Buying Advice Buying backhoe with the tractor upfront.

[Williy]

For y'all that don't like backhoes and have lots of money
we don't need to hear your negative vibes about not buying
a backhoe. You never know when you are going to need
a backhoe. Your wife wants to move her flower bed you gonna call some one to do this? Maybe she wants to plant
a few trees gonna call some one to do this? Perhaps you
need to dig a trench along side your drive way gonna call
someone to do this? For us old cranky guys that our hands don't fit a shovel we enjoy backhoes we have them ready to use as it only takes about 15 minutes to install one. Also some of the companies that do this type of work have a min 2 hour and it may take them 15 min to do the job. So these little jobs can be pretty costly by getting someone else to do the small tasks. For example $100
hour and you call them 7 or 8 times for a cost of $1400
to $1600 for me I would spend the extra money for a
backhoe and have it when I need one.

willy

 

[fried1765]

How much will that "local guy" charge for the 20 minute job of lowering a heavy pump into a pit?
If you call him at noon on Monday, will he be there at 1:00?

For y'all that don't like backhoes and have lots of money
we don't need to hear your negative vibes about not buying
a backhoe. You never know when you are going to need
a backhoe. Your wife wants to move her flower bed you gonna call some one to do this? Maybe she wants to plant
a few trees gonna call some one to do this? Perhaps you
need to dig a trench along side your drive way gonna call
someone to do this? For us old cranky guys that our hands don't fit a shovel we enjoy backhoes we have them ready to use as it only takes about 15 minutes to install one. Also some of the companies that do this type of work have a min 2 hour and it may take them 15 min to do the job. So these little jobs can be pretty costly by getting someone else to do the small tasks. For example $100
hour and you call them 7 or 8 times for a cost of $1400
to $1600 for me I would spend the extra money for a
backhoe and have it when I need one.

willy

I don't even need "15 minutes to install one".
Mine never gets uninstalled!
I have another tractor.

 

[paulfun9]

For y'all that don't like backhoes and have lots of money
we don't need to hear your negative vibes about not buying
a backhoe. You never know when you are going to need
a backhoe. Your wife wants to move her flower bed you gonna call some one to do this? Maybe she wants to plant
a few trees gonna call some one to do this? Perhaps you
need to dig a trench along side your drive way gonna call
someone to do this? For us old cranky guys that our hands don't fit a shovel we enjoy backhoes we have them ready to use as it only takes about 15 minutes to install one. Also some of the companies that do this type of work have a min 2 hour and it may take them 15 min to do the job. So these little jobs can be pretty costly by getting someone else to do the small tasks. For example $100
hour and you call them 7 or 8 times for a cost of $1400
to $1600 for me I would spend the extra money for a
backhoe and have it when I need one.

willy

Something others have not mentioned is vision.
I notice that many people actually will entertain more thought about change and improvements when they have a backhoe on hand as opposed to answering thier wife with that’s out of our range and doing it would be a hassle!
Many of the things we have done to improve our homestead we would have simply decided not to do if we had to do it around a timeline of rented equipment. Also even having some extra cash on hand for some of those improvements I am still a bit of a tight ——— and won’t do them if the cost of a project can’t be done for far less then most would have to spend.
I will ask anyone who thinks they can’t get thier money’s worth out of a reasonably costing backhoe between useage and sale to rethink thier statement. I have purchased and sold my own equipment over the years and not once have I been disapointed at sale time. I have also purchased used tractors and mated them with a backhoe that didn’t come with the tractor just to increase the selling potential and price. Again not once was disapointed!

 

[rScotty]

I don't even need "15 minutes to install one".
Mine never gets uninstalled!
I have another tractor.

Ah yes....the "double tractor" solution. Me too.

And of course it's also the perfect reason to own a vintage tractor.
Vintage tractors are perfect for 3pt work and can be very affordable...mainly because the utility size 3pt ag type tractors haven't changed much in about 50 years now.

Vintage iron is indestructible, and manual gears are just fine or even preferable for most 3pt work. Power steering is not necessary - or even an advantage. Same for 4wd.

