Backhoe Backhoe rates

Bob_Young · Jul 16, 2005

Here I am again with another rate question. This time it's about what I can expect to pay to have a trench dug for a water line....and whether it makes sense to buy a backhoe for my L4300 and tackle it myself.

My Dad lives on the outskirts of town and just outside the water district. His well is now barely equal to running the household and the water was always very hard. I have to do his laundry at my place to keep from running his well dry. Drilled a new well last year at his place. Went down 165 ft. and got salt water (cost $4500).

The municipal water line is about 125 yards away from his well house with about 45 yards of that being the neighbor's property. The neighbor understands our problem (had same problem herself a few years ago) and has agreed to let us dig her place up to run the water line. The town supervisor paid us a visit today and said we could tap into the municipal line at the neighbor's but we'd be responsible for all excavation and piping. The pipe would have to be 4 feet down to stay below the frost level.

The question is what can I expect to pay for the trench? I noticed on my other rate thread that someone mentioned that he got $50 per hour for backhoe work. But I have no idea how much trench would be dug in an hour; I imagine it depends on conditions. Soil here is very rocky but mostly with cobblestones (small and large), very few big boulders.

If the trenching costs for this job approach the cost of a backhoe, does it make sense to buy the hoe and dig it myself? I have zero backhoe experience, but have a friend that has training and some experience and would be willing to do some coaching.

Oh yeah, there's one more thing. I have lots of stumps to remove after the trench is done. There must be around 2 dozen on my Dad's place alone. It's not like the trench is the only thing the hoe would be used for.

I briefly looked at a Kubota L4560 hoe a few months ago and, as I recall, was quoted a price of just under $9K.

Thanks, in advance.
Bob

Richard · Jul 16, 2005

( Oh yeah, there's one more thing. I have lots of stumps to remove after the trench is done. There must be around 2 dozen on my Dad's place alone. It's not like the trench is the only thing the hoe would be used for )

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....stumpssssssssss

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

If your wallet can handle it, I'd say go for it. That said, I don't know if they'd let you dig it yourself although I don't see why that'd be an issue.

If they'd let you do it I say go for it. If they won't let you dig it I'd say investigate it anyway for the stumps/other. I've found a LOT of different uses for my hoe from the obvious digging a hole/trench to transplanting my wifes day lillies to reaching out to a BIG poisen ivy vine growing on a tree & delicately hooking the bucket finger off to only then VIOLENTLY rip the vine to smithereens /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My wife got on it and did some moving of rocks. She was pretty good with it actually. I ended up calling her the best hoe'er I knew...

You can guess how well that went over

/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Knute · Jul 16, 2005

Considering a backhoe is going to cost you $5,000+ there's no way digging one trench is going to cost anywhere near that. I have a neighbor who has a much bigger backhoe on his bulldozer, he charges $75 / hour and dug a 400' trench 3' deep for us when we moved here in less than a day.

I dug a 100 foot long 2' deep trench through rocky soil using a rented TC33 with a backhoe in about 5 hours, and that was only the second time I'd used a backhoe. An experienced operator would be able to dig it much faster. It's more fun doing it yourself though. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

DmansPadge · Jul 16, 2005

If your looking for an excuse to buy a BH... you need to get a better one! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have a guy with a full size Case BH that charges $50/hr and I'm sure he could dig your trench in one day.

Bob_Young · Jul 16, 2005

Yeah, Ron, I think you read the question right /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. But I'm relieved that it's not going to be as costly as I feared.
Bob

Dachshund · Jul 16, 2005

Go to your local rental place and rent a TRENCHER. $140 bucks a day and you will be done in a couple hours. They also have small back hoes to rent for digging the "hole" next to the well house and tie-in to the existing. The BH will cost you about the same as the trencher. You will be done in one day and spend WAY less. Yes a trencher will go deeper than 4 feet. Hooked up to rural water this spring. Dug 450' in about 1 1/2 hours. Had to "hoe" across small creek (30') which took about an 2 hours.

Knute · Jul 16, 2005

A trencher might work, but was totally useless on our property and sounds like it might be at Bobs too. For one thing the local rental shop here only had a Ditch Witch that would only go done 24". Second there are way to many rocks here that the trencher couldn't get out. It doesn't take a very big rock to stop a trencher that's only making a 4-5" wide trench. Fortunately I only ran into 1 rock that was to big for the small BH to get out without making the trench much larger, and that rock was deep enough to leave where it is.

Is the trencher that will go down 4' an attachment for a cat or 3ph on a tractor? How well does it handle rocks wider than the trench?

LBrown59 · Jul 16, 2005

( Go to your local rental place and rent a TRENCHER. $140 bucks a day and you will be done in a couple hours. They also have small back hoes to rent for digging the "hole" next to the well house and tie-in to the existing. The BH will cost you about the same as the trencher. You will be done in one day and spend WAY less. Yes a trencher will go deeper than 4 feet. Hooked up to rural water this spring. Dug 450' in about 1 1/2 hours. Had to "hoe" across small creek (30') which took about an 2 hours. )
___________________________
I rented a trencher once.
It turned out to be a bear of a job getting the ditch done a lot of grief and back breaking work for both me and my buddy as at times it took both of us at once to man handle the trencher.
After it was all said and done it cost more than it would have cost to hire a backhoe where the backhoe owner does all the work instead of me-and there wouldn't have been any damage to the tail gate of my pick up from loading and unloading a trencher either.

Needless to say I have sworn off trenchers.

The last ditching I had done last Sept. cost me 40 bucks an Hr. for the man and his BH.

2nstonge · Jul 16, 2005

The best quote I got for a water line trench 150ft long was $2k. Just not many guys taking on the small jobs and the guys that do charge up the whazoo. With other work I had planned; redoing 15 footings for my pole barn, stumps, etc, on my own property I ended-up justifying the BH purchase. I now hire myself out at $55/hr and have all the small jobs I can handle.

-Norm