Swetz
Senior Member
Well, after pondering a hydraulic thumb on my machine, and a grapple on the front bucket, I decided to put the Hoeclamp by Amulet on.
I only saw one manufacturer that offered a hydraulic thumb for this machine with an extend-a-hoe, and didn't like the look or the price. I paid $3120 shipped to a UPS freight terminal which is close to my house. The pallet weighed over #400, and I do not have any equipment to unload at my NJ house. Besides the paperwork, it was a breeze to pick it up from UPS Freight. In fact, by the time the paperwork was done the pallet was in my truck for at least 10 minuets...LOL
The price was certainly more than I wanted to spend, however, I really did not want a fixed thumb, and I would have had to engineer the attachment. Also, the hydraulic model was more once you purchased all the parts to make the hydraulics work.
I purchased the unit from Equipment Land. I called and spoke with Jeff, and we texted each other several times. The hoeclamp is made specifically to each order, so I had to take measurements from my bucket to supply to them. As far as order time, I was quoted 10-12 days to shipping. I waited twice that long, and Jeff informed me that Amulet had increased the timeframes on all orders after mine was ordered...Given the demand for equipment today, I guess that is understandable.
First impressions:
The thing is big and heavy!! At 1 1/4" thick, one can understand how it amasses #400.
Second first impressions, the instructions $uck!. I received a manual that states that you need to look at the additional material supplied. Basically, the manual was made to keep the corporate lawyers happy. Although there was a specific instruction sheet supplied, I felt if could be much better...basically I put it aside and started lining up the parts to make it work. Again, with the technology available to day, they could have done much better!
Final impression. I took the tractor out to give it test, and was truly impressed at its ability and loved the fact that the hoeclamp moves towards the bucket during the grab. I tried it on little rocks, medium rocks, boulders, and even on some rocks that the backhoe couldn't pick up. I also moved some trees that were previously cut down, just to see how it worked. Keep in mind that this was just a ~45 minute test, because I had other projects to do in order to keep the wife happy
.
As shipped.
I only saw one manufacturer that offered a hydraulic thumb for this machine with an extend-a-hoe, and didn't like the look or the price. I paid $3120 shipped to a UPS freight terminal which is close to my house. The pallet weighed over #400, and I do not have any equipment to unload at my NJ house. Besides the paperwork, it was a breeze to pick it up from UPS Freight. In fact, by the time the paperwork was done the pallet was in my truck for at least 10 minuets...LOL
The price was certainly more than I wanted to spend, however, I really did not want a fixed thumb, and I would have had to engineer the attachment. Also, the hydraulic model was more once you purchased all the parts to make the hydraulics work.
I purchased the unit from Equipment Land. I called and spoke with Jeff, and we texted each other several times. The hoeclamp is made specifically to each order, so I had to take measurements from my bucket to supply to them. As far as order time, I was quoted 10-12 days to shipping. I waited twice that long, and Jeff informed me that Amulet had increased the timeframes on all orders after mine was ordered...Given the demand for equipment today, I guess that is understandable.
First impressions:
The thing is big and heavy!! At 1 1/4" thick, one can understand how it amasses #400.
Second first impressions, the instructions $uck!. I received a manual that states that you need to look at the additional material supplied. Basically, the manual was made to keep the corporate lawyers happy. Although there was a specific instruction sheet supplied, I felt if could be much better...basically I put it aside and started lining up the parts to make it work. Again, with the technology available to day, they could have done much better!
Final impression. I took the tractor out to give it test, and was truly impressed at its ability and loved the fact that the hoeclamp moves towards the bucket during the grab. I tried it on little rocks, medium rocks, boulders, and even on some rocks that the backhoe couldn't pick up. I also moved some trees that were previously cut down, just to see how it worked. Keep in mind that this was just a ~45 minute test, because I had other projects to do in order to keep the wife happy
.As shipped.
