Buy a backhoe attachment, or get a contractor in?

[TnAndy]

In my personal opinion owning a tractor mounted backhoe is a total waste of money. I guess if you have the liquid income to blow on one all well and good. I too had one and sold it and never looked back. It is much cheaper to rent a trencher and lay waterline our buried cable or whatever. less disruptive and 20 times faster. I can rent a self propelled trencher capable of trenching to 5 feet for 150 bucks a day, delivered and picked up, all I do is supply the fuel for it.

Last time I rented one, I laid 300 feet of waterline trench in 3 hours, try that with a mounted backhoe, or any backhoe for that matter, not gonna happen and very little disruption. Laid in the waterline, backfilled with a shovel, tamped it down with my feet, sprinkled on some grass seed and called it good. No dirt piles, no large cost of a machine and no storing it. It came and went and done.

I have much better things to spend money on other than a basically useless implement.

Ws talking to my dealer about just that the other day and he told me he sells a lot of backhoe's with new Kubota's and after a while they come back because the owners realize they are basically a high buck useless implement. he has a bunch of used ones in the lot out front,. Takes them on consignment because no one wants them if they have any sense.

Renting a machine or trenchers is a whole lot cheaper plus you don't have to maintain it because it's not yours.

With me, never again. Got rid of the one I had, I was lucky and found a sucker.

My 2 cents.

Exact same here.


My suggestion....rent a tractor with a backhoe unit on it for a day or so BEFORE you buy one. The time you spend jumping from tractor seat to backhoe seat (unlike a 'regular' BH that the seat swivels) alone will convince you they ain't the way to go.

Add too that most of them have about a 5' digging length (at any depth of more than a foot or so), and that seat jumping goes on a LOT.

Then add most of them are so underpowered, any large root or medium rock becomes an hour chore to dig out.

These units LOOK pretty on the back of a tractor.....like something you could really work with.....but except in rare instances where smaller is better, most people will spend way too much money on something that turns out to be a real disappointment. For a little more than the unit I had, I bought a used IHI mini-excavator that will dig more in a day that the former backhoe unit would do in a week....maybe two weeks !

 

[fried1765]

My Kubota backhoe subframe on my tractor backhoe was a pretty complex piece. Unless you have a well equipped machine shop you won稚 be building something like it in a couple days or probably ever and definitely not for a few hundred dollars. My tractor backhoe was a very useful piece that definitely earned its keep and paid for itself. It really wasn稚 up to the task I wanted so I sold it and bought a John Deere 310. It痴 a workhorse but not as great as I expected. It痴 too big for a lot of stuff and really lacking in versatility. I知 probably going to get rid of it and get a M59.

I expect that you will LOVE an MM59!
I LOVE it's older/smaller brother L48.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have quite a bit of drainage that needs re-doing on my property, and I'm trying to decide whether to buy one of these backhoe attachments TRACTOR 3 POINT LINK BACKHOE LARGE - Hayes Products - Tractor Attachments and Implements and do it all myself over the next couple of years, or to get a contractor in and get it all done professionally. My tractor is a Ford 4100, around 1970 model 67hp 2wd. I like the idea of spending probably less money and having the machine for whatever jobs come up, such as digging out stumps etc; but I have never used one of these attachments and wonder if it might turn out to be a disappointment. I have a slasher by the same company and the quality is good, there is a farmer selling one of these quite close to me with very little wear on it. How have others found these 3pl backhoe setups? Are they a good solution or just a frustration to use? Would my 4100 be likely to break in half?? Any advice appreciated.

I do not have a 3 point backhoe like you are looking for and I have never used one. I do have a full sized 1989 Ford 555E 2wd backhoe that has 80 hp and 10,000 pounds of bucket force when digging. According to your link, that 3 point backhoe has 3,000 pounds of bucket force.

In the summer when my red clay is super dry, it also becomes extremely hard. My backhoe weighs 14,000 pounds. It struggles to break through the top six to 12 inches of clay. Once I get down to softer soil, it digs fine, but breaking through that crust takes a lot of effort. Since I do not know what your soil is like there, and if you will be digging during the hot/dry part of the year, I think it's important to consider how useful the 3 point backhoe attachment will be during those conditions. The same applies to digging out trees and stumps. In summer, it's a battle with smaller trees breaking off instead of coming out. In the cooler wetter months, I dig through the dirt easily and pop out trees one after another without much effort. It's night and day how well it works from dry to softer soil conditions.

I bought my backhoe with 1,800 hours on it and I'm getting close to 9,000 hours on it now. When it finally wears out, I will buy another. There is nothing that comes close to it in all that it can do. From digging out trees and ditches, to moving dirt and spreading it out by back dragging he soil with the front bucket, to putting on the grapple and cleaning up the trees that I've removed, to putting on the hay spear and feeding my horses round bales. Tires are better then tracks for getting around the land.