And that leaves you with a vintage machine PLUS a FEL on the nice new style tractor which now has a permanently mounted backhoe on a subframe.
rScotty

 

[twowoode]

I have a mf 1723 tlb that I admit won’t do what a dedicated backhoe or excavator can do but I had limited funds. I have really impressed by what this little machine will do. I dig trenches, remove stumps, use the thumb to hold up logs to cut firewood and pull posts with it. An added benefit is the added weight the backhoe adds for traction and counter balance for loader operations.

 

[Tony H]

Sorry, I have to lean with the ones that say you will get little gains with a backhoe on that sized tractor. Especially if you have material much denser then beach sand. Tractor is 'light' and the hoe doesn't have much oomph for digging. A hoe would work well as a counter balance for the Loader, but there is much cheaper ways to counterbalance a tractor. We have shale and stone by me, constantly helping neighbors with 3000 series AG tractors with hoes cause even those larger tractors can't dig and pull apart this material

 

[ScotNH]

I always thought the BH for a 50hp tractor was too small anyway. Just my opinion. no experience with one. My main use would be to dig out stumps.

I just dug out this big double black cherry stump with my 22hp tractor/backhoe. I’ve dug up some big pine stumps with ease. This was the first hardwood stump I’ve dug, and the first stump I’ve really had to work for. It took about 2 hours to dig out all around it. I would think a 50hp tractor with a backhoe could make short work of most stumps?

 

[Carl_NH]

At 8 YO I was forking manure by hand every spring for 3 weeks into the spreader, then we got an FEL trip bucket for the JD420 - wow that was amazing progress not to have to fork s*** manually anymore, in 1966 we got a new JD 1020 with FEL and a loader with up/down pressure that was a dream to work with vs the trip loader.

Same with the baler for hay, from dropping 2000 bales in the field every year to a kicker baler and wagons, made the job a lot easier and faster, and with hay - you make it when the sun shines.

That hard work school lead me to get a tool that makes life easier - the BH with a thumb, and with our rocks here in NH, digging w/o a BH is real hard work that I don't care to do by hand. Also, i know the machine limits and hire out the big stuff - 2' +stumps, land clearing etc.

On the flip side, an FEL with a grapple/bucket/spade is able to dig into sand/clay will suffice and be a big upgrade for many users here - no BH needed as the gains you will get are enough w/o a BH - just depends on your situation.

 

[wolc123]

For the occasional trenching job or for moving trees and digging stumps out, I simply bolt a 30" long piece of 12" x 4" x 3/8" steel c-channel to the bottom center of the heavy-duty front loader bucket on my John Deere 4120.

It takes me less than 2 minutes to put it on or off and I found the steel in my scrap pile so it was free. I like having the 3-pt available for other implements (bush hog most of the time, back blade for snow in winter).

A backhoe might work better for some of that, but certainly not enough to make it worth the expense, the storage space, or the loss of the 3-point.

 

[shooterdon]

How much will that "local guy" charge for the 20 minute job of lowering a heavy pump into a pit?
If you call him at noon on Monday, will he be there at 1:00?
How much will it cost to place 7 railroad ties (with thumb) when it cools off Friday evening ...let's say 6:00 - 8:00PM?

I do not have heavy pumps sitting in pits....so will never happen. But I could do it with a chain fall on pallet forks. Total cost $700 and good for many tasks.

RR ties are easy with my $1000 grapple that I need for firewood processing and clearing downed trees and moving brush.

Using attachments I need I can get those jobs done.

 

[shooterdon]

For y'all that don't like backhoes and have lots of money
we don't need to hear your negative vibes about not buying
a backhoe. You never know when you are going to need
a backhoe. Your wife wants to move her flower bed you gonna call some one to do this? Maybe she wants to plant
a few trees gonna call some one to do this? Perhaps you
need to dig a trench along side your drive way gonna call
someone to do this? For us old cranky guys that our hands don't fit a shovel we enjoy backhoes we have them ready to use as it only takes about 15 minutes to install one. Also some of the companies that do this type of work have a min 2 hour and it may take them 15 min to do the job. So these little jobs can be pretty costly by getting someone else to do the small tasks. For example $100
hour and you call them 7 or 8 times for a cost of $1400
to $1600 for me I would spend the extra money for a
backhoe and have it when I need one.

willy

Could not let this go...
Maybe some of us can plan our projects

Maybe some of us do not jump every time the wife gets a hair up her.....

