# John Deere 5200 John Deere 8a backhoe attachment



## Yewbi (Sep 19, 2018)

So I have an opportunity to buy a John Deere 8a backhoe attachment I have a 5200 John Deere I know it doesn’t fit 
Just curious if anyone has put these two together did it work ok was there a lot fabrication can it work lol or is worth the trouble thanks


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

I looked at an 8 b for my 990 and they do okay....... nothing like a full tilt hoe, but in my case, the 8 b is about 9 grand and I can hire out a hoe or rent for a lot less than that for what I'm doing. I'd look at youtube to get an idea of what the 8 a can do, then look at what all you'd need to do to adapt it to your tractor. If you have the steel and a welder, I'd be tempted to attempt the adapt.


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

I am going to be the dark cloud on your idea here.

Backhoe attachments on agricultural and utility tractors are great for edging the wife's flower beds, small projects where slow and easy are good, and to impress the guys at the backyard barbecues. Not for much else in the hands of the average guy that will soon be pushing the envelope, and we all do!

I confess I fell into that trap myself. It is not worth it if you intend to use the little tractor for mowing or the kind of things for which they were designed, or if you do not have a shop so you can fix what you break.

Go look at a dedicated commercial backhoe, and pay attention to how they are constructed so there is absolutely zero lash between the tractor and the hoe, and the axles and support structures are built very stout. There is a reason for this, durability. Hoes hammer the tractor like a huge slide hammer, and this leads to broken transmission cases, cracked mounting between the engine and transmission, and front and rear axle failures. Not to mention the usual broken hoe parts themselves.

Watch Craigslist, if you are in the States, and go get a reasonably solid used commercial hoe this winter when the independent contractors start folding their tents when business slows. Even today I can buy a commercial, fully functional JD 310A, for less than $10,000. Yes, it is two wheel drive and has 5,000 hours (will easily last 12,500 hours if maintained), but if I wait until late January and into February I will get the same hoe for $6,500. There is nothing a two wheel drive hoe cannot do that the four wheel drive version accomplishes, it will just be a but slower in muck when using the front bucket.

Remember, the hoe will just sit around not being used 360 days of the year. Five days of use is not worth modifying your little tractor.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

I've run full sized hoes and they actually CAN accomplish things no doubt. Only problem is that when they do break, geeze they can sure be expensive! More so than the average tractor. I worked for Dempsey and associates here in Sandpoint. They bought a used Case.....enclosed cab extend a hoe etc etc..... Nice machine! Seriously. I excavated a lot of foundations with it.Then someone (not me) operated it and screwed up something on it. I think it was the brakes. Anyway, it got sold at a huge loss to the company rather than put the money in to it.


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

Wait until you see the bill for an ag tractor cracked in half!

Buy a good used hoe, keep it serviced, only operate it yourself, and they last decades.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

I can imagine!

I just meant that with the used back hoes, you can easily incur more expense than the machine would be worth if you aren't careful.


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