Backhoe Curious...

[Haoleguy]

Mine sees stump and rock removal and the occasional small trench. With the thumb it helps with stone wall building. In the past I have used it to set fence posts but now I have access to a heavy duty post pounder. When I have large boulders and stumps to pop or long farm drain tile lines to dig I rent an excavator (14 ton). I would say the backhoe has been useful but if I had a choice I would rather have had a lightly used 6-8 ton excavator to do specific digging chores. The downside to that choice would be the upkeep of another piece of equipment.

 

[Baby Grand]

I got one earlier this year. so far, I've used it to pull about 16 to 18 stumps, which should make brush hogging the edges of the field a lot easier next year. It also got a workout this Summer when I used it to remove the septic settling & distribution tanks from our back yard. We plan on putting an addition onto our house over the coming Spring/Summer and I think when that's done I will have broke even and the rest will be gravy.

Next task is to dig a ditch to lay a drainage line from our basement slab sump to an intermittent stream channel about 70 feet from the house. This will allow gravity to drain the sub slab and to use the sump pump only as an emergency bailer. Right now, that pump is running all the time in the Spring through early Summer and causes us to fret, hoping that it doesn't burn out and flood our basement if we're away for a few days. We've already replace one pump. That pump running all the time also runs up the electric bill.

The hoe is a BH92 attachment for the L3240. I bought the tractor in 2007, going a little larger than I really needed to accommodate the hoe, which I just couldn't afford at that time. Since then, my "hoe to-do list" has grown to the point that I crossed the "will pay for itself" threshold last year. I love that thing. It doesn't spent a lot of time on my tractor, but when it's on there, I'm really enjoying the workout.

 

[stumpster]

This is probably the 6th or 7th big pine I've pushed over. Probably 10 or 12 more to go.

 

[Clint S]

We used ours alot the first few years and it has paid for itself. Dug trenches, foundation for porch, buried several cows, and tons (literally ) of rocks dug. Now for the most part it takes up space under the lean too. It goes on once a year and we get our little projects done (most of which could have been done by hand)

 

[Indygunworks]

YUCKY PISS WATER... you need to switch to a REAL beer.

 

[stumpster]

Hah! The only other beer I have is over 8%. Didn't want to tear the shed down trying to park the tractor.

 

[jeff9366]

For the price of a Backhoe ($7,000+) you can just about trade up to a Kubota "Grand L" L3560 tractor-loader with optional L2296 Heavy Duty Round Back bucket and a 110 pound Bucket Spade.

A <$400 bolt-on Bucket Spade is NOT a Backhoe. It is not much for trenching. But for digging holes and excavating and planting trees and shrubs it is about as effective as a Backhoe when mounted on a Heavy Duty bucket.

Photos 1-3: Digging, separating and replanting fifteen year old Blueberry plants, taken December 12-13, 2014 in Florida.

Photos: 4-5-6: Planting Bradford Pear

Photos: 6-7: Use, minimal storage space.


More bucket spade info in LINK:

LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...da-planting-sand-pears-kubota.html?highlight=

 

[kneedeep]

Best ATTACHMENT for a compact tractor. It is the replacement for shovels, picks, post drivers, chainsaw, limb shear, etc.
I got the subframe/BH made for my tractor. Remove it just like I would drop the mower and hookup to another attachment.
I'm sure the day will come when most of the big jobs are done and it will sit next to the dirt pan waiting for me to need it.

 

[Indygunworks]

I don't know how qualified I am to be in this thread but here is my situation. I have a really old really heavy 2 wheel drive ford 340. I picked up a Long backhoe 3ph attachment w/ pto pump. I gave around 2k I think and had to put another couple hundred into rebuilding the cylinders, and I am sure a few hoses are going to need replaced once I start using it. Money is getting tight with all the other stuff I want to do, but just knowing what it CAN do makes me not even consider selling it. I know as soon as I don't have it a project will come up that I want to do, but just cant w/out a backhoe, and w/out it I probably will never go through the hassle of renting one. Only time will tell if its worth it, but I can forsee it being a very seldom used but necessary tool.

 

[MoMower]

Well worth the cost, since I purchased in April 14, 6 stumps in my lawn area, 4 stumps in the pasture and 110' or so long trench for water to the barn that would have cost several 1000 to have done.