Good day everyone, I’m looking at purchasing a 1999 3cx Jcb backhoe for my farm. Just wondering if anyone had information on how to operate one as I have not operated one before.
Backhoes aren't super complicated to learn. You just have to figure out which movement of the controls do what and practice. Different year models and makes will have different controls. The newer hoes may have joysticks as opposed to levers. Some older machines may have 4 levers and some have 2. I'm not familiar with the JCB but I imagine the 99 would be a 2 lever machine rather than 4 or joystick. It would probably be worthwhile to purchase an operator manual at least. If you plan to do your own service as most of us do you will also want a service manual. Backhoes break! You will need to replace hoses and rebuild cylinders as it wears. You might also want to get a qualified tech to look the machine over and check for mechanical issues before you buy. Generally if the control movements are too jerky you can lower the engine RPMs to make it less responsive while you learn. I rarely run my New Holland over 1800 RPMs. You Tube can be a good resource but may take watching several different videos to find what you are looking for. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=99+3cx+Jcb+backhoe+operation
Maybe try the two most common control patterns and see what feelz the best, before committing your muscle memory to one or the other.
My friend purchased a 1995 jcb back in 2014. I had my apprehensions about it at the time. It was rough and it took considerable work to get back to reliable. I have learned a lot about them first hand. They are incredibly strong machines. Parts are everywhere on the internet for very reasonable prices. I’m not a fan of the British pipe fittings on all the hydraulic hoses, but I only live 20 miles from a Ponnse dealer. They uses the same fittings. Perkins engines are great and the JCB transmission is fairly simple and really tough. Use quality fluids in the trans and rear diff or else clutch slippage and brake chatter will cause you grief.
A backhoe in London? UK? I'm amazed that's allowed if so! As NH575E says, above, a backhoe is pretty manageable to run and figure out, though it'll take a bit to get good with it. My first real backhoeing experience was with a rental. They dropped it off down the road (my driveway and road aren't terribly accessible by a big truck) and said have at it. I didn't really know what was what. The rental did have an operators manual, which I read before doing much and I was off. After a couple days it felt pretty comfortable, though I probably made some bigger messes than I would now. Welcome to the party, it's fun!
Welcome to HEF, Konkelly !
I have the operators manual for that 3cx. It is 186 pages long. Ifn you want it, send me a private message and include your email address. I will then send you an invitation to download it from my Google Drive.
Tink to the rescue!
he's that kinda guy, Tink is. Remember the old operator rule of thumb. If you don't know what lever A does, Leave her B. Seriously get it out in some open space and give it all a whirl
Watching people use a backhoe, when you get one you can't wait to try it. But once you start trying it, it can be very frustrating. It's like playing a musical instrument, it takes practice. You will find in the beginning you are very slow and jerky, with every function being a separate operation. That is when the frustration starts to set in. The key is don't give up. Concentrate on the job at hand. It will take a couple of weeks of intermittent usage, or probably a week of solid usage, and you will all of a sudden realize you are getting the hang of it. The more you use it, the better you will get. But the first couple of hours/days are long.
Everyone has given good advice, there was a time when none of knew how to operate. I can tell you what not to do, don't try to load a truck or work near anything of value until you feel confident in yourself, and the word of the day there is humble. Don't overestimate yourself. And never, ever allow anyone to stand within your swing radius. It's an amazing tool but capable of serious damage if a mistake is made.
^^ true that ^^ I never sat in a backhoe till I owned one. Bought mine off eBay and had it shipped to me. Ended up having to fix on it for a month before it was usable. NOT "ready to work" as advertised.
Can't really explain to someone how to operate anything. Its more of a you just have to try it kinda thing.
Welcome the Forums K! Steve said what was going to add - Be careful! Take it slow, wear your seatbelt and don't let anyone in your working radius. A large, flat open field is your friend why you are learning the ropes. Best of luck!
Put the stabilizers down until the rear wheels come off the ground a few inches before doing anything with the backhoe. The machine will be very jerky and can become unstable if you don't. After you gain some experience, there will be things you can do without the stabilizers on the ground, but you have to have a feel for what that is. For example, you can easily dig a stump out with your stabilizers down, but if you want to then move that stump to a burn pile, you might not be able to drive with it without doing a wheelie. They are a simple machine to operate, but that doesn't mean you don't have to think about what you are doing. Center of gravity and direction of force are all very important, even more so when working on steep terrain.
Avoid steep terrain if possible! Scary!
Like all equipment operators smooth is fast and great operators are three moves ahead of everybody else.
Once you get used to it a little the trick is to use 2 or more functions at the same time to make it smoother. Pull the stick in while you curl the bucket (sometimes need to lift the boom as well) or put the stick out while you're while swinging to dump the bucket. I find controlling the swing takes the most practice. Be patient and don't get frustrated. It takes a little time, like everything else, to get proficient.
Run the engine speed no faster than you need to. You will have much better control of the backhoe. When you get used to it you will be able to run it faster.
I kept getting scolded when I was running the engine too slow. The pump makes a groaning noise if the engine is turning too slow, they claimed it was hard on the hydraulics. My machine has a tach with colors on it telling what rpm range to use, but of course it's broken and doesn't register.
With the new equipment having emissions on them I tend to run them harder than the pre-emission stuff. The exhaust needs heat and you don't always make enough just poking around at slightly above idle speeds.
Like Welder Dave said, the swing is tricky, because the boom is weak that direction, it is made for moving the load only, not for spreading or anything else with the swing, SO the cylinders have to be small, but small makes them too fast. Not sure why they can't control the swing speed with orifices, probably because pros can control it easier with experience, one way to do that is always be prepared to transition to another function when you want to slow and stop the swing. So before you start the swing know that you're going to lower the boom and extend the stick so be ready to start that halfway through the swing so the flow and speed of the swing drops even before you let off the swing control. The very basic digging function is to have the bucket teeth pointing slightly below horizontal and moving along 6" below the surface to scrape off a thin even layer. Practice that by holding the bucket six inches above the ground and extending and filling the bucket with air a few times. Once you get that smooth, and digging smooth, then when you dig deeper you will sometimes fill the bucket by pulling up at an angle taking a similar strip. If it's loose soil the bucket will go right in and tilt full and be easy, but that technique is used other places as well, like digging out roots, take an inch at a time and some roots will cut right through, vs going deep and trying to rip through the whole root.