Do You Want A Backhoe With That?

[CDN Farm Boy]

The backhoe is great to have. Even simple things like stripping sod for a new garden or flower bed are much easier with it than the loader. Yes, it is one of those things that you'll find endless uses for if you have it but wouldn't rent one most of the time if you didn't.

I agree completely on the hydraulic thumb. Mine's mechanical right now, better than none but am certainly looking forward to converting it to hydraulic

[DennisFolsom]

I agree with rScotty that your need for a backhoe depends on your land and what you intend to do with it. I would add that it also depends on your approach to working on that land, especially whether you have big plans to do a lot in a short time, or whether, like me, you want to do it in small bits as you get the time and energy. Certainly, there are times and circumstances where it makes more sense to rent.

In the year and a third that I've owned my JD 4600 with loader and backhoe, I've used the backhoe for:

Digging out rocks
Digging out stumps
Pulling out a downed tree from the far side of a ditch
Excavating alongside my house foundation to repair a crack
Excavating for and placing concrete piers for both my shed and my deck
Reshaping and improving a ditch
Putting in culverts
Fluffing up an old partially burned brush pile before burning again
Burying a rock deeper that was too big to pull out
Moving rocks to align with the Mrs' landscaping ideas
Pulling out shrubs that the Mrs wanted to get rid of
regrading rough ground

While it's true that some of these chores could have been done without the backhoe, most would have not been so easy without it.

Most of the above jobs also included the use of the loader. The following are some of the additional jobs I have done with the loader:

Snow removal on my 300 ft driveway and parking areas
Moving and spreading gravel
Moving firewood
Hauling waste wood, stumps and brush to my out-of-sight "rot piles"
Unloading things from the truck or the trailer
Delivering the grill to my new deck
Backdragging fill
Moving a shed
Moving pallets

I like to operate the backhoe. At this point, I would say that I have at least mid-level skills with it. I also like the fact that it's there whenever I want to use it. On my 19 wooded acres, I'll never run out of work for the tractor, including the backhoe.

I could have bought a new smaller tractor with loader for what I paid for my 2001 JD 4600 with loader and backhoe. I'm glad I bought a size or two larger than I started shopping for. I'm extra glad that I held out for a deal on a machine with a hoe.

Your mileage may vary, but for me, the hoe makes the tractor much more useful.

[swick1]

Your mileage may vary, but for me, the hoe makes the tractor much more useful.

That's true. You now have a dirt digger and a dirt hauler. You can dig with a loader but a hoe is easier on the machine and will cut through hard ground.

[Carl_NH]

Yep, there are still a few of us guys who grew up around tractors. Nice to be able to share some of what we've learned. I remember converting our old JD530 from a trip bucket to a hydraulic. Here's a picture from ten years ago. Yes, we still have that tractor. It's a keeper. My dad would be perplexed by why we prefer to live rurally on a few acres even when we don't work the land. Come to think about it, I'm not so sure myself...

The M59 is a nifty compromise almost dead center between a full size industrial tractor/loader/backhoe that you see on the construction sites and the more compact home owner machines. Frankly, I've wished it had more reach just about as many times as I've wished it were smaller and lighter.....so they got the compromise right. Part of the reason for that is its very tight turning radius. If I had to replace the M59, I'm not sure if I'd go smaller or larger. Best guess is that it would require one of each.

To my surprise, we've not wished or needed for the M59 to have more power or traction. That's true even though the wintertime use is mainly plowing snow with the front end loader. Be nice if it had a windshield though... :-).
rScotty

Nice 530 and in great conditon too - it's nice you still have it and I am sure your dad appreciates it.

The first JD we had was a 420 that got the trip FEL loader, then we upgraded to a 1020 with a better FEL and hydraulic bucket.

I sometimes wonder if they are watching us and shaking their heads..

Carl

[txdon]

I loved my backhoe the other month when I came home at dark with a large water leak in the hard black land field. It just takes a few minutes to dig a deep diversionary hole next to the leak so you do not have to work in the mud and you do not contaminate your water line.

[leveled]

i have a MX 5100 what do I need to do I want one. That thing looks pretty sturdy.

[rmk700]

Nice TLB rScotty!

Very useful implemment. Use my BH alot. Heard/read horror stories about how difficult it can be to remove the BH so I finally decided to give it a try and wow...Kubota's design is great even on my ole L35. Had it off in a just few minutes and back on in a few.

[tractchores]

I get decent use out of my BH, but it's deceiving because it gets jobs done so fast it doesn't feel like I use it a ton, but by hand the job would have taken 10x longer and in many cases not been possible. I find myself constantly switching between my BH and the 3pt hitch during jobs. Its great to read about what others use the BH for, I'm always finding new uses. I'm using mine mostly for rock moving / removal, moving things with the thumb, building stone walls, cleaning drainage ditches and of course digging.

One question for you others using BH's, I saw someone mention transplanting. How do you do that with a BH? I've got a number of small trees (6' high) that I need to move, but haven't figured out a safe way to do it with the BH without damaging the trees trunk. Would love any suggestions.

[swick1]

I moved a tree once by digging around the roots and underneath the bottom about two feet. I used a strap around the trunk and moved it with the loader. The tree was about 10-12 ft high with a 6-8 inch trunk. The roots were banging my front end and the loader was raised to about 5ft

[CDN Farm Boy]

One question for you others using BH's, I saw someone mention transplanting. How do you do that with a BH? I've got a number of small trees (6' high) that I need to move, but haven't figured out a safe way to do it with the BH without damaging the trees trunk. Would love any suggestions.

It depends if it's evergreen or deciduous. A lot harder to do with evergreen due to the branch structure. You need a bucket big enough to fit the root ball - or mostly fit at least. Trench both sides of the root ball and cut into the ground on the close side to free it but leave the dirt in front. Tuck the boom up close to the trunk on the far side, dig in and scoop the ball up against the dirt left on the close side. If you have a helper available, you can get them to pull the tree to the side while you do the final scoop & lift. I've moved 12' ash trees without issue with this method using a 24" bucket.

Another option is if you have a lot of trees to do, get a second bucket cut the pin mounts off, move them to the edge of the bucket and weld them back on. This will give you an off-center bucket and be able to reach around the tree easier.