I'm hoping to start soon building a hoe that mounts on the back of a truck. It would be great to get any input you may have. Theres so many different boom designs out there that i don't know which one to copy. Due to design limitations I definitely have to build it from scratch. I'm trying to decide what material thickness to use, does anybody know how material on the smaller booms are? Since the boss has plenty of money, we were talking about using aluminum! Also I was curious if any of the extend-a-hoes or telehandlers, etc have any type of wear plates or bearings? Please post any input u may have. Where are some good picture galaries of machines?
First, welcome to the forums! One of the gas companies in theses parts used to run hoes mounted on about an F-600 Ford truck chassis. I can't say I ever got an up close look at one. I haven't seen any around for quite some time now. The hoes looked to be about the same size as a Case 580, Ford 555, etc. The backhoe looked to be mounted so that the whole structure pivoted up and rode above the truck bed--nothing overhanging the back of the truck during travel. Personally, I always thought the setup looked a bit clumsey. I'm used to moving the machine around a lot while working it. I'm not sure that would've been too easy with those setups. I guess the gas company was more interested in getting to the job quickly and digging a hole in one spot. I've seen a US Army vehicle with a loader and backhoe. It was a Unimog, and it had a JD loader mounted in front, and a Case 580 hoe in back. Just out of curiousity, why do you want to do this?
I can remember seeing these as a kid, but I can't say that I've seen one in over 25 years! I'm curious too, what is your need for this? I'd think the machine's use would be pretty limited due to terrain and on site mobility as digger suggests. If yopu do tackle it, please keep us posted on your prgress with pictures!!
a friend of mine in the used truck business used to pick these up at auctions. as digger said, they were ford 555 hoes mounted on f-600's. also were some smaller hoes mounted on dodge 1-ton chassis. i used the f600 1 time to finish a drain by my garage when my 580 was down...PIA! like digger said...they're ok if you just have to dig a hole in 1 spot & staying on a street as the gas co. does. since your boss has money...spend it on a nice comfortable air cond/heated mach. with excavator controls, 4WD, etc.
So, how did the hoe pivot up over the truck bed? Extra hydraulics, or what? And where does the operator sit?
Id avoid aluminum at all cost. I build alot of equipment attachments and most etendahoes have a roller at the bottom of the boom or wear plates wear plates being used mostly. Machinebuilders.net and tractorbynet.com are both good sites to look at for info, Also try Cadpplans.com. Im thinking about building one to for fun. Id go with aleast 1/4 inch wall rectangular tubing to. I have a friend here whose granddad had a 50 ** backhoe attachment onto the back of an old F600. Its still in use today Ive used it in some rought places trenching but it was rough. Id lock the steering wheel in place and drag myself with the hoe. I just thought of another source that makes Caddiggers but call them canadian excavators. THey mount into the backs of pickups youll have to do a google on them though.
ConEdison used to have some small backhoes in the back of F-350 Dually pickups. I think they contract out digging now, I haven't seen them in quite a while.
uses PTO to power hyd. Like you said, the whole unit pivots up and tilts back & the boom sits in a cradle. i can't remember for sure, but i think the seat just stayed in position on the floorplate and tilted up as a whole unit.
you chould buid some thing like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXjZOwkxTvE
Aluminium? Do what you like but I'd be adapting an anready produced unit. Something like a deere type 9300 detachable hoe for their trackloaders and dozers of the mid 80's. If you wanted a smaller or lighter unit, try a like a bradco 609 that would be a skid steer attachment. Kelly mfg also makes a detachable backhoe for farm tractors, kinda inbetween the deere and the skidloader stuff. Decently built, but not super rugged so that it would be super heavy. Weight distrubution wise I think your going to want your load ahead of the rear axle during transport. Wither you make the whole unit slide on a type of rail or if the mount just tips back, thats up to you. Your also going to want an aux. engine to power the unit in addition to the truck pto, or maybe dont even bother with powering it off the truck. In the end you will have drained the bosses wallet thats for sure.
This is probably what you saw, my local gas company had one too. http://www.mastercraftforklift.com/pdf/backhoe.pdf
"Due to design limitations I definitely have to build it from scratch" What are the limitations that would keep you from at least using the key components of an existing machine? Why not buy a nice used excavator and adapt that to your truck? They come in all sizes to match what ever truck you have in mind. You'll have everything you need already packaged and ready to go. Engine, hydraulics,electrical, plumbing, the mechanics, even a seat and a cab, most likely a/c and heat. All the geometry and sizes of everything has already been figured out and field tested. You wouldn't even have to figure out the folding mechanism, just rotate it around. You'd have to add some outriggers and figure out the actual mounting to the truck frame. I googled 'truck mounted excavator' and came up with this big guy. http://www.directindustry.com/prod/...-telescopic-boom-excavators-55187-388583.html
Are you talking about these guys? http://www.candig.com/special_order.html
Willys used to offer a backhoe as an option on the CJ and forward control (FC170) models
Why would anyone want such a set up?
I'm with the majority here, WHY and WHAT for?
I can understand from a mobility standpoint, but unless you build it like a Gradall you have to jump from one cab to the other to move it around. Didn't we have a thread about this recently?
245 thats the little hoe I was talking about. The big one that was made in town I mentioned earlier has been retired. But they amde a new one out of a Sherman or Cone backhoe attachment from another old TLB. THe folks hat have both do the water and ga companies digging. I have a large 3point backhoe I took in on trade that was too big for my machine. Im thinking about making it a truck mount for the farm. I plan on using an additional transmision inline with the trucks. THat way I can add on a PTO with a hydraulic motor like a gradall uses so I can creep up.