An excavator will out dig a backhoe. From what I understand, and 50 hp excavator is close to what a full sized backhoe in digging power, but the excavator has that 360 degree swing, and more stable with the tracks and a blade for smaller excavators, and sheer weight in bigger excavators. That swing would come in handy a lot of the time and it's something that I wish for fairly often, but don't want to pay for. An excavator also lacks the usefulness of having tires and a one yard or bigger front bucket. For me, that's a huge difference!!!

I can't imagine owning land without the backhoe, I use it for too many things to ever try to live without it.

If all you are doing is digging out some ditches, then renting might be a good option if you have the time. But if you are going to do other things on your land, owning allows you to do it when you have the time, and not stress over getting it done before the rental time is up. Hiring it out is another option, but rarely cost effective.

And if you buy, remember that you can sell it for close to what you pay for it if you take care of it.

 

[fried1765]

I love my backhoe and use it all the time on my small lot in the city. I rarely use a shovel or a pick axe. I don't bend and lift anything. I don't pull on posts or rocks. I bend to attach chains and that's about it. The backhoe does the rest.

I don't need a jack for trailer tires or moving trailers around. I didn't lift the 100lb propane cylinders off my trailer to prepare for the hurricane. The backhoe did it. It also moves 400lb generators much easier than crappy run flat wheels.

Some things a loader will do but the loader doesn't work side to side. It also can't get into smaller spaces or dig. I removed a 40ft palm tree with the backhoe. I didn't even get dirty.

It takes time to get used to but it happens fast. It also rips out old chain link fencing like nothing. Bushes, trees, branches, things with stickers and other stuff I don't want to touch.

Posts in quickrete? No problem. No prybars, or anything like that. Logs, cynder blocks, brick bats. Anytime I need them.

I wouldn't want a smaller one. My kioti 45hp is just right. The backhoe will lift the tractor up and I can move around with it if necessary. It's good for compacting the dumpster too.

It's not perfect for everything but good for many things and saves my back and hands so many times.

Everytime I use it I think how long would it have taken to do this with a shovel and how tired would I be?

Kioti tractor backhoe on VimeoView attachment 620648View attachment 620649

You NEED a thumb!
If only a mechanical thumb.
You need a thumb!

 

[fried1765]

I do not have a 3 point backhoe like you are looking for and I have never used one. I do have a full sized 1989 Ford 555E 2wd backhoe that has 80 hp and 10,000 pounds of bucket force when digging. According to your link, that 3 point backhoe has 3,000 pounds of bucket force.

In the summer when my red clay is super dry, it also becomes extremely hard. My backhoe weighs 14,000 pounds. It struggles to break through the top six to 12 inches of clay. Once I get down to softer soil, it digs fine, but breaking through that crust takes a lot of effort. Since I do not know what your soil is like there, and if you will be digging during the hot/dry part of the year, I think it's important to consider how useful the 3 point backhoe attachment will be during those conditions. The same applies to digging out trees and stumps. In summer, it's a battle with smaller trees breaking off instead of coming out. In the cooler wetter months, I dig through the dirt easily and pop out trees one after another without much effort. It's night and day how well it works from dry to softer soil conditions.

I bought my backhoe with 1,800 hours on it and I'm getting close to 9,000 hours on it now. When it finally wears out, I will buy another. There is nothing that comes close to it in all that it can do. From digging out trees and ditches, to moving dirt and spreading it out by back dragging he soil with the front bucket, to putting on the grapple and cleaning up the trees that I've removed, to putting on the hay spear and feeding my horses round bales. Tires are better then tracks for getting around the land.

An excavator will out dig a backhoe. From what I understand, and 50 hp excavator is close to what a full sized backhoe in digging power, but the excavator has that 360 degree swing, and more stable with the tracks and a blade for smaller excavators, and sheer weight in bigger excavators. That swing would come in handy a lot of the time and it's something that I wish for fairly often, but don't want to pay for. An excavator also lacks the usefulness of having tires and a one yard or bigger front bucket. For me, that's a huge difference!!!

I can't imagine owning land without the backhoe, I use it for too many things to ever try to live without it.

If all you are doing is digging out some ditches, then renting might be a good option if you have the time. But if you are going to do other things on your land, owning allows you to do it when you have the time, and not stress over getting it done before the rental time is up. Hiring it out is another option, but rarely cost effective.

And if you buy, remember that you can sell it for close to what you pay for it if you take care of it.

^^^^^^ DITTO !!!

 

[grsthegreat]

I do not have a 3 point backhoe like you are looking for and I have never used one. I do have a full sized 1989 Ford 555E 2wd backhoe that has 80 hp and 10,000 pounds of bucket force when digging. According to your link, that 3 point backhoe has 3,000 pounds of bucket force.

In the summer when my red clay is super dry, it also becomes extremely hard. My backhoe weighs 14,000 pounds. It struggles to break through the top six to 12 inches of clay. Once I get down to softer soil, it digs fine, but breaking through that crust takes a lot of effort. Since I do not know what your soil is like there, and if you will be digging during the hot/dry part of the year, I think it's important to consider how useful the 3 point backhoe attachment will be during those conditions. The same applies to digging out trees and stumps. In summer, it's a battle with smaller trees breaking off instead of coming out. In the cooler wetter months, I dig through the dirt easily and pop out trees one after another without much effort. It's night and day how well it works from dry to softer soil conditions.

