Buying Advice Buying backhoe with the tractor upfront.

[shooterdon]

For y'all that don't like backhoes and have lots of money
we don't need to hear your negative vibes about not buying
a backhoe. You never know when you are going to need
a backhoe. Your wife wants to move her flower bed you gonna call some one to do this? Maybe she wants to plant
a few trees gonna call some one to do this? Perhaps you
need to dig a trench along side your drive way gonna call
someone to do this? For us old cranky guys that our hands don't fit a shovel we enjoy backhoes we have them ready to use as it only takes about 15 minutes to install one. Also some of the companies that do this type of work have a min 2 hour and it may take them 15 min to do the job. So these little jobs can be pretty costly by getting someone else to do the small tasks. For example $100
hour and you call them 7 or 8 times for a cost of $1400
to $1600 for me I would spend the extra money for a
backhoe and have it when I need one.

willy

Could not let this go...
Maybe some of us can plan our projects

Maybe some of us do not jump every time the wife gets a hair up her.....

Sounds like you need a BH. I do not.

To the OP...some of the BH cheerleaders have much larger machines than you are looking at....some have more than one tractor. Think about that.

If you decide to get a BH, go to the dealer. Have him attach and detach the BH. Then do it yourself. Will you be doing it on a cement pad or sitting on ground.

And answer two questions.....why are you purchasing a small machine and are you better off with a larger one. Size matters for BH work.

 

[MACflyer]

I think my backhoe is worth every penny on my small 24hp tractor. Sometimes I will hop down to move/dig something with a shovel, and I'm instantly reminded just how much work that little ho is doing for me. It is a bit frustrating at times when it struggles with something that a larger or dedicated machine would handle with ease, or when I can't reach as far as I'd like, but this was the best option for my budget. I've got one machine that doesn't necessarily excel at any one thing, but it can do many things reasonably well. It is also a machine that I intend to keep for the foreseeable future, and having that tool at my disposal for whatever I might need is valuable to me. Running a backhoe is also something I enjoy doing, so that alone must be worth something.

However, not everyone has the same needs or values things the same, so what is important and what works for me may not be true for you. I certainly wouldn't buy a backhoe as an investment, and I'm not too concerned with resale as I plan on keeping my TLB for many years to come.

 

[4570Man]

Could not let this go...
Maybe some of us can plan our projects

Maybe some of us do not jump every time the wife gets a hair up her.....

Sounds like you need a BH. I do not.

To the OP...some of the BH cheerleaders have much larger machines than you are looking at....some have more than one tractor. Think about that.

If you decide to get a BH, go to the dealer. Have him attach and detach the BH. Then do it yourself. Will you be doing it on a cement pad or sitting on ground.

And answer two questions.....why are you purchasing a small machine and are you better off with a larger one. Size matters for BH work.

I’ve had a tractor backhoe, a bigger tractor backhoe, a M59 backhoe, a full-size backhoe and a mini excavator. There’s no doubt the tractor backhoe is the worst of them all. But it was still quite useful when it was all I had. A shovel is way too much work and renting a machine for everything you feel like doing isn’t practical. If you decide buying buying a full size backhoe or a mini excavator is a better value you’re probably right. But the vast majority of people that actually own any kind of backhoe will say it’s a big back saver and worth the money.

 

[fried1765]

I do not have heavy pumps sitting in pits....so will never happen. But I could do it with a chain fall on pallet forks. Total cost $700 and good for many tasks.

RR ties are easy with my $1000 grapple that I need for firewood processing and clearing downed trees and moving brush.

Using attachments I need I can get those jobs done.

I have both forks and a grapple.
How should I use them to replace my two rusting 5' deep yard hydrants?

 

[ptsg]

Yes fried, you made your point. You can't live without a backhoe but you have a L48 which is not at all the same as a subframe backhoe on a compact or sub compact tractor. Plus you have other tractors for the 3 pt work, so you don't even have to take the backhoe off the L48. No need to keep beating on the dead horse.

No need to shove a backhoe through everyone's eyes. What works for you, doesn't necessarily work for everyone else.

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

 

[Egon]

Spading the garden:

 

[fried1765]

Spading the garden:
View attachment 707325

I have done the very same, when an area is too small for a tiller.
I am too old for a shovel!

 

[fried1765]

Yes fried, you made your point. You can't live without a backhoe but you have a L48 which is not at all the same as a subframe backhoe on a compact or sub compact tractor. Plus you have other tractors for the 3 pt work, so you don't even have to take the backhoe off the L48. No need to keep beating on the dead horse.

No need to shove a backhoe through everyone's eyes. What works for you, doesn't necessarily work for everyone else.

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

Others beat the "dead horse" about NOT needing a BH,...... but in your view,.... that is somehow different?

 

[IndyJay]

Spading the garden:
View attachment 707325

Dang, I thought he was just pulling weeds...

 

[DK35vince]

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

Why, so I can have another machine to maintain.
No thanks, I'll keep my backhoe.
Takes me 10 minutes to install and 5 minutes to remove