New Prospective buyer small-mid size tractor for the woods

[newbury]

That L45 or similar is the ticket. Unless you have lawn mowing to do. I'm unsure why the TLB's aren't more popular with CUT buyers.

I think they are very popular with CUT buyers, just we can't all justify throwing the $$ away.

Many CUT buyers come to the realization it's usually less expensive to save up your jobs and rent a very capable mini-ex for a week, drag it to and from the rental agency and be done with it rather than pay a $10K premium for the backhoe. Backhoes are fun, but unless you have a lot of use for them very expensive on an hourly basis. $10K can buy a number of good implements used more often.

About the only way I justified getting my BH70-X was it would be a several hour trip to rent one, my application requires long travel off in the woods, and I've had several back surgeries. I would have preferred to buy a mini-ex but they are SLOW.

 

[Milo]

I imagine type of ground in your area might enter into how useful a backhoe might be. Our area is so darn rocky I question just what a hoe on a smaller tractor could do? The excavator that put in my drive and dug footers really struggled with some of the larger rocks and he had a big Case backhoe. He had to call in the hammer to break up one that was under the drive, between the well and house. After watching what he went through I dismissed the thought of ever buying a backhoe with CUT, certainly a SCUT, in our area.

 

[aarolar]

That L45 or similar is the ticket. Unless you have lawn mowing to do. I'm unsure why the TLB's aren't more popular with CUT buyers.

The price of admission is why they aren't more popular.

 

[4570Man]

The price of admission is why they aren't more popular.

I want one but it would probably cost me 20 grand to trade up. I would buy a full size backhoe and keep my current tractor for lighter work before I did that. The 20 grand difference would buy a full sized backhoe used and I'd have a 2 pieces of equipment. Anyone knows 2 is better than one!

 

[aarolar]

I want one but it would probably cost me 20 grand to trade up. I would buy a full size backhoe and keep my current tractor for lighter work before I did that. The 20 grand difference would buy a full sized backhoe used and I'd have a 2 pieces of equipment. Anyone know 2 is better than one!

Exactly and in my opinion you have two pieces of equipment that are better suited to their respective tasks.

 

[4570Man]

I think they are very popular with CUT buyers, just we can't all justify throwing the $$ away. Many CUT buyers come to the realization it's usually less expensive to save up your jobs and rent a very capable mini-ex for a week, drag it to and from the rental agency and be done with it rather than pay a $10K premium for the backhoe. Backhoes are fun, but unless you have a lot of use for them very expensive on an hourly basis. $10K can buy a number of good implements used more often. About the only way I justified getting my BH70-X was it would be a several hour trip to rent one, my application requires long travel off in the woods, and I've had several back surgeries. I would have preferred to buy a mini-ex but they are SLOW.

A Kubota L45 or JD110 is not the equivalent of a CUT with a backhoe attachment. They are essentially a mini backhoe that have far more capable hoes and loaders than a CUT. A lot of people recommend not buying a backhoe attachment, but I don't hear many backhoe owners complaining. I personally think mine doubles the usefulness of my tractor. I bought it used and and have about $5000 in it. Under that same logic most of us would be money ahead not owning a tractor and hiring out the mowing and renting a machine twice a year for the rest of the work.

 

[Rustyiron]

Welcome basod! I know you from FHC.:thumbsup:

 

[basod]

I grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and we had several tractors. Smallest was around 50 hp and biggest was 150 hp. That was long ago and now I just have a half dozen feeder cattle, chickens and a couple pigs and just 22 acres. I bought a bx23 a few years back and couldn't live without it. The loader doesn't lift anything heavier than about 450 lbs and the backhoe only digs about 5 ft deep. It can't do what a big one does but it does everything I need it to. I have dug sewer lines, water lines and I mean lots of them. Never tackled lateral lines but I wouldn't have any trouble doing it if I needed to. Wouldn't be the fastest in the world but no dought it would do it. Septic tank different story because I don't think I could get the hole deep enough. I use the little thing for everything, pulling fence post, stretching fence tight, drainage ditches. Just can't tell what all I use it for and it has a 5 ft belly mower I use to mow a 4 acre yard too. It's small enough to get in just about anywhere. But I just use it for me, family and a couple friends. For field work and bush hogging pastures I have a bigger tractor. You might say the bx is my utility tractor and the other one is the farm tractor. The place I had before the place I own now had about 9 acres of timber on it and when we cut fire wood we used it to load and push around logs and never had any trouble just have to remember it's a small tractor and it can only tackle something so big. Dug a few stumps but nothing over 12 inches across and depends on what kind of tree as to how fast I could get it out. Back hoe, loader and mower is very easy to remove and put back on and only takes a couple minutes for each. The newer bx' are a little faster and probably better but I'm retired and am in no hurry to do a project. What I use to do all day now takes me all day to do and then some.

Thanks for the detailed insight - all I hear is rave reviews from knowledgeable owners of the BX series.
My reason for excluding it is physical operator size -I sat on one and drove it around the dealer lot...it's just not built for someone over 6' - but the layout of controls were nice.

I believe I'd have to don a Shiner's Circus cap to run it

 

[basod]

I imagine type of ground in your area might enter into how useful a backhoe might be. Our area is so darn rocky I question just what a hoe on a smaller tractor could do? The excavator that put in my drive and dug footers really struggled with some of the larger rocks and he had a big Case backhoe. He had to call in the hammer to break up one that was under the drive, between the well and house. After watching what he went through I dismissed the thought of ever buying a backhoe with CUT, certainly a SCUT, in our area.

Not a lot of "rock" more a fine shale that breaks up provided the proper persuasion in the form of pix axe or breaker bar (it's not ledge) is used in opening holes.
I can understand where your coming from in a loam/sand with a lot of granite rocks

 

[basod]

Welcome basod! I know you from FHC.:thumbsup:

Ayup...attempting connection of my brain synapses
Lakes Region - but an M9540? other than being rustyiron (figured you'd own a ford/IH) I can't connect the dots