Backhoe Advice on Backhoe Options

[jimbakerup]

I have some hunting property that needs relatively minor maintenance work. Mostly ditching and culverts on atv trails with pretty easy ground. I am looking for advice on backhoe options. I understand that often the best option is to hire out the job to someone with the right experience and equipment or buy/rent the most suitable piece of equipment for each individual job but the nature of my projects and schedule is such that I want something that is there when I need it.

My neighbor has a 9N with a Brush Hog brand 3pt mounted backhoe. That works very well for what we need between us but his schedule and mine don't always line up and our roadwork season is pretty short so I am ready for something that is there when I need it and before the snow flies (it's on its way even though it may not feel like it now...). I might need it for an hour or for a weekend depending on the project. If I have to rent or hire out every time a need comes up, I will be upside down on the cost of even a sub-optimal solution within a year. I understand that there are many on this forum who will consider me a fool for going this route - maybe I am but a patient, persistent, and stubborn one as my wife has come to learn.

I currently have a Deere 2025R that I use for blowing snow in the winter and spreading road gravel and hauling firewood in the summer.

I have dug into this a bit and gotten a lot of opinions all over the map. I am looking for input to help weigh my options (all of which I understand are sub-optimal) which include:

- Buying a used backhoe. I can find lots of them around $10k and a few between $5 and $10k. I am in a fairly remote part of the upper peninsula of Michigan so transportation is a cost and a headache. I have a flatbed trailer rated for 7,500 lbs and a 3/4 ton pickup. Most backhoes seem to be out of range for that setup and hiring transportation ranges around $1,000 for what I have found. That is doable for the right machine but is a heavy bite that goes right out the window on a $5-10k machine.

- Buying a towable trencher like Harbor Freight sells for around $3k delivered. These get mixed reviews but seem to be suitable for what they are - a toy for digging small holes - which is consistent with what I am looking for.

- Putting an aftermarket 3 pt backhoe on my 2025R. I can find a lot of these but it looks like most need more tractor than I have. The Woodmaxx 6600 looks like a possibility at $4,250 new but I hear a lot about potential damage to the 3pt if I don't use a subframe.

- Putting a Deere 720a backhoe on my 2025R. These list or $7,200 new and seem to be tough to come across used. On the positive side this and the aftermarket 3 pt backhoe results in one less engine to maintain.

- Upgrading the 2025R to something with a little more horsepower and better suited for running a 3pt backhoe. If I went this route I would prefer to have something with a front-mounted snowblower available. We get over 300" per year. The power of a rear mount does help but I would rather go slow looking ahead than faster looking over my shoulder.

If anybody out there has experience with backhoes on a 2025R I would appreciate hearing from you. Any other perspectives and advice would be greatly appreciated (aside from "hire it out" or "rent something designed for the job you want to do at the time" - I have already made that decision, for better or worse).

Thanks

 

[ThirdMan]

Are you sure you have the Deere backhoe number right? From the website I think the 2025R uses the 260B.

 

[MORRISONSTEEL]

only 2025's built after 2017 can use the 260b, what the op meant was 270a which is appropriate for the earlier 2025r.

 

[yanmars]

I have a sub frame for my 3pt backhoe. Cheap insurance versus damaging the tractor IMO. I have a 37 HP tractor and a Woods 750. For my light uses it works well and is removable but not the easiest thing to do.

 

[Budweiser John]

Hey, I hear ya on owning equipment and having it available on demand.
From my perspective, It appears your backhoe needs could be accommodated with a tractor mounted unit.
I’ve owned a New Holland tractor with a frame mounted backhoe attachment for 15 years and although it will never compete with a dedicated TLB it beats a shovel hands down.
Let me emphase ‘frame mount’ as three point units are a recipe for potential serious damage to your tractor. I’m not familiar with the JD line to comment on their offerings but all the big farmers in my neighborhood are running green iron.
B. John

 

[Budweiser John]

Yanmars, you are absolutely right about the on/ off thing.
Fought that issue until last year until I welded up a dolly out of 2x2x3/16 sq. Tube and some 8” casters.
Took a couple editions to get it right but now it saves a ton of time.

I’ll try to post pictures later.
B. John

 

[newbury]

<snip>
If anybody out there has experience with backhoes on a 2025R I would appreciate hearing from you. Any other perspectives and advice would be greatly appreciated (aside from "hire it out" or "rent something designed for the job you want to do at the time" - I have already made that decision, for better or worse).

Thanks

No experience on the 2025R.
BUT
I've a B7610 and bought a Woods BH70-X. One of my prime uses is to maintain trails where I have to travel a ways where a trailer wouldn't go. For me the decision of tractor mounted versus mini-ex was that the tractor mounted could go there and back quickly while a low-end mini-ex crawled.

If you don't have that concern get a mini-ex. Made for digging, can swivel around.

A quick look at ebay showed a Yanmar Vio20 Mini Excavator that weighs about 5K w/ a 6' dig depth.

 

[bdhsfz6]

No help here on the JD2025R but I did some serious damage to the 3 pt hitch on my old L3010 using a Woods hoe. I strongly recommend a frame mount.

Talk to your dealer. Maybe he can work out a trade for a suitable used machine with a hoe.

 

[CJ4]

I have a 2005 New Holland TC55DA EHSS. I bought a Woods BH90-X backhoe with a subframe mount and a independent PTO hydraulic pump system. I've had it for 12 yrs and that's been the best thing I think I've ever purchased. It's tough, powerful, and has held together well. My issue is I want a new Powerstar T 4.75 New Holland tractor but the dealer tells me nobody makes a subframe backhoe for that tractor. I really don't need to keep my old tractor (although it's an excellent tractor) but appears I may have to keep it just to have the backhoe. I can't live without it, just disgusting you can't buy a new tractor and get a good backhoe attachment for it. One dealer told me the bigger tractor would handle a 3pt backhoe attachment fine but I'm leary about that and I really don't see many good 3pt ones around that could compete with this Woods that I have. I sure don't want to go down in strength and quality.

 

[jimbakerup]

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback. My 2025R is 5 years old and dealer says the 270a is the backhoe for it.

The recommendations on the sub-frame (and experiences related to what happens when you don't use one) are very helpful. The neighbor's 9N doesn't have one and he told me not to worry about it but I am pretty sure he is more patient and careful than I am. Protection against damaging the 3pt hitch sounds well worth the investment.

I'll talk to the "local" (100 miles away) dealer about trade-in options and keep my eye out for used tractors with subframe mounted hoes or pull the trigger on a new 270a if I see the season coming to an end before I am ready.

Thanks again for the constructive guidance and patience with someone set in their ways.