Buying Advice To buy or not to buy, that is the question...

[big bubba]

Now, you're planning for down the road. Might want to consider a bigger tractor. Look at everything you might need to do, and you may find that a SCUT is not the best option. If you needed to, you might leave the BH off, and upsize to stay in budget, if that was necessary. I know that a good SCUT TLB usually costs more than my 35HP tractor/loader setup.
Tony

x2

 

[newbury]

<snip>
I'm in the market for a SCUT and am torn as to whether a backhoe will be nothing more than an overpriced ballast box or if in fact I will find more uses than I expected. Letç—´ face it, this is an expensive option and if I can put the money spent to better uses I would rather go that route. I'm really looking forward to upgrading from my current GT to something with a frontend loader, MMM and snow blower, but am totally torn on the backhoe.

Thank you in advance.

Brian

Although outside your original request about a BH I would suggest scratching the MMM and going with a smaller lawn

Interesting that these units can't be converted later as the MF is on my short list.

Virtually any could be upgraded/converted, just at what cost?

Finally getting back to this request.

So currently have a relatively small lot that I have stumps to remove, drainage to improve, a driveway that needs to be re-done, a front entry that needs attention, and replacement of a rear deck/patio. This is assuming I stay long enough to complete these tasks.

As I am getting closer to retirement and finding I prefer more property for privacy, I am toying with the idea of not building on my 5 acre lot and getting something >10 acres.

I am what my wife considers a "planner". I like to have a plan for most things. Also I don't want to incur un-needed costs once I hit retirement and would rather have my equipment lined up, in place, and paid for once I have a fixed income.

So while the initial purchase may be a bit premature for my current situation I am planning or looking forward to when I get into retirement and having everything paid for ~5 years prior.

Brian

Ok, now getting down to reality.

I also try and plan far ahead.

I bought my used B7610 in 2009 and almost immediately put a new Woods BH70-X on it. I chose the BX70 because it dug deeper than the Kubota offering. Plans were to retire to Mississippi in 2011 and primarily use it for building trails. We already had a lot of land down there.

Plans are still going ahead, just slower.

So ultimately if my decision is to go with the BH route the time would be now as it will be much more expensive in the future than it will be now. Either due to the additional required parts and pieces or the purchase of the actual unit.

As you can see, this is why I have posed this question, as I prefer to not go through the process a second time by having not made the correct purchase the first time.

Brian

There are many reasons to buy and many reasons to rent, if you are of retirement age there are FEW reasons to use a shovel.

Do you know where you are going to move to?
If I was living in a town with easy rental access that would have made my decision more difficult. But I knew even back in 2011 any rental would be a 1 hour plus interstate drive away. Combine that with other hassles of rental I chose to buy.

Reasons to use a shovel - exercise, but the tradeoff could be back surgery.

Reasons to rent - initial up front cost savings, but hassles and cost of renting.

Reasons to buy - access when you want it, but you have to store and maintain.

I only used it for one project last year, but that project would have taken me a week with a mini-ex which would have cost about $700 out of pocket. Based on rental rates it's paid for itself over the last 6 years.

 

[4570Man]

If I was forced to pick between my current tractor which is a L3240 without a backhoe or a scout with a backhoe. I would pick the bigger tractor. When I bought the tractor we were building a house and the primary use was dirt work. Now its primary use is firewood. I have to haul my wood over the road and my preferred hauling method is a Chevy 3500 with a dump bed. A scout lacks the lift height and strength to do this. A scout also lacks the ground clearance which is pretty important for my use.

 

[highland hunter]

Virtually any could be upgraded/converted, just at what cost?

Pay the piper now as conversion almost always ends up being more.

Do you know where you are going to move to?
If I was living in a town with easy rental access that would have made my decision more difficult. But I knew even back in 2011 any rental would be a 1 hour plus interstate drive away. Combine that with other hassles of rental I chose to buy.

5 acre lot is in MI. - Wifes preference

My preference is to end up in NC foothills.

We shall see...

Reasons to use a shovel - exercise, but the tradeoff could be back surgery.

Reasons to rent - initial up front cost savings, but hassles and cost of renting.

