Anybody put a winch on their backhoe, so they don’t get stuck in mud

[jimmynoshow]

Does anybody have any pictures or ideas about I was thinking of putting a witch on my machine it’s a very muddy area , my 580 is 2 Wheel Dr. I’m afraid getting stuck in the mud with no help , I’m new to operating this machine and there’s a lot of mud and I went through a lot of crap to get it out as in last winters post i made ,thank God for Erik coming to help me .
pictures would be greatly appreciated if you have any

 

[Delmer]

A winch on a backhoe is like lingerie on a young bride, nice idea, but it's not needed and just gets in the way.

A 2wd backhoe is not going to be able to load and back out of mud holes. If you keep within the limitations, it can do loader work on soft ground, but not slippery ground. Once you start slipping, the loader is done, and you have to do everything with the backhoe, and use both the loader and backhoe to help get around if it gets that bad.

 

[skyking1]

Jimmy it would help to define what it is you want to get done.
After you do that and look at the conditions, you may want to hire or rent a more appropriate machine for a short time to get things straightened out.
Once you build crown into roads and cut some drainage, the 2wd hoe becomes a bit more functional.
You can start to work from the dry, add some rock on roads you want to keep, etc.
I remember the other thread.

 

[jimmynoshow]

Yeah getting stuck is traumatizing to me

 

[Old Growth]

he has PTSD.

Post traumatic STUCK disorder!

 

[jimmynoshow]

 

[skyking1]

some of us don't like to say stuck. I prefer "my mobility was limited", for example.

 

[DDoug]

Put a rat tail on it....then you'll never get stuck...

 

[Georgia Iron]

some of us don't like to say stuck. I prefer "my mobility was limited", for example.

Real men don't get stuck, we bury it.

The last time I stuck my f250 in the middle of a plowed field 1500' from the closest road. It was enough for me. Small 60 horse tractor could not even budge it. 150 hp tractor spun the tires and instantly went to the draw bar stuck, with dual rears.

Truck was sitting on the frame , me being me when it started to slow down I hit the pedal harder hoping to make it to good ground. It went to the frame!

A 100' snatch strap and a mud truck on wide tires was able to snatch it out. To this day I don't see how a lifted chevy 1500 got the 250 moving but on the 3 hard jerk it got it going. 1 day later and miles of walking.

I don't even understand how that strap could stretch so much and not well snap

 

[Georgia Iron]

I am sure someone will come along and tell you how to put a winch on the back hoe. To me it should be on your service truck and you should never get so far away or block the road to the truck. Second rule of machine work keep a good clear path to you at all times. When you don't and you break down on the other side of a few trees you will learn the golden rule of access the hard way.

 

[jimmynoshow]

Put a rat tail on it....then you'll never get stuck...

Whats a rattail ?

 

[mowingman]

A friend of mine was the VP of equipment for the largest derailment contractor in the country. They were not allowed to order 4 wheel drive on any trucks, and they had probably hundreds. The owner said pickups etc. were for on highway only. Off highway, they needed to use the dozers, sidebooms and track loaders. To this day, I do not believe they have any 4x4 trucks.

 

[DDoug]

Whats a rattail ?

a short piece of chain permanently bolted on, so you don't have to dig in the mud to hook
your winch line to.

Just use a grab hook, and hook on.

Mine is under the back of the skid loader in a horrible spot, so i bolted it in permanently,
runs up the back door, hangs on a quick pin, so I can take the end off to open the door.

ever since I installed the rat tail, I have never needed it.....yet.

 

[Acoals]

Yeah getting stuck is traumatizing to me

Getting stuck keeps Saturday afternoons interesting . . .

View attachment KIMG0971.JPG

 

[Georgia Iron]

A friend of mine was the VP of equipment for the largest derailment contractor in the country. They were not allowed to order 4 wheel drive on any trucks, and they had probably hundreds. The owner said pickups etc. were for on highway only. Off highway, they needed to use the dozers, sidebooms and track loaders. To this day, I do not believe they have any 4x4 trucks.

Ignorance is bliss. Maybe his men aren't smart enough to use 4x4. You can pull onto a road shoulder and not move without 4x4. I enter construction sites often and I have been stuck in the construction gravel entrance as much as I have made it in.

Every site contractor supervisor here in Georgia is using a 4x4 most of them carring fuel tanks and basic tools.... this red Georgia clay will stop that line of thinking real quick especially if you are hauling a trailer with weight.

The better equipped ones have winches.

 

[NH575E]

What do you plan to connect the winch cable to if you install one? Is it a wooded area with trees?

You could try a chain on the hoe bucket and use the crowd to pull yourself out if you can't raise it and get to the side of the hole with the hoe.

Back when I was working dirt that would get muddy it only took me one time getting stuck to not work in the mud anymore. Even that one time I was able as a novice to weasel the hoe out in an hour. I would just wait for dryer conditions.

 

[Swetz]

it only took me one time getting stuck to not work in the mud anymore.

Agree....Only problem is I cant get work done cuz it wont stop raining!!

 

[jimmynoshow]

What do you plan to connect the winch cable to if you install one? Is it a wooded area with trees?

You could try a chain on the hoe bucket and use the crowd to pull yourself out if you can't raise it and get to the side of the hole with the hoe.

Back when I was working dirt that would get muddy it only took me one time getting stuck to not work in the mud anymore. Even that one time I was able as a novice to weasel the hoe out in an hour. I would just wait for dryer conditions.

Yes trees around to hook a winch to , my property have no choice but it has muddy spots trying to get stone in there

 

[Bootheal]

What if you rigged a portable battery winch. It won’t be lightweight but one person could lift and position. When you get stuck, place (lash off) near a tree or deadman to grab stuck backhoe.

This would allow the winch to be more useful as apposed permanent mounted.
I don’t see any great place to install a winch on the tractor.

We have a Harbor Freight winch and mounting bracket for a receiver hitch. So far, has worked well around here. The wireless remote is awesome….so far!

 

[HarleyHappy]

Aren’t many winches out there that’s gonna help a backhoe get unstuck.
Best thing you can do is get more stone where you are working.
What you can do is, practice.
Get the machine up in the air and figure out how to move using the hoe.
You have to move it side to side, lifting the back of the machine off the stabilizers and sliding it to the sides and even forward and backward.
You can use the loader bucket also, figure out how to tilt the bucket back a little so it won’t dig in when pulling or pushing the machine with the hoe.
You will be amazed how much you can move the machine, with just the hoe.
Practice putting it in gear, in low with the tires off the ground, lift the machine, slowly lift the stabilizers, so when you put it down, it will drive itself as you lower it with the hoe.
When I lived in Tennessee, the clay, when wet, would stick any wheeled machine, even with 4x4.
I ended up bolting a used rim that I made, that I bolted to one of the rear wheels that stuck out as far as the stabilizer. That made it a drum and I cut a hole in the middle for a chain hook.
When I got stuck, I would run a chain to a tree and wrap it around that rim, as the rear wheels spun, it created its own winch, with the chain.