Clearing Ground for a new Car Park

I put the front bucket of my JCB 3cx to work, clearing ground for a new car park.

[@craigshepherdson1517]

Hi Ollie. I noticed straight away that you had the kingpost in the middle. I messaged you and suggested doing it like that because it keeps the machine level and you have better visibility. It does make a massive difference when levelling stone and I’m glad you mentioned the technique in your comments.

[@julianbuckmaster3725]

Here's a little tip I saw years ago Ollie. We came to the backhoe one morning and a front tyre was flat, we'd no spare, & the tarmac truck was waiting, along with a full crew. Time is money, so I slewed the back acter to the opposite corner, lifted the front, and put a digger tooth under the front axle on the side with the good tyre (this prevented the front axle from pivoting). The backhoe then ran all day, taking tarmac from the truck, and taking it to the spreader with the front bucket on 3 wheels!!!

[@Olliegunns]

I have heard of this trick as a way to get home with a front puncture. Good to know, thanks for the tip 👍

[@mtbmaniac25]

Really enjoying the backhoe loader content, hope to see more on how you keep learning about the machine

[@Olliegunns]

I will try and film what I can. It’s not always easy to capture the job and explain what I’m doing sometimes as it all happens so quickly. But I’ll do my best to capture the kind of work I get up to.

[@gordonwood3184]

I drove jcb M.F for years and always found it difficult to stip soil and get it to a perfect level. i could get it nr enough. The tyres make the machine bob around .track drots do a better job because they are more stable and can push without losing grip .so dont beat yourself up about getting it level do the bulk with the front then if it as to be spot on finish of with the back actor.All the best .👍

[@keithrogers2107]

Your a very modest man,looks a nice job !!

[@ashdowker4326]

good vlog always wanted to drive jakes love them good to see them making a come back ollie

[@Olliegunns]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'm starting to get a feel for mine now and its really working out well for my little business.

[@ashdowker4326]

@@Olliegunns great stuff love watching your vlogs Ollie I have 360 tickets and dumper ticket keep up the great work

[@ashdowker4326]

Think you need that 4cx though what a weapon

[@paulf2529]

I wish it was easier to hire backhoes so I could try one, I'm invariably running 5 ton kubota 360s and whilst I'm fast I'm always aware of the time wasted tracking about.

[@hvy1ton]

I know a guy in Idaho that replaced his backhoe with a 10MWR and loves it. The one major downside is you loose a ton of dig depth. I'd love to have a Mecalac dealer closer than 1000 miles, so I can at least consider one.

[@joemarchant4846]

Hi Ollie, great content as always, your curiosity with the mecalac, I had one on demo for a week after seeing it at plantworx, it is amazingly fast and very powerful, lifting capacity is unbeatable and the machine has zero lag no matter how many levers and buttons you press at once. However we found it useless at actually digging a foundation or drainage trench which was so disappointing, there is a button which is supposed to make the arm work in sync (like a normal excavator arm) without having to use the foot pedal to make the cranked boom stretch out, but the reality is it doesnt work well at all and ended up in a different position everytime which is very fruustrating and time consuming. Everything else it excelled at and has a massive flow rate for any attachment you can out on it, you can literally put a huge flail on it and go down a hedge line at full track speed with zero lag to the hydraulics whatsoever!!

[@DJC995]

Hi Ollie Nice one Thanks again

[@Irishluc]

I’m with u on the rubber wheel. I’ve the same problems with transport. To get around it I run a g2700 loader. It will do all the work u can do with ur front bucket. Try one some time will lift over two ton. Loads of attachments. I’ve 12 at the moment. Ur 8026 and a g2700 would do a world of work.

[@dmonsef]

Curious, after grading this square area why not use a road roller to compact the surface down? Did the client not require it or not want to pay more for it?

[@MarkJones-ws6yo]

Cracking video

[@kennethhatcher5822]

Try a machine on Michelin xmcl ! Grip on that soil much better than x ply !

[@Olliegunns]

Try paying for them Ken! 😆 when these wear out I might treat myself.

[@kennethhatcher5822]

@@Olliegunnsexpensive I know , fit them on your new backhoe one day 👌

[@villageearthwright]

With how much you love the backhoe you really should look and see if there is a hydreama or huddig dealer in UK, i'd love to see you demo one. I have a mecalac, tracked, they are really great machines. but cetialy not cheap, then again neither is a new backhoe. I would love to have a wheeled mecalac but i'm looking more at the scandi backhoes also as they really see like a super productive unit.

[@Olliegunns]

The Huddig is too big for UK roads, its a good 1ft wider than a 3/4cx and thats bad enough on our glorified cart tracks! There's also no dealer here, and lovely though they are - they are probably a bit big for what I do. The Hydrema however - the smaller one at least - is the equivalent size to a 4cx, slightly less dig depth, slightly less reach, the same width down the road and a similar weight. There is also a UK dealer.... And the back end can dig 270 degrees which means you could almost fill your own front bucket with the back end!

[@villageearthwright]

Yeah, very interesting about the width situation. I hadn’t taken that into consideration, but after having driven around Wales and northern England, I can totally see what you mean about being concerned with width. Yeah the hydrema seems very fascinating with the extra rotation, that definitely solve some of the complaints I have about a backhoe. I wonder if you might be able to find a way to demo one at some point it’d be great to get your opinion on them.

[@seanregan9317]

You know your return to dig switch Olliie for the front bucket use that the bucket will roll back to the right level then open the clam to how much you want to take off

[@Olliegunns]

So the top of the bucket wants to be level to get the right angle to achieve the desired cutting depth then? That makes sense, ill give it a go. Thanks

[@seanregan9317]

@Olliegunns when you use the return to dig the bucket will be very slightly tilted back or should be depending on wear works a treat

[@markpurvis669]

The new 3cx got Camera on the fromt Could be a gd I deer

[@russ.travels4463]

Good content Ollie, just out of interest why do you only strip in reverse and not forwards like a dozer ? Seems like a wasted journey one way.

[@Olliegunns]

It’s a good point, I did quite a bit of forward stripping when I was removing the grass to start with (which I didn’t have a chance to film sadly) but for the final trim I don’t feel confident enough to trim off the right amount going forwards. I guess I’ve got to practice more with that depth gauge using the front jaw to set the depth

[@cheechU38K]

Dead right about the stupid trailer laws here compared to Europe. Mechalac are complicated but sure worth a try.

[@dansharpie]

put a camera on front bucket and monitor in the cab so you can see what your doing.