Did you ever figure out your backhoe thumb dilemma? I am leaning towards the BXpanded Barracuda , I have tried contacting Bro-tec about a thumb for the B2601 but it appears they only offer bolt on style for different machines. Have not heard of any other manufacturers.
Have not yet worked it out. Going to dealer tomorrow to talk about a steel cutting edge for the FEL bucket and will talk about the thumb, bucket edge as well as the Grapple I want. Will let you know if I find out anything from him. Dealership is in Danville Va.
Have you looked at a Piranha Bar for the FEL? It might be better for digging in the rocky soil as opposed to a straight bar.
I have seen them in action and can say I really do not care for them at all. I do prefer a straight bar. I would rather use the box blade with the scarifiers and then turn the tractor around and scoop with the FEL and straight blade.
Is your dealer Collie Equip.? If it is it's a small world because that was where my tractor was purchased. I bought it second hand.
Yes, both tractors were from Jim Shields. I sat in his office this morning for a couple hours chatting with Jim. Ordered a box blade and a front blade for the FEL bucket. I have known Jim for a few years now, and he seems to really care about all his customers. Jim was able to sell my L series when I no longer had a need for a tractor that size.
Who would have thought our tractors came from same dealer, I have never been there but the original owner of mine said Jim was the man I needed to talk to about getting my Warranty swapped over to my name. My B2601 had 61 hrs (2019), BH and FEL only.
Jim is the owner and a real nice guy as well.
Yes that is the one I have seen also, BXexpanded makes them and they look real good they also make the Piranha bar for our buckets. Only negative I have heard is the wait time to get products from them is like 6 to 8 weeks but they take your funds instantly.
Well, sometimes things are just worth waiting for. I know I was happy the first time and see no reason not to be this time either.
Just ordered a BXexpanded Piranha bar and a Barracuda thumb, now the wait and anticipation begins.
Very nice. Can't wait for you to get the thumb. I still have the mixed feelings about the Piranha bar. I ordered the straight factory bar for my bucket. I don't like the strain that Piranha bar puts on the loader and bucket. I have the BH70 to do my digging. Keep us posted on both please.
I ordered the short thumb as I have the 16 inch bucket with 4 teeth, as far as the Piranha tooth bar I understand the part of you could overstress the loader if used for digging. I mainly want it for its ability to cut into a pile of dirt or crush &run gravel easier then the factory straight edge. At least I hope it does.
I'm sure it will work for that. I had the straight edge on my L tractor and it worked just fine for dirt and gravel piles so no reason the Piranha blade wouldn't work.
My tractor came with the 16 inch bucket the original owner used it a lot for digging footers for his small house / cabin. It seems to cut easily into our clay dirt so far not sure how well it will do in dry hard clay will find out if we ever stop getting rain.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying the tractor or backhow will not handle the 16! I have no doubt....When I bought the L, I got the 10" bucket for same reason I picked the 12 this time. Once I started digging with the 10 on the L I broke out laughing at my concerns. Exact same reaction with the 12" bucket on the B tractor. The tree I took out of the hole yesterday had to stand over 7' side to side on roots and it took ot out of ground and right out of the hole and without the thumb. Shocked me that the BH70 had every bit of power and strength the L tractor had. Knowing all this, I still would pick either the 10" or 12" bucket for my use. I have very heavy and dense clay/gumbo over here. I don't mind an extra scoop or two to remove a tree from the ground. If I wanted speed on removal, I would have gotten a mini excavator instead. I love the B with a 12" bucket. I am sure you are just as happy with the 16" as I am with 12".
