Hello everyone, So I have a lot of split firewood that i will need to move around in the next little bit. The truck broke down and its way too much for the quad so the backhoe is the only option left. I can either build an extension for the FEL bucket of some sort or use a trailer. It would probably be easier to build something so i can pull the trailer from the backhoe bucket but the problem is that a good portion of the distance is up or down quite a steep hill. Will hooking a trailer to the backhoe shovel put too much strain on the components? Thank you for your input!
I would repair the truck and use it so that I won't be repairing the backhoe later. We move firewood in the loader bucket all the time and at 1.25yd it is quite a heavy load if full. I couldn't imagine adding an extension to it for more wood. That would quickly exceed the 6K lb max. Pulling a heavy trailer with the backhoe bucket is just begging for a hydraulic or transmission problem.
I move a lot of firewood in the front bucket of a loader and never had any problems. I always figured it was giving it a break from lifting rock and stone. Green oak weighs 85 lbs./cu ft. 27 cu ft. per cu yard means a 1.25 yd bucket full would weigh about 2890 lbs if you could pack it full with no air spaces. I put the forks on mine and a sheet of plywood if the wood is already cut short.
I believe the 580SE came with a 1yd bucket and a little over 4K lift capacity at full height. Maybe it's a 10K lb machine? Adding extensions and I would think a person could exceed that lift capacity. We moved two buckets full of fresh cut Hickory firewood this weekend ourselves with the backhoe. Handy machine for that.
Thanks for everyone's input, I do appreciate it. Unfortunately fixing the truck was not an option as I had to get the wood moved within a few days. I ended up building an extension for the FEL bucket. I'll try to attach a picture. I only have fir around here so that should only be about 31 lbs./cu ft. The 580SE I have has a 1yd heaped capacity with the 4in1 and 5200lbs full height capacity. Assuming I was able to extend the bucket to three yards (but I think its less) it would only work out to about 2.5k lbs. I know its not the optimal solution but it works. I also try to not load to the front of the bucket to minimize leverage on the bucket cylinder and linkage
Your set. Looks good to me.