Limitations of a Mahindra 3616 backhoe?

[moparrob]

Hello- I'm about to pull the trigger on a new 3616 with a 3720 backhoe. I've done a lot of research on this and other sites, but I was hoping for someone to chime in with their first hand experience on one of these.

I started a thread a while back about the JD110 I wanted to buy, but the ones i found were a lot more expensive, no warranties and financing was difficult. I didnt want to spend my house building funds on the tractor and have to sell it to pay for drywall etc.

Over the weekend, I rented a Kubota B26 TLB to move some dirt around and though it wasnt as stout as the 110, it seemed like it would be adequate for my purposes, but still too expensive to for me to buy new.

So, will the 3616 with its backhoe be able to put in a septic system, dig foundation footings and dig up tree stumps, or will I break it and be wasting my time?

I'm sure it will be slower, but if I own the thing, I wont be in a huge hurry to get it back to the rental yard. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sysop]

I just installed a brand new septic system with my 4035 and 485 hoe. It could have easily been done with a smaller machine, it would just take more scoops depending on your bucket size. Dug a pit to set a 3 lid 1500 gallon tank in and ran a 250' line out to a distribution box, from the distribution box there are 3 field drain lines anywhere from 100 - 130 feet each. Put a little over 120 tons of limestone in the ground for the drain field. I know doing it myself was slower than contracting the entire job, but the difference in cost more than paid for the backhoe attachment.

 

[bindian]

I just installed a brand new septic system with my 4035 and 485 hoe. It could have easily been done with a smaller machine, it would just take more scoops depending on your bucket size. Dug a pit to set a 3 lid 1500 gallon tank in and ran a 250' line out to a distribution box, from the distribution box there are 3 field drain lines anywhere from 100 - 130 feet each. Put a little over 120 tons of limestone in the ground for the drain field. I know doing it myself was slower than contracting the entire job, but the difference in cost more than paid for the backhoe attachment.

Sysop,
What did you use to set the 1500 gallon tank in the hole? Was the tank concrete? My 6520 with a KMW 275 loader could barely lift a 750 gallon concrete septic tank. We had to take the bucket off and the lid off of the tank.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Hello- I'm about to pull the trigger on a new 3616 with a 3720 backhoe. I've done a lot of research on this and other sites, but I was hoping for someone to chime in with their first hand experience on one of these.

I started a thread a while back about the JD110 I wanted to buy, but the ones i found were a lot more expensive, no warranties and financing was difficult. I didnt want to spend my house building funds on the tractor and have to sell it to pay for drywall etc.

Over the weekend, I rented a Kubota B26 TLB to move some dirt around and though it wasnt as stout as the 110, it seemed like it would be adequate for my purposes, but still too expensive to for me to buy new.

So, will the 3616 with its backhoe be able to put in a septic system, dig foundation footings and dig up tree stumps, or will I break it and be wasting my time?

I'm sure it will be slower, but if I own the thing, I wont be in a huge hurry to get it back to the rental yard. Thanks in advance!

Moparrob,
Welcome to TBN. It will just take longer. Remember, it all could be done with a shovel and wheelbarrow.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Sysop]

Sysop,
What did you use to set the 1500 gallon tank in the hole? Was the tank concrete? My 6520 with a KMW 275 loader could barely lift a 750 gallon concrete septic tank. We had to take the bucket off and the lid off of the tank.
hugs, Brandi

Yep, concrete tank:

I had my hole dug out and the tank delivery got delayed, then the side fell in on the hole and I ended up having to make a ramp down into the hole to clean the hole well. When the tank was delivered he had a big crane on the truck he used to set it down in the hole. I took my tractor down the ramp to push it around while he held the weight up off the ground to get it into position. It all worked out well.

 

[moparrob]

Ha! Good point... I guess the smallest tractor would be easier on my back.

Moparrob,
Welcome to TBN. It will just take longer. Remember, it all could be done with a shovel and wheelbarrow.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Yep, concrete tank:


I had my hole dug out and the tank delivery got delayed, then the side fell in on the hole and I ended up having to make a ramp down into the hole to clean the hole well. When the tank was delivered he had a big crane on the truck he used to set it down in the hole. I took my tractor down the ramp to push it around while he held the weight up off the ground to get it into position. It all worked out well.

That's what I thought. Pushing or pulling it with a tractor sure beats using a 2x4 to "pry" it over into place.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

Ha! Good point... I guess the smallest tractor would be easier on my back.

Oh yeah!
hugs, Brandi

 

[newbury]

Hello- I'm about to pull the trigger on a new 3616 with a 3720 backhoe. I've done a lot of research on this and other sites, but I was hoping for someone to chime in with their first hand experience on one of these.

I started a thread a while back about the JD110 I wanted to buy, but the ones i found were a lot more expensive, no warranties and financing was difficult. I didnt want to spend my house building funds on the tractor and have to sell it to pay for drywall etc.

Over the weekend, I rented a Kubota B26 TLB to move some dirt around and though it wasnt as stout as the 110, it seemed like it would be adequate for my purposes, but still too expensive to for me to buy new.

So, will the 3616 with its backhoe be able to put in a septic system, dig foundation footings and dig up tree stumps, or will I break it and be wasting my time?

I'm sure it will be slower, but if I own the thing, I wont be in a huge hurry to get it back to the rental yard. Thanks in advance!

Are you sure you will have uses for the backhoe after those jobs? I love backhoes on tractors but to me one of the advantages of a BH on a tractor compared to a mini-ex is travel time. A mini-ex or full blown ex is much better for the jobs you mention. For one thing they have a much better swing radius.

A couple of key points though - will the 3720 dig deep enough for your required applications? If you have to go down 8 feet for the septic and it will only go 7 there may be a lot of extra work.
- what's your bucket sizes? If you rent you should be able to choose bucket sizes. If you buy extra buckets are expensive, especially if you only need say a 12" bucket for a long trench, but usually use a 24" bucket for everything else..

 

[seymojo536]

You know what I like about having my own backhoe? (It's a 3270 on a Mahindra 3215)
In 10 minutes I can have it on and be digging.
First job (300 foot trench for water) I did with it paid for the backhoe.
It's kinda like having pallet forks, you wish you would have bought them a long time ago.