Liberty Backhoe

[DK35vince]

I ordered the liberty backhoe 5-6 foot one may 25 2013 its june 29 2013 and it hasn't shipped yet ,anyone else had to wait like this?

Personally I would cancel that order.
If it takes that much time to send you a backhoe, whats it going to be like if you need parts?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

While this is a very old thread you can get used backhoe that is commercial grade strength for twice the price of this, I know that is not everyone's cup of tea but it worked out great for us. In our case we were looking for a front end loader and got a back hoe for 1200 dollars more mounted on a dependable tractor. I am NOT physically able to mount a backhoe. Plus I needed one that you operate right from the tractor platform:

 

[Ford8ns]

I ordered the liberty backhoe 5-6 foot one may 25 2013 its june 29 2013 and it hasn't shipped yet ,anyone else had to wait like this?

I too ordered the 5' Liberty Backhoe, at almost the same time. My estimated delivery date was June 27 2013.

My back story is a little different: The day I ordered the backhoe, their website changed to $300 back. (I had gotten $200 off) The sales-guy agreed to honor it, but I never saw a credit. A single email to the company resulted in an immediate $100 credit to my card. I work for a contract manufacturing company and I realize an estimated delivery date is EXACTLY that: an estimate. A single call to the shipping guys (Bobby) resulted in a ship date quote of 7/8-7/12.

I currently have no reason to doubt the company. They do things a little wonky from a customer interfacing standpoint, but honoring their word hasn't been an issue yet, so I'll extend a little goodwill.

How far that extends if they miss the revised shipping date is debatable.

I'll be monitoring the forum off and on to see if you have success.

 

[buckeye4life]

I ordered the 5' hoe and a chipper from them last spring. The hoe took 7 weeks to get and the chipper about 16 weeks. Had to pay total up front when ordered. The hoe works OK on my John Deere 3320, but is a bit on the slow side. The side to side motion has just started getting slower for some reason. Haven't had time yet to look at it. If I had to do it over again, I would of just saved a little more cash and buy a used tractor with a built on hoe. Been seeing several Case and John Deeres advertised from $4000-$6000. The chipper works Ok, used it a lot with no issues other than the shoot clogging up with the honeysuckle I'm shredding.

 

[aok]

I had a Mitsubishi D1650FD 20 HP.
I found it not very dependable, lots of problems.
Like the Kioti line, can see why you miss yours.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

If I had to do it was over again, I would of just saved a little more cash and buy a used tractor with a built on hoe. Been seeing several Case and John Deeres advertised from $4000-$6000.

We ran into this looking for a FEL for the 1976 265 MF . Used were junk and new was like
$6K, Went with 1983 JD 310B Backhoe with a lot of pin wear but works hard, doesn't burn oil and has good compression because it fires on first bump of starter.It was $7200

Now we use it more often than the MF. We did have to replace the starter and alternator
that were a little over $100 each off EBay over three years we have owned. This route is not for the type that buy extended warranntees.

 

[lonnrhughes]

i recived my back hoe july 25 and so far so good its pretty power full ,im happy with it did you get yours yet?

 

[Ford8ns]

i recived my back hoe july 25 and so far so good its pretty power full ,im happy with it did you get yours yet?

Yup. Mine shipped on 7/29 and I received it Friday 9/9. Delivery was a breeze, attaching it for the first time needed 3 hands. Really only 3 observations:

1) It came in orange. I ordered black. Looking at the website now, black isn't an option anymore. I really don't care, but it's another sign of screwiness with the company.
2) The PTO shaft as delivered needed 6" lopped off to fit between the hoe and my 8n. That's kinda odd as 3pt geometry is pretty standard, or so I thought.
3) Fired it up and it didn't move. Turns out mine shipped without hydraulic fluid (but not mentioned in the literature that I could see). Filled with 2 gal of 90W mineral oil, it could use some more.

I can't remember who posted, (might be another thread) but the manual is pretty lame. Good enough to get started, but that's about it.

Anyway, moves very well and fits my tractor's power band pretty good. Even though my tractor weighs in at 4500 lbs, it can still move it around so I'm taking the learning curve pretty seriously right now. I did manage to knock down some piles of dirt that've given me fits with a blade and box scraper. It went in like butter.

One observation, swinging the boom side to side seems to oscillate a bit. I may have air in the lines so I'll keep an eye on it. Overall, I'm pleased with the fit and finish. After going over it with a fine tooth comb, I don't believe there's anything on there I cannot fix or replace cheaply from local sources if I have to so I'm not as concerned about keeping it going.

I'll post in a couple weeks once I have the chance to fully put it through it's paces.

 

[Ford8ns]

i recived my back hoe july 25 and so far so good its pretty power full ,im happy with it did you get yours yet?

Yup. Mine shipped on 7/29 and I received it Friday 9/9. Delivery was a breeze, attaching it for the first time needed 3 hands. Really only 3 observations:

1) It came in orange. I ordered black. Looking at the website now, black isn't an option anymore. I really don't care, but it's another sign of screwiness with the company.
2) The PTO shaft as delivered needed 6" lopped off to fit between the hoe and my 8n. That's kinda odd as 3pt geometry is pretty standard, or so I thought.
3) Fired it up and it didn't move. Turns out mine shipped without hydraulic fluid (but not mentioned in the literature that I could see). Filled with 2 gal of 90W mineral oil, it could use some more.

I can't remember who posted, (might be another thread) but the manual is pretty lame. Good enough to get started, but that's about it.

Anyway, moves very well and fits my tractor's power band pretty good. Even though my tractor weighs in at 4500 lbs, it can still move it around so I'm taking the learning curve pretty seriously right now. I did manage to knock down some piles of dirt that've given me fits with a blade and box scraper. It went in like butter.

One observation, swinging the boom side to side seems to oscillate a bit. I may have air in the lines so I'll keep an eye on it. Overall, I'm pleased with the fit and finish. After going over it with a fine tooth comb, I don't believe there's anything on there I cannot fix or replace cheaply from local sources if I have to so I'm not as concerned about keeping it going.

I'll post in a couple weeks once I have the chance to fully put it through it's paces.

 

[dfkrug]

Filled with 2 gal of 90W mineral oil....

90W gear oil?! That's awful thick. Is that what the manufacturer called for?

As for the extra-long PTO drive shaft, I would expect that as there is no standard
for how long they need to be on CAT 1 tractors, AFAIK.