I bought my backhoe with 1,800 hours on it and I'm getting close to 9,000 hours on it now. When it finally wears out, I will buy another. There is nothing that comes close to it in all that it can do. From digging out trees and ditches, to moving dirt and spreading it out by back dragging he soil with the front bucket, to putting on the grapple and cleaning up the trees that I've removed, to putting on the hay spear and feeding my horses round bales. Tires are better then tracks for getting around the land.

An excavator will out dig a backhoe. From what I understand, and 50 hp excavator is close to what a full sized backhoe in digging power, but the excavator has that 360 degree swing, and more stable with the tracks and a blade for smaller excavators, and sheer weight in bigger excavators. That swing would come in handy a lot of the time and it's something that I wish for fairly often, but don't want to pay for. An excavator also lacks the usefulness of having tires and a one yard or bigger front bucket. For me, that's a huge difference!!!

I can't imagine owning land without the backhoe, I use it for too many things to ever try to live without it.

If all you are doing is digging out some ditches, then renting might be a good option if you have the time. But if you are going to do other things on your land, owning allows you to do it when you have the time, and not stress over getting it done before the rental time is up. Hiring it out is another option, but rarely cost effective.

And if you buy, remember that you can sell it for close to what you pay for it if you take care of it.

Couldn't agree more. I used to lease a 4x4 version of one like yours with an extenda hoe. It had 6 control sticks to operate. Took a long learning curve to operate it effortlessly. I used it for quite some time and was thinking of purchasing it after lease expired, but then i got onto an excavator that i rented to do a parking lot lighting job. Had 2 stick control and incredible depth reach without the need for extenda hoe feature. While i couldn't justify buying or leasing one of them (mainly due to transporting it issues) i decided not to buy the extenda hoe.

The last Cat backhoe i rented also had a 2 stick control, was pretty easy to operate, but i missed the ease of swing and maneuverability of the excavator. the only reason i went backhoe for rental, i needed the bucket to load fills onto dumptruck. Cant load anything with an excavator efficiently (at least I can't. ive seen others do it a whole lot faster than i thought could be possible). I had lots of separate holes to dig for pole lighting job.

For me personally, if i could find a lightly used mini excavator i might buy it. I still stop and look at units i see for sale. Prices arn't too unreasonable. But my problem is there usually used to death. I'm not a mechanic.

A pto powered backhoe is pretty easy to maintain. A full sized backhoe or real excavator gets pretty dang complicated.

For the time being ill keep renting. Those machines are usually no more than 2 years old.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have enjoyed my TLB for about 9 years now. It may set for weeks or even months in winter and not be needed. But it is there for me when I need it. It would take half a day for me to get a rental (assuming one would be available) back to my house and then about the same to load up and take back. Many of my jobs are just minutes long, sometimes half a day. I managed to put on over 600 hours with it since I got it in 2010.
Even though it may set in the shed for weeks or months without moving, I wouldn't think of selling it. Many of the things that it has done just wouldn't have gotten done if I had to rent. I used to dig out exposed rocks with the FEL on my other tractor, but that was a PIA, left a big hole to fill back in and really didn't do the FEL any good either. It is always much better to use the right tool for the job.
In the OP case, I would continue to look for a used full size TLB-assuming you still cant afford a compact with a backhoe as stated in your first post. A full size industrial size hoe with 9000 hours or so should be reasonably priced around $5K around here. If you can find one with minimal cylinder seal leakage but worn pins you could fix that easily with your machine shop. With exception of the swing cylinders, the rest can be removed easily and repaired to stop leaks. A good Motor and transmission are main issues that need to be determined and if you can find one in good shape engine and transmission wise, the sloppy bucket can be fixed.
I would certainly keep looking for a good used one at a good price.

 

[Newby first timer]

You NEED a thumb!
If only a mechanical thumb.
You need a thumb!

Yep
I have the Hydro . Thumb and man can it do some work

 

[Budweiser John]

Point being, different strokes for different folks.
I’ve owned a sub frame mount New Holland back hoe married up th a TC45D 4WD tractor for 16 years. Along the way I built a 6 wheel dedicated dolly to store the unit on and aid in it’s attachment and removal from the tractor. This combo is not a commercial duty machine but over the years has saved countless hours of hand digging and the convince of having the unit available to uncover an emergency leak,, repair a blown out field drain, or bury a deceased animal has proven to be invaluable.
On those occasions when bigger iron is needed I will either rent a mini excavator or call in the big guns.

B. John

 

[fried1765]

Yep
I have the HydroView attachment 620774View attachment 620776. Thumb and man can it do some work

That is a rather unconventional looking thumb, but I suspect that it does work just fine.