Thinking of a L3400 is a BH worth it ??

[SCRich]

I have priced a L3400 this will be my first tractor. A bit more than I can afford right now but I can pull it. The main reason for a BH would be to pull up some small pine stumps (5in or so maybe a few 10in stumps). This is at my new 30 acre property, still no home so I got to buy a container to boot so I can safely store it.

Speed is NOT a major concern of mine, some have said the size of the tractor and BH are a gauge of time it will take you to do the job. I am more concerned about buying a BH and finding out I can not do the job at all. The tractor, FEL and a Precision Machine FEL with grapple ($1875) would end up $16,800. The BH would run about an additional $7k..PLUS a container at about $1,200 for storage of everything so you can see why I am wondering if the BH is worth it.

Sure I plan to use the BH for trenching for electric and water to other parts of the property but I can rent a trencher for that return it and use the FEL to backfill, the main reason for the BH will be for de-stumping. Personally I have no idea what other uses there are for a BH other than stumps or running small trenches, at least for a BH of this size and not on the back of a CAT! Will I be wasting my money if I purchase the BH ?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[chrisjbell]

I have a backhoe, and I'm glad that I do.

Is / was it worth the money? No. For the jobs I have done that would have *required* a backhoe it would have been much less expensive to rent one. I paid something like $5K for mine and that buys a lot of weeks of renting a pretty good sized hoe (or trencher - which is much better than a backhoe for many jobs).

What I do have is the ability to use a backhoe for many tasks that don't *require* one, but where the job is far easier with one. For example, when I put in a retaining wall I didn't dig the trench for the footing by hand - used my hoe. Would I have rented one for that? No.

I suppose that it comes down to where you want to spend your money. I know people that have property that don't have tractors at all - they hire everything out or don't get it done. But I can't imagine not having a tractor. I can imagine not having a backhoe but I don't regret my purchase at all.

Having said all that, I can't justify it from a cost / benefit basis. I have to add emotion and fun into the mix.

 

[crazyal]

A few years ago I was in your situation. I bought 42 acres up in the hills. I had a friend with a L2950 with a BH (not sure what size). He dug the leach lines when I replaced the septic tank at my old house, seamed to work just fine. I really wanted to get a CUT in the 30 to 35 HP range and a BH but found a full size backhoe. My thought was use it then sell it but now I've had it there's no way I would sell it.

There was no way I could have done all the work needed to build my new house with anything less than what I bought. It would have meant renting or hiring out, not the end of the world. But I have lots of large rocks up here and some of the trees I cut down were over 2 ft diameter maples. I cleared the lot I built on and the road going to it. I loved every minute of it. There's nothing like using a dozer to push over trees, lol.

If you don't mind the time, as you said, don't mind the wear and tear, 5 to 10 inch trees shouldn't be too hard, and don't mind hiring out or renting for the big stuff you'll find yourself with lots of experience and if you're like me you'll have loads of fun and a nice tractor. If you're wrong and it's not big enough or just doesn't work the way you like tractors and attachments like BH's hold their value so you'll not loose too much.

 

[ccsial]

. I know people that have property that don't have tractors at all - they hire everything out or don't get it done. But I can't imagine not having a tractor.

I thought the whole purpose of buying poperty is to have tractors and shoot guns.

 

[workinallthetime]

my bx23 was my first tractor and it had a BH today i took delivery of my new b3030 and buying it w/ out the hoe wasnt even an option for me. It has got to be the most useful thing i own. from riping out trees to planting new ones french drains, footings, ditches, flower beds, the list goes on and on. plus your neighbors will pay you to do work for them.

 

[Harvster]

I got the backhoe on my B7610 and think its great. I've dug holes for ~18 fruit trees, trenches for raspberries, and holes for fence posts so far. The fence posts had rotted and when I started digging around I found that they had been installed in cement. Got the backhoe and curled the bucket under those 50-100lb cement cylinders and picked them right up. Could not have done that with a shovel and certainly wouldn't have rented for that. If you read the threads on this you'll find that they are expensive but are very useful. You have the freedom to do projects on your own time frame. Little projects don't get put off and short cuts aren't taken because of shovel time required if you don't have the hoe. Did I mention they're expensive? Nearly everyone that buys one is happy with it and if you sit down with your pencil and calculator you may not be able to justify it for the current task list you have. So its kind of a toss up between the initial expense and the freedom to do so many projects at your leisure. Some folks spend 5K a year on golf, so, pick your passion.

 

[Oliver Wendell Douglas]

If you enjoy using the tractor, buy the hoe.
If you’re just trying to get jobs done in the most efficient manner, renting may be better.
5" to 10" pine stumps will likely come up, especially if they've been stumps for a while. If I was making a living digging stumps, I wouldn’t buy that hoe for that job, but for personal use by a person not concerned about speed, it’ll likely be fine.

If your land is hilly, you may find the hoe helpful for use like an animal uses its tail, to keep its balance. A hoe can significantly change the rigs center of gravity depending how you position it while traversing difficult terrain. A poorly maneuvered back hoe can cause a roll; a well maneuvered hoe might save you. But if someone tells you otherwise, consider the fact that I’m inexperienced compared to most operators, like Haney, Kimball, Durcker and Ziffel.

I expect that once you’ve had a hoe (no, not that kind of ho), you wouldn’t want to be without one.

 

[ToddW]

I thought the whole purpose of buying poperty is to have tractors and shoot guns.

It is.

/Todd