Sounds like you need a BH. I do not.

To the OP...some of the BH cheerleaders have much larger machines than you are looking at....some have more than one tractor. Think about that.

If you decide to get a BH, go to the dealer. Have him attach and detach the BH. Then do it yourself. Will you be doing it on a cement pad or sitting on ground.

And answer two questions.....why are you purchasing a small machine and are you better off with a larger one. Size matters for BH work.

 

[MACflyer]

I think my backhoe is worth every penny on my small 24hp tractor. Sometimes I will hop down to move/dig something with a shovel, and I'm instantly reminded just how much work that little ho is doing for me. It is a bit frustrating at times when it struggles with something that a larger or dedicated machine would handle with ease, or when I can't reach as far as I'd like, but this was the best option for my budget. I've got one machine that doesn't necessarily excel at any one thing, but it can do many things reasonably well. It is also a machine that I intend to keep for the foreseeable future, and having that tool at my disposal for whatever I might need is valuable to me. Running a backhoe is also something I enjoy doing, so that alone must be worth something.

However, not everyone has the same needs or values things the same, so what is important and what works for me may not be true for you. I certainly wouldn't buy a backhoe as an investment, and I'm not too concerned with resale as I plan on keeping my TLB for many years to come.

 

[4570Man]

Could not let this go...
Maybe some of us can plan our projects

Maybe some of us do not jump every time the wife gets a hair up her.....

Sounds like you need a BH. I do not.

To the OP...some of the BH cheerleaders have much larger machines than you are looking at....some have more than one tractor. Think about that.

If you decide to get a BH, go to the dealer. Have him attach and detach the BH. Then do it yourself. Will you be doing it on a cement pad or sitting on ground.

And answer two questions.....why are you purchasing a small machine and are you better off with a larger one. Size matters for BH work.

I’ve had a tractor backhoe, a bigger tractor backhoe, a M59 backhoe, a full-size backhoe and a mini excavator. There’s no doubt the tractor backhoe is the worst of them all. But it was still quite useful when it was all I had. A shovel is way too much work and renting a machine for everything you feel like doing isn’t practical. If you decide buying buying a full size backhoe or a mini excavator is a better value you’re probably right. But the vast majority of people that actually own any kind of backhoe will say it’s a big back saver and worth the money.

 

[fried1765]

I do not have heavy pumps sitting in pits....so will never happen. But I could do it with a chain fall on pallet forks. Total cost $700 and good for many tasks.

RR ties are easy with my $1000 grapple that I need for firewood processing and clearing downed trees and moving brush.

Using attachments I need I can get those jobs done.

I have both forks and a grapple.
How should I use them to replace my two rusting 5' deep yard hydrants?

 

[ptsg]

Yes fried, you made your point. You can't live without a backhoe but you have a L48 which is not at all the same as a subframe backhoe on a compact or sub compact tractor. Plus you have other tractors for the 3 pt work, so you don't even have to take the backhoe off the L48. No need to keep beating on the dead horse.

No need to shove a backhoe through everyone's eyes. What works for you, doesn't necessarily work for everyone else.

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

 

[Egon]

Spading the garden:

 

[fried1765]

Spading the garden:
View attachment 707325

I have done the very same, when an area is too small for a tiller.
I am too old for a shovel!

 

[fried1765]

Yes fried, you made your point. You can't live without a backhoe but you have a L48 which is not at all the same as a subframe backhoe on a compact or sub compact tractor. Plus you have other tractors for the 3 pt work, so you don't even have to take the backhoe off the L48. No need to keep beating on the dead horse.

No need to shove a backhoe through everyone's eyes. What works for you, doesn't necessarily work for everyone else.

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

Others beat the "dead horse" about NOT needing a BH,...... but in your view,.... that is somehow different?

 

[IndyJay]

Spading the garden:
View attachment 707325

Dang, I thought he was just pulling weeds...

 

[DK35vince]

Having a separate and dedicated machine to do backhoe work, like a mini excavator, something that really take some abuse, is by far the best solution but, obviously, not always possible due to various reasons.

Why, so I can have another machine to maintain.
No thanks, I'll keep my backhoe.
Takes me 10 minutes to install and 5 minutes to remove