Grading With A Backhoe?

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and also relatively green when it comes to operating a backhoe.

I recently bought a 2012 Komatsu Backhoe (WB97r-5EO) for a rural property I own (~30 acres) and the machine has already provided a great ROI. All sorts of rubbish and waste were kept on the property and slowly each week ive been tacking a section and cleaning things up. Im now at the point where most of the rubbish and rotten tree stumps have been removed leaving a fairly clean patch of land.

The block is large and downward sloping (~10 degrees) from the street however it is very lumpy in places. Ultimately one day I would like to build a house on the block but thats probably a few years away (unless I win the lotto ).

Anyway, I was wondering if it is possible to do some basic grading with a backhoe and if so, there were any helpful tips people could share. Some of the questions circling in my mind are:

1) I cant tilt my front buckets so I imagine I will have to work up and down the slope rather than across the slope. Would a tilting front bucket be a worthwhile investment?
2) Is there any form of laser equipment that can help ensure I am working down the slope at the correct angle or do I have to keep jumping out and measuring?
3) its hard for me to judge the precise angle from the cabin. How do people ensure they keep the bucket angle consistent when grading?

Finally, is this just a waste of time and is it doomed to fail with a backhoe? Would I be better off paying someone with a grader? In this case, is there any prework I can do with the backhoe to make life easier for the grader to hopefully minimise the price he will charge?

Any help would be much appreciated (this forum has been a godsend for me so far)!

Cheers,

Mason ; Your project is very doable with your JCB. Why doesn't your front bucket tilt ? Can you explain what you mean that it doesn't tilt ?

you are talking about side to side tilt? dig a 8 to 10" trench across the slope, then grade across slope with high side wheels in trench,,, repeat as needed GL

A side tilting backhoe loader bucket is practically unheard of here. Laser seems way out of line with the aims of getting rid of the lumpiness. It's not going to be level or any precise slope so a laser is irrelevant. Isn't there some kind of visual indicator to show you the tilt of the bucket from the cab? Look for some kind of light linkage coming off the tilt linkage for the bucket.

It will always be a little tricky grading with a loader bucket, even more if there is any slop in the joints and/or the cutting edge is worn over. When the bucket cuts through the crust it will tend to pull down too deep, and then it will go over the top of bumps sometimes too. After the rough grading is done, it will help if you loosen the soil with a chisel plow/quack digger/ cultivator before trying to finish grade it.

do you have a 4-1 bucket on it , grading out is easy with a backhoe ,using either end too

Use the backhoe to dig yourself out a nice large level spot then go at it with the loader. You've always got the backhoe to loosen things up if the digging is to hard for the loader.This took me 8 hrs. with the backhoe in the pic. I only use the transit for checking final grade but I've also had plenty of practice. Just have patience you have plenty of time when your doing your own work.

To get some sideways angle on the loader bucket, fill the dig bucket with dirt and then swing it to one side. It's not necessary to have it out so far as to hit things, just a little. The flex in the tyres (tires) will be enough to put angle on the loader. Handy for putting a crown on a driveway etc.

If you have a 4 in 1 loader bucket you should grade with the clam open. However that still usually digs in too much. Try opening the clam just a couple of inches and then grade with that gap on the ground. Dirt from the high spots will go into the bucket and the fall out in the low spots.

Not as a good as a proper grader but a lot cheaper if you have your own backhoe.

Chris.

Not sure if your backhoe has the feature, the case 580 I have, has a return to dig which makes creating a flat level spot easy. Otherwise, using the float can give you great results too!

Wow thanks for all the responses.

Mason ; Your project is very doable with your JCB. Why doesn't your front bucket tilt ? Can you explain what you mean that it doesn't tilt ?

Click to expand...

It does tilt front and back but the left side of the bucket is always the same height as the right. I've seen side tilted buckets where you can tilt one side higher than the other (Ive just assumed this is to make it easier to grade with a slope but it made serve another purpose?)

you are talking about side to side tilt? dig a 8 to 10" trench across the slope, then grade across slope with high side wheels in trench,,, repeat as needed GL

Click to expand...

I think I get your idea? Are you suggesting to just dig a trench across the slope on the high side. Place high side wheels in the trench which will effectively level the backhoe and then just work acrossways? This makes sense to me although my goal isnt exactly to flatten the land out but I suppose I can determine the angle by changing the depth of the trench?

It will always be a little tricky grading with a loader bucket, even more if there is any slop in the joints and/or the cutting edge is worn over. When the bucket cuts through the crust it will tend to pull down too deep, and then it will go over the top of bumps sometimes too. After the rough grading is done, it will help if you loosen the soil with a chisel plow/quack digger/ cultivator before trying to finish grade it

Click to expand...

Yep, i have found it a bit like this that the bucket (even though I dont move it) jumps over certain sections because the tyres are going over a bit of a lump in the land and therefore it lifts the bucket up and I miss sections.

Use the backhoe to dig yourself out a nice large level spot then go at it with the loader. You've always got the backhoe to loosen things up if the digging is to hard for the loader.This took me 8 hrs. with the backhoe in the pic. I only use the transit for checking final grade but I've also had plenty of practice. Just have patience you have plenty of time when your doing your own work.

