Hello, New here. Are there any mechanical problems from driving a backhoe on paved roads for 5 - 10 miles? (for either 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive?) Other than tire wear? I have people telling me that it will cause transmission problems doing it long term. Yet I see backhoes rolling down the road all the time. Someone is wrong. Thanks in advance.
If you try driving that distance in 4 wheel drive your machine will take you off its' Christmas Card list. Not a good idea. The circumference of the back wheels vs the front wheels coupled through the gear ratios at the axles is never the same, but is generally targeted to be held within about 2% +/- roughly. This is no problem on dirt, mud, or snow because there is slippage between the tires and the ground. But on a road with good traction it can be murder on the machine. One thing you definitely don't want to do is overdrive the front wheels such that the rear wheels are 'pushing' the front wheels. Now, in two wheel drive you're not subjecting your machine to the above.
I've been roading backhoes for 39 years now whenever the job is reasonably close,many times I can get there and back faster than if I trailered it.NEVER any problems,both 2 and 4 x4 rigs.If it wasn't meant to be why would the manufacturers offer 4 gears or more???
The torque converters on many BHL's have a sprague clutch on the Stator. I have heard of them jamming up and causing overheating while roading but providing lots of torque for working and pushing hard. Later Bob
We also road when close to the office, about ten miles would be the limit then we haul them. Most local gov road them all the time if it's not to far. Maintance is the key to roading, if the rim is bent and you drive wide open and the spindle brakes was it the machines fault ? . Most people who run equipment can hear/see/feel issues with their machine, some will stop and fix and other's will keep going while some are clueless untill it's broken. I would dare say most machine failures were known ahead of the brake down and not addressed. Over the years i have asked this one question when machines were in for a repair (do you have a operators manual) 86% said no, and when asked would you like me to order you one, most said they did not need it!
Get it up to 20-25 mph, then it will start bouncing. No suspension so the tires flex and there's no damping in those. Scared the crap out of me the first time I did it..But no mechanical problems.
if the machine is maintained properly, roading is nothing to worry about.If she bounces carry spare buckets,barrel of diesel in front bucket.The furthest I ever roaded was on a one day hire, 8 hours travel(4 hours each way)half hour lunch, half hour back filling.My customer needed the job done and accepted the 9 hour minimum week day hire rate
Road transport is one of the advantages of backhoe. I not sure why people would tell you that roading would cause transmission problems unless they are trying to sell you a piece of equipment that must be trailered to the job site. Roading is why the gearing on backhoes is designed to obtain speeds in excess of 20 MPH. Check your owner’s manual, it will probably mention things to do specifically for road transport like locking the brake pedals together, turning on lights, etc. I been roading backhoes for years without any mechanical issues. I always road in 2wd, not 4wd with the brake pedals locked together(don’t want to wheel steer in traffic if an abrupt stop is required). If you have to deal with many stop lights/signs I would be more concerned with how good the backhoe’s brakes work, than transmission issues. Engine low idle RPM various on backhoes. Some backhoes I have driven with higher engine idles tend to cause the transmission to want to creep at stop lights unless you are really pushing the brake pedals. That can get tiring if you are in a lot of city traffic.
Great topic, never really thought of this. Some good advice. @sheepfoot, I'd love to get an operators manual for mine. MF60 Closest I could find and get was the MF70, not quite the same but better than nothing.
in heavy traffic, when you stop always use hand brake and put into neutral,,,,,,,,,,good for the machine and a rest for your legs
Father regularly used to road his backhoes (JCB 3Cs) 30 or 40 miles. To save his brakes on hills, he'd use the hydraulics as a retarder i.e. curl the front bucket against the relief valve. Never any problems.
the drum brakes on the JCB 3C were dangerous on the road, using the hydraulics was a lot safer.
Wow. Another "I learned something new today" moment for me. :thumbsup
Thanks for the advice everyone. I think it's a case of an old timer who blew out the tranny on his hoe in 1962 and now insists that roading was the cause. (No disrespect to any old timers here)
Using the hydraulics as a retarder is a good one on many types of machines. I use the circle drive on the grader to do the same thing.
Can someone explain to me, how Using the hydraulics as a retarder would work? What exactly does this do, slow down the engine
Loading the hydraulics takes power. If you are going down a hill, stalling a function loads the pump and takes power from the engine, causing it too slow down. Just don' tdo it for long periods of time or it will overheat the hydraulic fluid causing problems.
some days i can do 50 - 100 miles, 2011 jcb 3cx torquelock gearbox with smoothride ,getting your tyre pressures right for regular road work is well worth it also lock the boom in place
We used our for clearing snow, so we put 1000 of miles on them a year probably. I always keep the brakes unlocked you start bouncing ans you can still steer. I have been using brakes to steer tractors my whole life though, so I have good sense to make sure I'm stepping on the right pedals.
Have heard of the backhoe pulling the work truck to the job using a tow bar, then you would have all your hand tools, generator, laser, etc and a truck to get materials (pipe, fuel, etc), a truck to drive back and forth till the job is done, then hookup the truck to the hoe and bring it all back home to the yard. Never actually saw it nor were there any details described.
make sur eits in 2WD and the only problem u will have is bloody car driving idiots
My backhoe worked exclusively on pavement for 2,500 hours. I experienced no ill effects whatsoever. I engaged front wheel drive whenever I needed extra pushing power but ran in 2wd whenever possible. I suggest engaging/dis-engaging front wheel drive (going from 2wd to 4wd and vice versa) in neutral with the wheels pointed straight. The tires still went for 5,000 hours before they were changed out. The backhoe is still going strong with over 12,000 hours. IMO the biggest issue while roading is transmission temperatures. The torque converter can do al ot of slipping if you climb hills in too high of a gear. This generates a lot of heat.
car drivers should remember there are no crumple zones on our machines.If there is contact the car loses everytime,:drinkup
We also do a lot of road travel with our backhoe loaders - have done for last 34 years, this is the advantage of the BHL - not had any issues apart from increased tyre wear. Things have improved over the years for the operator, quiet cabs,suspension seats, better brakes, 25mph/40k powershift transmissions, torque lock up transmissions, 6 speed auto transmissions and the best option loader arm suspension. Also when brakeing 4 wheel drive engaged to give 2 axle brakeing, much safer when travelling at 40k. As Redline says impatient car drivers are the worst but we have paid our road tax for the BHL and are entitled to use the roads, a bit of courtesy helps like pulling over when the traffic stacks up behind, I personally dont like holding up truck drivers as they have to earn a living like myself. Good luck, Ex tractor fan.