The open source backhoe is complete. Check out the finished product as attached on our open source tractor:
Field testing showed some explosive news. See for yourself:
I ran over to Sweiger Shop right after, to get a larger shaft. The store was closed – I forgot it was Saturday. On the way back, I stopped and picked a bushel of juicy Jonathan apples from a neighbor. After downing four of them in delight, I said to myself – “hey, wait a minute, why don’t I just fix the tractor myself?†After all, I designed it for absolute simplicity and replaceability of parts. A redesign of the shaft coupling – and I’ll be up in no time. Yes, that’s what I’m doing today, and I should be up digging with the new toothbar bucket by noon.
The backhoe itself was not so effective the front of the tractor comes right off the ground as the bucket takes a bite in the hard clay. I need some weights on the front for backhoe work – probably another 1000 pounds.
You can support OSE in this work here.
On a Dingo you get a set of 3 tyne rippers that attach to the front in place of the bucket, and when you need to dig earth out you run the rippers over the ground (going in reverse) a few times and then you can fairly easily use the bucket to scoop up the loosened earth. Have you considered this approach to the problem of getting your dirt out?
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Geoff, can you provide a link to the Dingo rippers?
[…] was taken up primarily by field testing of the open source LifeTrac/CEB/rototiller/toothbar bucket/backhoe combination – as applied to site and earth preparation for CEB construction. We also built a number […]
This is amazing. I wonder what has happened to this backhoe now, I can’t seem to find other updates to it. I’m a few years late already.