Backhoe Are you happy with your small backhoe

Ledgemere Farm · Sep 30, 2004

Do that with a 15 or 20 inch stump, you wont be pulling it out, unless it is one of the trees that have no root system to speak of.

If you completely read my post you'd see that I mentioned "up to 8 inches"

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Bob_Skurka · Sep 30, 2004

we've had posters that have used small backhoes to do much more than Bob would even consider trying to do 

Rodger, KiotiJohn is very correct about this statement. The reason he is correct is because I don't have time to waste. I think John's statement, which also goes along with Henro's line of thought, and my posts, does ring through that I would rather get the right tool for the job than waste my time, something that I have too little of.

So to really look at the whole concept of small backhoes. I know what can be done. But I also know what can be done in a REASONABLE amount of time. I built a playhouse for my daughter, I didn't use an 8-oz finish hammer to frame the rafters. I cleared an industrial field of debris, I didn't use my Cub Cadet to drag a mini-landscape rake. My point is not that I need to use the biggest tool, but that I won't waste time using the wrong tool. I don't begrudge anyone who actually has uses for their tiny hoes, I just find that they are not TIME effective or COST effective for many people. Yes, they will do the job. But I am a busy man, I don't have enough time to spend with my wife and child, and while I love to play on the tractors, I can't live on them for endless hours doing tasks that could have, should have, been done in hours rather than days.

Again, you can dig a ditch and bury an electric cable with a back hoe, it will take about a half hour to do the work that I did in 4 minutes with a subsoiler, 2 hose clamps, and a pipe. And then you will spend a lot more time repairing your lawn.

You can dig a foundation for a house with a small hoe, but it would take WEEKS instead of a day or two.

I don't have the rocks that the boys up in New England contend with, and I don't pop out stumps, and I don't have the time to waste with a small hoe. Even if it CAN do the job, it cannot do it EFFECTIVELY and EFFICIENTLY enough to satisfy me.

JMHO with an added $0.02 to boot.

Ken_CT · Sep 30, 2004

Just plowing my driveway alone will pay back the cost of the BX23, and the backhoe is an added bonus. Of course I'll be 104 by then. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

PineRidge · Sep 30, 2004

Maybe it's time for a good old fashioned vote. To cast your vote click here

Cliff_Johns · Sep 30, 2004

I guess I think of it this way, You could say that a pickup truck is just a tiny truck and that it's really pretty useless since to carry 200 washing machines from Chicago to Columbus would take a hundred trips. This is true. But if you're not carrying 200 washing machines to Columbus, it's really not a relevant comment.

You caould say that a "tiny" pickuptruck is useless because it can't even carry a sheet of plywood without leaving the tailgate down and using supports to get it above the wheel wells. But if you don't carry 4X8 sheets of anything, let's say you do masonary work, the comment is really not relevant.

I have a full size Silverado because I carry sheet goods and long boards for my woodworking, but I don't begrudge someone their smaller pickup, nor do I claim that they are not prudent in buying it. After all, we can rent a truck from Home Depot for $20 for 75 minutes. How can a homeowner possibly justify buying a truck?

I allow that a "tiny" hoe isn't right for lots of people,especially if they are doing work that really ought to be done with a larger one. Please allow that there are many jobs that will work out just fine with a smaller one -- sometimes much better and more efficiently with a smaller one. Afterall, if you are going to dig a house foundation, you don't truck in a giant backhoe which could do it in two scoups.

The implication (though no one has stated it explicitly) here has been that someone who buys and uses a small back hoe on their small tractor is not being rational or prudent with their money. Frankly it's a bit insulting. I think it depends on what the jobs are that need to be done, how close a rental place is (and if their machinery is useful), manuevering room available, delicacy of the operation, accesibility to the location etc.

Bob said he didn't use an 8oz hammer to build a playhouse, but that doesn;t mean there isn't perfectly good uses for an 8oz hammer. In fact, there are times when an 8oz hammer is a much better size to use. If you have a lot of pictures to hang, having a sledge isn't going to help.

(BTW, this tirade is a general comment, not specifically in reply to Bob)

Anyway, I'm done.

Cliff

Bob_Skurka · Sep 30, 2004

Cliff, I think you make some valid points and some pointless comparisons (200 washing machines & a pick up???), and by the way I do have an 8oz hammer too. I just find very few uses for it.

Again, I admit that some love them and use them. I also tried to give real life examples of experiences I have had.

Anyone who wants one can go buy a hoe, there isn't even a 7 day cooling off period. But I think that there are 2 sides to the story and people who buy back hoes, especially the small ones, need to be realistic about them. Now I am done. (and I'm betting some of you are happy about that!) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ledgemere Farm · Sep 30, 2004

I am starting to think maybe we should all just abdicate from this discussion!!!

The original question: "are you happy...?"

Most are happy with what they bought. That is good, because it's a terrible feeling to spend allot of money on something and then feel disatisfied with said purchase.

Are they fun to use? Absolutely.

Do I want one? No. I have been spoiled with an industrial TLB. How many of you bought a 40HP CUT and wish you could trade it for a rear-engine riding lawn mower? Not many I'll bet. I am fortunate to have a TLB next door to use whenever, so spending $6,000+ on a little hoe would be silly.

We could use the template for this discussion to query: "Are you happy with your rotary mower?" We could argue over why a 60" 3PH model is better than a 21" walk-behind.

If you want a backhoe, go buy one. It's a free country and it's YOUR money. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

"Elvis has left the building..."

jwstewar · Sep 30, 2004

You need another choice, I don't have a backhoe, but I want one so desparately. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CTyler · Sep 30, 2004

( My BX22 BH works great on ice cream. )

Ahhh Grasshopper......But can you open a beer with it?

Dargo · Sep 30, 2004

I wanted a backhoe for my CUT so bad that I could taste it. I had dreams about one. I was sweating backhoe! After I sold my Case 580E I felt like I was in withdrawl. What happened was that every time I read over (and memorized) the stats and capabilities of a small backhoe and looked at the cost of it, I couldn't justify the cost.

Bottom line is that in the 4 years since I sold my big hoe, I really needed it twice. Those times I went to my local rental place and paid the $250 for a day's rental. I got my hoe work done and spent $500. In my case, since I rarely now need a hoe, I just can't justify the cost. Why the heck are they so darned expensive???? I love my loader, but it was much less than the hoe and I use it quite a bit more. My personal situation: benefit is not = or greater than cost.