Click to expand...

Wow, this is impressive work and the only problem form me here is that I do want to still leave the gentle downward gradient in the land. Its just very lumpy but I ultimately want the water to drain downwards on a gentle slop and I dont necessarily want to flatten everything horizontal. For e.g. imagine if for the flat section you created you wanted to actually have that section slope down 10 degrees (i.e. a much more gentle slope than the mountain behind but still a slope nonetheless. How would you go about creating this slight slope? P.S This work does however inspire me for preparing the area around where I plan to locate the house which I do want to flatten out!

Do you have a 4-1 bucket on it , grading out is easy with a backhoe ,using either end too

Click to expand...

Yep I do, I have been grading with the clam open but it doesnt solve my issue on the grade. I still want to grade with a slight gradient.

To get some sideways angle on the loader bucket, fill the dig bucket with dirt and then swing it to one side. It's not necessary to have it out so far as to hit things, just a little. The flex in the tyres (tires) will be enough to put angle on the loader. Handy for putting a crown on a driveway etc.

If you have a 4 in 1 loader bucket you should grade with the clam open. However that still usually digs in too much. Try opening the clam just a couple of inches and then grade with that gap on the ground. Dirt from the high spots will go into the bucket and the fall out in the low spots.

Not as a good as a proper grader but a lot cheaper if you have your own backhoe.

Click to expand...

I havent tried loading the loader bucket and swinging to the side but sounds like an interesting idea that I'll try out this weekend. Also, I have been grading with the clam completely open but the suggestion to just open up a couple of inches and then run the gap along the ground sounds brilliant!!!!

Not sure if your backhoe has the feature, the case 580 I have, has a return to dig which makes creating a flat level spot easy. Otherwise, using the float can give you great results too!

Click to expand...

I dont think so but will be reading the manual again before bed in case I have missed something!


Thanks for all the helpful tips. Excited about trying a couple of different things this weekend.

MASON81 said:

Yep, i have found it a bit like this that the bucket (even though I dont move it) jumps over certain sections because the tyres are going over a bit of a lump in the land and therefore it lifts the bucket up and I miss sections.

Click to expand...

A real grader has that huge advantage, the blade is in the middle of the tires, and a longer wheelbase also.

Just a little more putzing around with a backhoe. Use the loader to push the visibly high humps into the low spots. Don't expect the loader bucket to automatically level anything much. The four way bucket used just right is better, but it's still not ideal. A land level drag might be a good idea if you want the final grade smooth. You can make one from some rough lumber or steel, whatever you have available.

When back bladeing with the backhoe to fill in small voids do it on float with a loaded bucket the extra weight in the bucket makes a big dif. experiment with how much you tip the bucket back while doing this until you get it just right.

It's way easier to grade with a loader bucket when it's got some dirt in it. Pick up a part of a bucket 1/2 - 3/4 full something like that. Set your bucket level and go forward with some weight off the tires ( you'll get the feel pretty quick) until you get to the end of the run. Then pick up the bucket still level don't dump. and drive up till you clear the mound you made and now backdrag. The weight of the dirt will spread it out. Maneuver to one side or the other with a little overlap. This overlap is a guide to get you started. Work your area, smooth out any ridges and your done. Drag around some chain link fence or a scrap of lumber if you wanna get fancy.

I have dug a couple ditches with my 580c and what I have done is use an instrument find the difference in elevation from high point to low point lets say 10'. I measure the distance lets say 300'. I like to set up every 12' so I divide 300' by 12' = 25 spaces. I divide 10' by 25 spaces = .4 or a difference of 4 3/4" roughly every 12'. I use those little wire flags like for marking utilities and offset them from where I am digging and I write my desired grade on the flag with permanent marker. Before I move the machine I check grade to see how i am doing. As long as it is close I smooth things out with my box blade on a ford 3000 I find it works better for final grade than the loader. Digging something level is easier than trying to maintain a slope unless you have one of those lasers I have heard about that you can set to slope %.

Tilt your bucket by swinging the hoe to the side. A TBL is not the most efficient grading machine, but it beats a hand shovel. I begin by eye, dropping material in the low spots. String can help. Good grades are tough without processed material with few rocks. Last weekend I removed a hundred yards of mud, replacing it with tailings from screening winter road sand. The occasional football sized rock was a liability. I'll have to cover it with 1-1/4" drainage stone to get a smooth road.

Open the clam slightly to limit the depth of dig while pushing.

Willie

Thanks for all the responses guys. Have got a good handful of tips that I'm going to try out over the weekend and will report back with the results.

I don't have a multi purpose bucket. For me, final grade is a full bucket sitting flat dragged backwards. I've seen CTL operators do the same going forward. I think a CTL is a different machine, it works better for them.

The clam bucket is a phenomenally versatile attachment.

Willie

http://youhttp://youtu.be/7Tztj9lZLus tu.be/7Tztj9lZLus

That video is awesome


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