Compact Utility Tractor purchase: Add a backhoe; Yes or No?

[irvingj]

....and another YES vote.

I thought it over for a LONG time when I bought mine, but have never regretted it. I can now easily handle logs-- as was already posted, it works great with a thumb to hold logs up in the air for cutting. And, yes, you'll find other uses for it that you hadn't even considered. It's also the strongest part of my SCUT- amazing what it will lift.

 

[chuckd1277]

Definitely get the backhoe...and swing by my house with it, I've got some work for it. I regret not getting mine with a backhoe. Congrats on the upgrade!

 

[gilraine]

IMO it depends on what you want to do... building and creating, IMO a backhoe is essential.. If the heavy property work is done and you are maintaining it, the hoe is far less essential....I picked up a used (40 year old) commercial backhoe loader for dirt cheap, otherwise the tractor I buy would have a hoe on it...

 

[Don87]

I wish I could have gotten the hoe for on mine.
Wifey said no at the time, but now she realizes the mistake she made.

I have umpteen hundred jobs that require a backhoe, and that's on 2 acres.

 

[the fat kid]

Wow I was leaning against it till I read this thread!!! That sucks now I gotta get a BH! 

 

[Don87]

Wow I was leaning against it till I read this thread!!! That sucks now I gotta get a BH! 

If you can afford it............get the BH.

The first time you have a sewage, drainage, water line problem..........on a saturday afternoon at 2 pm.................you''ll pay us for the advice.


Make checks payable to:...................

 

[not2old]

I'm much braver moving snow knowing I can get "unstuck" easily. I won't clear snow without it on.

 

[adjusterr]

GO FOR THE HOE! I have a Kubota L2500 that I bought without the hoe. I was lucky enough to find a Woods Groundbreaker with practically no use. Half of my ground is wooded so I find plenty of use for the hoe. Used it to dig a wet weather spring and regularly grade and level my .2 mile gravel lane. This past week, dug a water line trench for a neighbor who will now help me cut my firewood. If you get a hoe, be sure to check out The Bro-Tek Thumb, Bro-Tek: Tractor Add Ons, it's a thumb made in Canada and works like a charm. I have used mine for over a year and wouldn't be without it. Good luck with your new toy.

 

[Gizmo2]

If you can afford it............get the BH.

The first time you have a sewage, drainage, water line problem..........on a saturday afternoon at 2 pm.................you''ll pay us for the advice.

Make checks payable to:...................

There ya go! Like I said, I don't use it for many jobs but when I do, it's a lot. I could never understand why some like the FEL tooth bar...then it occurred to me, No BH = FEL Tooth Bar.

 

[Oldchuck]

There are a couple of things I don't like about the backhoe (Woods BH80 on a Kubota L4400). I can't just slap it on and pull it off like other tools. 3PH must be removed and then a very careful, time consuming alignment to get the thing on the frame mount. I have several other tools I use on the 3PH, box blade, logging winch, chipper, snowblower, and because it is such a pain to change the rigs around I try to do as much BH work as possible all at once. And then, when I get doing it I all too often find that I simply don't have enough power or reach with my little BH80. Can be very frustrating. I do get some work out of it but I would do much better with a bigger dedicated BH/loader machine. Different story if you leave the hoe on all the time and only do small chores with it.