside....picked a small level spot and it worked good.
I hooked it up to the tractor a couple weeks ago, dug out a stump, found a different level spot and parked the BH in a different part of the yard.
Maybe someday I'll have a dedicated spot with a concrete pad.
 
#12 ·
I'm trying to envision a realistic scenario for my use of a dolly. My tractor shed (pic below) was built before I got the 2410, and as a sign that this tractor was the right one for me, the full ROPS fits with 1" clearance! Thus the floor will never get higher and elevating the machine is possible but the shed is only 14' wide so the BH removal will likely happen at the door. Then I need to roll over the gravel to the storage spot near the back of the shed.

By my calculations, (extrapolated from numerous bits of weight data for the base machine and FEL) the BH weighs about 875lbs. I hope (4) 8" pneumatic casters rated at 1200 lbs total, will want to roll over the gravel with almost 900lb on board. I will need to store the BH/FEL every winter so something is getting built.

I'm thinking a 1-1/2" steel angle outer frame with 2x lumber as landing pads for bucket and base, and as caster mounts with a few anchor points each side for straps. Build scheduled for fall, or sooner.
 

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#18 ·
Duh! Why do you have a tractor?

I've pushed a 35" long travel trailer between trees with inches to spare on unimproved forest floor with a GT. By comparison, moving a dolly on level gravel with a SCUT should be a piece of cake.( My back says either to move such loads with the tractor, or leave them wherever they may be.)
 
#15 ·
how about laying down a sheet or two of 3/4 plywood, just for moving the dolly around on.
 
#16 ·
I would say get the widest and largest wheel you can manage to make pushing a dolly over stone/gravel more doable. Bare in mind that you can use the stabilizers to lift the hoe up and possibly slide your dolly under. Good luck on finding an adequate solution

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#19 ·
If you didn't have the need to steer it, I think I would go the route of building it down almost. Think of a spider. Where the backhoe sits would actually be lower than there the wheels mount. The wheels would be more outboard so you could almost put rear wheels from a GT on there. Should move pretty easy then and it looks like you have the width to work with. Not even sure it's feasible, just kicking around some crazy ideas in my head.
 
#21 ·
For reference, a loaded garden type wheel barrow weighs about 350 lb on a single tire and has no problem being moved by hand on a gravel driveway.

I think that you are either overestimating the effect of the weight of the hoe on 4 pneumatic tires, or underestimating your own capability of moving that weight.

If you want to improve the traction for your GC, I suggest that you invest in a set of turfs with the rear ones loaded. I missed the opportunity this past winter to take a pic of my 2310 with turfs (no chains) carrying a bucket load of snow to the top of a 7' pile with only a 5' back blade for additional counter weight. That was about a 20% grade.

R4 industrial tires will not win a pushing contest against turfs on a lighter tractor on snow. At best, without chains they will barely hold their own.*

* - Kubota B2920 CUT with loaded R4s, metal cab, and loader vs MF GC2310 SCUT with loaded turfs, loader, and a 5' back blade. Comparison was made on my neighbour's freshly cleared level driveway with a bucket to bucket pushing contest.
 
#22 ·
Yes, my Bolens has turf tires and a rear weight box and chains on the rear (drive) wheels and is fine in the snow, but only with all of that adding to the tires. I intend to equip this one with chains and a weight box as well, but these tires will have to suffice until they wear out. As for the BH dolly, looks like I need to build it and see how it goes.
 
#23 ·
Just finally started my own backhoe dolly project this morning. I'm going to actually create cradled pillars to set the backhoe into so that I don't have to worry about it sliding off the dolly. I'll take some pictures and share when it's all done

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#24 ·
Here it is. Bought 330lb plastic/steel wheels from harbor freight and some GRK Fasteners Ubergrade R4 multipurpose screws and some lumber I had laying around. Treated 2x6 under bucket and pins with standard pine 2x4 in between. I created stirrups to set the mounting pins into so the risk of the backhoe sliding off the dolly was minimized.


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#25 ·
Have you tried re-installing the hoe from the dolly?

I don't know about the newer models, but the first point of contact between the tractor and the hoe when installing the hoe for my 2310 is the pins that you have cradled.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Have you tried re-installing the hoe from the dolly?



I don't know about the newer models, but the first point of contact between the tractor and the hoe when installing the hoe for my 2310 is the pins that you have cradled.
Yes. I lift the hoe with the stablizers and then can back in and set the the unit into the mounting plates. The dolly slides under the plates with ease. The key is the wheels on the bucket end are outside and passed the bucket teeth so the dolly doesn't kick up once i left with stablizers. The load still stays pressed in between the 4 wheels

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#27 ·
Ah-Ha! The location of the wheels on the bucket end was where I had a concern. It looked as though when castored from pushing back that they would allow the bearing load to be on the wrong side of the castors and the dolly would tip when the stabilizers took up the strain. In the pic, the castor pivot looks to be centered under the teeth but any vertical load goes through the castor's axle which can be either side of the pivot.
 
#28 ·
An optical illusion. While the straight castor's under the mounts are centered on the mounting pins the rotating castor's are pushed out towards the end and out wide. So long as set the bucket teeth around centered on the platform you're fine. I should probably put landing markings on the dolly now that I think about it in the case of my dad ambitiously absconding away with my equipment. He loves the hydraulic lift capacity and weight of my GC1710 vs his little BX1500 and sometimes will come "trade" me without my knowledge.

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#29 ·
A stop block screwed to the landing pad would leave no option but to put the bucket teeth where they belong. The Mark I eyeball is subject to parallax error at that distance and angle of viewing if one isn't very familiar to the situation.
 
#30 ·
There's actually a very pronounced line/seam on top that I didn't do a great job of capturing via picture on the top that isn't too be crossed. I may at said block in the future. I wanna see if/what pitfalls this first run at a dolly might have.

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