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

[3RRL]

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.

In your case the pay off may take a little more work, but for the rest of us who have only $6,000 or so invested in our hoes, rented or hired out jobs add up fast to make our break even. I know mine has already, I'm sure. Especially if you take convenience into considration. Some chores might never get done if it wasn't convenient to do at the time too. Nevertheless, even in your case that saved $9,000 goes a long ways towards whatever else you wanted.

Heck, you could buy a whole bunch of attachments and implements to make your other chores easier or perhaps save by not needing to rent our hire out those chores ... in essence, multiplying your savings at the expense of more fun (seat time).
BTW, I would love to have an excavator for my property.

 

[chrisjbell]

Well, as usual there is a sprited discussion going on and arguments for and against. My thoughts based on what I've heard are...

I'm really glad I bought my own backhoe. For lots of reasons.

Without it, though, you'll still get plenty of use from your tractor. Enjoy...Chris

 

[dynasim]

Do people find that the smaller backhoes(6'-7' digging depth) to be significantly less useful than the bigger ones(8-9 ft depth). I am thinking about purchasing a smaller one, but am worried that I won't be able to do the some things(septic tanks, etc). However the smaller ones are smaller, lighter, and less hard on the tractor, and are able to do almost all the things I have seen listed. I have a 4000 lb 45 hp HST.

Chris

 

[AndyMA]

Do people find that the smaller backhoes(6'-7' digging depth) to be significantly less useful than the bigger ones(8-9 ft depth). I am thinking about purchasing a smaller one, but am worried that I won't be able to do the some things(septic tanks, etc). However the smaller ones are smaller, lighter, and less hard on the tractor, and are able to do almost all the things I have seen listed. I have a 4000 lb 45 hp HST.

Chris

It's not the digging depth so much as for most people very little of the backhoe use is at max depth. It's the reach, both to grab things and to place the piles of excavated earth. My current hoe, a Woods 1050 has a 10 1/2 foot digging depth and I'm not sure I could ever actually get that deep.

A 6 foor hoe just doesn't have much reach.

I bought a used 44,000 ppound excavator with a 27 foot reach for when I need to go deep.

Andy

 

[john_bud]

A 6 foor hoe just doesn't have much reach.

I bought a used 44,000 ppound excavator with a 27 foot reach for when I need to go deep.

Andy

Yow! Now that's deep!

I agree that reach is a very important factor. My old hoe can dig 14' and the reach is 17? 19?. Hard to remember. Anyway, that sounds like a lot, but it's never enough! The back side of the hole slopes too much, the spoils pile is to big too close to the tractor, etc. But, if you have too much weight out too far the tractor can get tippy.

The other important thing is how much the bucket can hold. That relates to how many scoops it takes to dig a hole and how big of a rock you can get out (without a thumb). Thumbs are the cats meow when it comes to making a hoe more usefull for non-digging uses. (wish this hoe had one...) But, it was cheaper to go from a 12" wide bucket that holds 1.9 cuft to a 36" bucket that holds about 8 cu ft.

jb

 

[3RRL]

It's not the digging depth so much as for most people very little of the backhoe use is at max depth. It's the reach, both to grab things and to place the piles of excavated earth.
What Andy said is really true. I have a 7-1/2 footer and I have to reposition frequently for that exact reason. If I was digging 7' deep, it would not be a big deal, but most of my work has been 4' or less.

 

[john_bud]

It's not the digging depth so much as for most people very little of the backhoe use is at max depth. It's the reach, both to grab things and to place the piles of excavated earth.
What Andy said is really true. I have a 7-1/2 footer and I have to reposition frequently for that exact reason. If I was digging 7' deep, it would not be a big deal, but most of my work has been 4' or less.

Huh? The deeper you go, the shorter the excavation length at depth. Your 7 1/2 footer would need to be repositioned every 18-24" of trench length if you were laying pipe at 7'. That would make for a "long day".

jb

 

[3RRL]

Yeah your right John,
I was talking about just digging down 7' not a ditch...and not moving but just rotating, you know, like an umbrella shape. LOL Plus that would take me forever anyway. I never dug that deep yet. Deepest I've dug were those two holes 4' x 4' x 5' deep for my solar array poles. I had to reposition to opposite ends to "square out" the holes. Here I'm bitching about having to reposition even on a 18" or 24" ditch. I really need to buy an excavator like Andy has.

 

[AndyMA]

The biggest advantage of an excavator is the ability to rotate 360 degrees and also reposition at will. Also no stabilizers to drop.

Andy

 

[machmeter62]

Do people find that the smaller backhoes(6'-7' digging depth) to be significantly less useful than the bigger ones(8-9 ft depth). I am thinking about purchasing a smaller one, but am worried that I won't be able to do the some things(septic tanks, etc). However the smaller ones are smaller, lighter, and less hard on the tractor, and are able to do almost all the things I have seen listed. I have a 4000 lb 45 hp HST.

Chris

I faced that question 30 yrs. ago, and opted for the 9 footer for my Kubota L295DT. It was worth the investment to go bigger. Capability is one, and another, is the longer reach when trenching, which requires less movement of the tractor along the ditch; saving time by getting on and of the tractor less!I also dug the holes for our septic tanks, the leach field lines, and all the under ground utilities. You will also find many other uses for it as a home owner. I used the hoe to lift some of the walls for my out-buildings, which would of required other help? If you decide to sell it; the market is better too!!