Reasons to buy - access when you want it, but you have to store and maintain.

I'm more of a believer in reason #3

 

[oldpilgrim]

I think I recall that rock, oldpilgrim. If I recall, the BH did not move that thing. I think you would need something a little bit more powerful than your 35HP BH to move that.

You're right, I couldn't move it.

An estimated 25-30,000 lbs was just a little too much for my BH. What I was hoping for was to dig a deeper hole right beside it and tip it over into it, but it was sitting on real hard stuff and I couldn't dig enough out from under it to tip it.

It doesn't detract from the fact that I had the hoe and spent a day or so having a good time with it. It was a lot of fun digging and calculating, something I wouldn't have done if I had rented one.

I just posted the picture there for a humorous dramatic effect.

But I have moved many, many others.

 

[varmint]

When I was a younger guy, and you could purchase dynamite sticks at your local hardware store, that rock would have been a two day project. Today, you need to hire some serious iron to move it. Things change.

 

[fried1765]

Finally getting back to this request.

So currently have a relatively small lot that I have stumps to remove, drainage to improve, a driveway that needs to be re-done, a front entry that needs attention, and replacement of a rear deck/patio. This is assuming I stay long enough to complete these tasks.

As I am getting closer to retirement and finding I prefer more property for privacy, I am toying with the idea of not building on my 5 acre lot and getting something >10 acres.

I am what my wife considers a "planner". I like to have a plan for most things. Also I don't want to incur un-needed costs once I hit retirement and would rather have my equipment lined up, in place, and paid for once I have a fixed income.

So while the initial purchase may be a bit premature for my current situation I am planning or looking forward to when I get into retirement and having everything paid for ~5 years prior.

Brian

Brian:
Since you have a year or more to look, why not look at used machines?
You should contact several dealers, tell them what you are looking for, and wait until they call with something used that you might be interested in.
You can keep looking all the while, on your own as well.
In my opinion you will outgrow a SCUT in a matter of months.
If you get a CUT in the 40HP range with a sub-frame mounted backhoe, you will likely be happy for many years.
Few have ever complained that their tractor is TOO BIG!

 

[highland hunter]

Brian:
Since you have a year or more to look, why not look at used machines?
You should contact several dealers, tell them what you are looking for, and wait until they call with something used that you might be interested in.
You can keep looking all the while, on your own as well.
In my opinion you will outgrow a SCUT in a matter of months.
If you get a CUT in the 40HP range with a sub-frame mounted backhoe, you will likely be happy for many years.
Few have ever complained that their tractor is TOO BIG!

I've been in the market for about a year now and not much has shown up that isn't pushing the new price point. This is atypical of what I have found in the New England area over the years, which is why I find I end up buying new.

Now I could reach out to one of the potential retirement areas and transport back to my current residency state, but I cannot always travel that distance at the drop of the hat.

 

[TJP89]

When I was a younger guy, and you could purchase dynamite sticks at your local hardware store, that rock would have been a two day project. Today, you need to hire some serious iron to move it. Things change.

I'm a chemist. Every time I run across something like oldpilgrim's rock, I think about how easy I could make something that could blow that sucker sky high. I'm tempted until I think of how much trouble with the FBI I'd be in.

 

[blucoondawg]

I wouldn't be without my backhoe I've got a kioti dk50se hydro with a woods bh90. I would advise against a scut and move up in size. Forget about the mowing, get a lawn mower. You simply cannot get the best of both worlds as far as lawn mowing and tractor work, a good tractor is to heavy to mow with, a tractor light enough to mow with is next to useless for ground engaging work and digging. My tractor backhoe setup is considerably larger than you are considering and it still isn't ideal in difficult ground, it can get the job done most of the time, but they are far from a commercial tlb, that hoe on the little scut is a child's toy for playing sandbox as far as I'm concerned. You add stumps and rocks into the equation and digging is quite difficult, you aren't going to just grab a hardwood stump and tear it out like you would with a large excavator, it involves a lot of digging around and wiggling and prying finally breaking it loose then hopefully it is light enough with the root ball to lift and move, I've dug plenty of stumps with my 50hp tractor that I had one **** of a time moving. Consider these things before you buy a scut