87 woods backhoe value?

[kidstrustfund]

I am looking at a 1987 ford 1920 tractor / loader/ backhoe with 700 hrs. Its a very tight machine. I don't need the woods backhoe and would want to sell it to offset the cost of the unit. The backhoe pins into the lift arm pins at the transmission and bolts onto the frame around the the front steering wheel. The seller said that woods made the frame of the backhoe fit that tractor. The hydraulics for the hoe are separate and are powered by a pto pump. The hoe raises the back of the tractor at idil. You can see it was hardly used. All the bushings were tight. The teeth show very little wear. The machine was a county machine and was serviced properly. The only issue the hoe has is the cylinders have rust on the chrome rods. They do not leak. The machine was stored under a lean to but was close to the east coast. The salt air rusts everything. My thinking if I was able to get 2000 for the hoe that would off set the cost of the tractor. My question is how much of a market would their be for the hoe? And 2 is 2000 a reasonable value for the hoe. Thanks for your opinions. I can get pics of the unit later on in the week. Thanks Tom

 

[Wolfy]

$2,000 is reasonable, but are you really sure you want to sell it? It is hard to really foresee how handy a backhoe is until you have it for a while. I bought one for a tractor to dig graves, then lost the grave contract. But I still find uses for it, especially in tight areas where my full size backhoe won't fit.

 

[kidstrustfund]

I have a 76 IH skid steer with a backhoe attachment. Both hoes are the same size. My other option is to sell the skid steer. I would get more money for the skid steer. But it is so nice to grade in tight areas with the skid steer. I can swap out the backhoe in 5 minutes. You can also see the front bucket real well with the skid steer. Tom

 

[Wolfy]

It seems the tractor with backhoe would be handier since you can still use the front bucket. The tractor won't replace a skid steer, for sure. And there may be times where you would want to dig with the backhoe and dump into another bucket, instead of right on the ground, in an area where it might be hard to get a dump truck into.

 

[kidstrustfund]

My skid steer attaches the hoe to the back. it is a odd looking set up. When the hoe is on the back the machine is back heavy. That is good for turning and bad for filling the fel. I have learned how to fill the front bucket to add stability. I guess I will learn how to use the fel on the 1920. I only have 50 hrs on a 1720. I was not as comfortable working the fel as with the skid steer. I have 100s of hrs on the skid steer. Tom

 

[Wolfy]

My uncle has a 1920, since new. I've run it quite a bit. It is a very capable machine, one of Ford's best. I have many machines, you will get used to the different controls. After a while, your mind will almost program itself, as soon as your seated in the new machine, you won't even think about the others, or at least I don't. I think the 1920 would serve you well, regardless if it has a backhoe.

 

[DavidVT]

I paid much more than 2K for a tired woods 750 that came off a ford. Yours sounds much better cared for than the one I bought.

I also agree with others. Don't sell the hoe if you can afford to keep it! You will love it.