Bucket as anchor point...

Doing some waterline trenching in hardish rocky soil. Using the loader bucket as the front anchor point - which is the best way: the level digging position or curled forward with the lower blade teeth penetrating the ground (1 cubic metre multipurpose bucket) Thank you very much !!

Curled all the way forwrd with it jambed in the ground and the front tires hanging in the air.

Thank you !!

Another good one if your in a place were you can't get the front bucket to bite is put the 4x4 in and set the parking brake if your brake works good

Thank you - appreciate !!

Do you have outriggers on the rear of your backhoe, Jan?

Yes - the European type - vertically straight up and down. Not the USA “lateral arc” type.

Considering that your outriggers will raise the rear end up, I was going to recommend that you try working your loader bucket and your outriggers in such a way that -- after your loader bucket is firmly planted in the ground -- you raise the rear of the machine up until the machine is angled slightly downward. In others words, after the front bucket is in the ground, lift the rear of the machine up so that it's pointing down in the front. Obviously, you can only point the machine downward so much, but it sounds like you're digging the same kind of glacial till that we're cursed with. We've been digging through all manner of rocky earth for many years and that's how we get the best performance out of the hoe section of our machine.

Thank you very much !!

I also lay a 400mm water level to the rear of/across the rear/backhoe handling levers - to help get the machine - and the subsequent trench - nice and square - from left to right with the help of the stabilizers/outriggers.

Take smaller bites .