Backhoe Is your backhoe worth it over the long-haul?

[txdon]

If you have a backhoe, do you have regular long-term use of it? If so, how do you use it?

I have had my BH (BH90 on my Kubota L5030) for over 3 years. It is on the tractor more than it is off. I have used it for many planed projects and many unplanned projects.

I have used it:
to dig stumps and mesquite
placed a bridge across creek
dig electrical line
looking for a water leak
causing a water leak
cleared out four ponds
dig burn holes
trim trees
transplant trees
build terrace
dig up rocks
to get unstuck

Future use:
more of the above (except looking for a water leak)
dig basement
dig pool
dig water line

I can see it being my most used attachment for many more years.

 

[3RRL]

I've had my backhoe for over a year and a half and like txdon, have used it for a similar list as his. My property is rural so I am also doing road construction picking and moving boulders and a lot of culvert and drainage gutter work. For me, the biggest pain would be to arrange time for renting one. There would be phone calls to make, then driving to town to get it and deliver it back when done....if available?

Since I am at my property only on weekends, this makes it twice as difficult to arrange and the time to use it would be cut in half. Then there are times I need it for some odd ball things for only a few minutes or an hour. Aside from the rental fees I've saved doing my own hoe work over the last year, just the convenience of having it when I need it is worth a lot. It is on my tractor about 40% of the time with my boxblade being on 50% of the time. Sometimes I wish I could have both at my disposal.

 

[charlz]

Depending on how you build your compost piles the hoe can be a great turning tool (learned that here on TBN). With that much 'unusable' hillside any chance of using the hoe to dig out rocks, use them to terrace out some the of the hillside and make it more useable?

I have used my hoe to:
clean out ditches
dig out stumps
transplant trees/bushes
dig up leaky water lines

In the near future I will be using to:
dig new water lines
dig new sewer line

I got my hoe used with my used b7100..... digging out just one stump with the hoe instead of by hand justified the hoe right there

Like some have mentioned here I have rented hoes before and always felt 'rushed' to get max seat time to justify the expense. Now I can wait for the weather and my inclination to come together

Charles

 

[witel]

Thanks, Everyone, for helping to justify getting the backhoe. I'm definitely the kind of person that would much rather own than rent, but I still have to look at that option anyway.

Depending on how you build your compost piles the hoe can be a great turning tool (learned that here on TBN). With that much 'unusable' hillside any chance of using the hoe to dig out rocks, use them to terrace out some the of the hillside and make it more useable?

Yes, using the BH is a reasonable option for turning the compost-pile. I have been considering a 4-n-1 FEL bucket to take a bite out of the top of the pile and dumping it back on in order to turn it. The 4-n-1 FEL buckets are pretty heavy, so I'll see what is reasonable there. I saw a TBN-posted link that showed weights of various material (i.e. sand, gravel, dirt, et. al.) that I need to track-down. Yes, I would use the BH (with a thumb) to pluck rocks from the hillside. I've been thinking of using the rocks to make a path (with periodic benches, pools, and flower-gardens) to the top of the hill (with a flat-area and bench/table). From the top, there's a beautiful view of the Rockies. It'll be a LOT of work. I know that I wouldn't be able to take the tractor very far up the hill because it'll get too steep; however, I sure could de-rockify the lower part.

 

[txdon]

"It (BH) is on my tractor about 40% of the time with my boxblade being on 50% of the time. Sometimes I wish I could have both at my disposal." - 3RRL

That's exactly how I feel, but, that means another tractor.....HMMMMM...

 

[Kubotasrking]

Not sure how much use you'd have for a backhoe in your situation, so I'll leave the suggestions to the folks with stables, etc.

But I do know that it's closer to $400 per day with tax, damage waiver, etc. for a full size machine, so divided by $7000 (if that is the cost of the L39 backhoe), that comes to about 18 days worth of backhoe work. So let's say for the price of that backhoe, you get about 20 days of rental use. If you think you've got more than 20 days worth of use for a backhoe, then buying your own becomes a better deal.

I didn't buy a BX23 because my neighbor had a BX22, and he told me I could use it whenever I needed a backhoe. I ended up using his machine a ton, and also rented a JD110 twice, and a smaller Allmond backhoe once - all of that in an 18 month period. In my case, I could have easily justified the cost of buying a backhoe.

I will want to upgrade my subcompact a size or two if I find a larger property. If I do that, I know I will want (maybe not need) a backhoe because I know what type of projects I will have, and know how useful a backhoe will be for me. Some years down the road, I have the option to sell the backhoe if I ever run out of uses for it for probably close to half of what I originally paid for it, so that alone makes it a better deal than all the money that will go towards a rental.

So it comes down to you putting together a list of backhoe projects and an estimate of time it'll take you to do them. Add some learning curve time the first couple of days of rental time to familiarize yourself with the backhoe (if you don't have much backhoe seat time under your belt) and then decide if you can justify buying it. I can tell you that if you have a backhoe at your disposal, you will find a lot of use for it that you may not even consider when making up your task list.

And where you are building your house, you will have a lot of rock that you may want to dig up, move, restack, build retaining or landscape walls with, etc.

Nice to have an engineer-type-mind in the discussion. I agree too...I have just made a tractor purchase (sold my b7800), and will add a backhoe in the next 5 weeks.

We have 20 acres, 3 horses (another on the way from the mare), and I will need to be clearing more land for pasture. Although you don't have that problem on your property, what could be more fun than digging holes just so you can fill them back in?

 

[john_bud]

"It (BH) is on my tractor about 40% of the time with my boxblade being on 50% of the time. Sometimes I wish I could have both at my disposal." - 3RRL

That's exactly how I feel, but, that means another tractor.....HMMMMM...

What could be more romantic for Valentines Day than His & Hers tractors?

jb

 

[Kubotasrking]

causing a water leak

Hopefully, none of us will find this use more than once...

 

[workinallthetime]

If you have a backhoe, do you have regular long-term use of it? If so, how do you use it?

I have found a endless use for my backhoe, its not near as big as your L38, I just have a bx23. I orgiannly bought it to repair/replace/add 500 feet of lateral line to my septic system. since that time I have used it on a regular basis, in fact its rare for me to use my tractor and not use the hoe. I am looking to upgrade to the L38 in a year or so and woulndt even consider not having the BH in the deal. Its just so useful for things you never thought about using one for.
my list;
500 feet of lateral line
removal of a rail road tie wall 40' long 8' high
building drystack stone walls 100's of feet
french drains 100s of feet
tree removal
brush clearing
ditch cleaning and building
tree holder while making fire wood
coyote graves
flower beds
rock relocation program
sod removal
lifting unit for various things
fence post removal and install
ice removal
loading and unloading tractor off trailer
lifting tractor for maintenace and cleaning
gitting unstuck
breaking up and removing clay on hillside that fel wont touch
and the list goes on

love em wouldnt have done half of what ive done w/out it

happy diggin

 

[Botabill]

I didn't have the good sense to buy a machine with a backhoe when I first got my tractor. Three years later I had to give in and get and buy an excavator to work along with the tractor and FEL. What I have done with the excavator has saved me about $9000 in a year. Still a long way before it's paid for but there is plenty of work left for it to do around the farm.