Considering a Backhoe Purchase

[TnAndy]

I was inquiring about having a backhoe installed when I bought my tractor new and the Kubota salesman pointed me at a backhoe they rent and said "I would love to sell you a backhoe for $9k but you can rent that one over there for $300 for the weekend"

And he did you a favor......

Anyone considering buying one ought to rent a machine of similar size to what they have or are considering.

Once you experience how under powered they are, how you dig 4-5' of trench, then have to get off the backhoe seat, climb in the tractor seat, move the tractor 4-5', climb off and back into the backhoe seat, and so on and so on.....then factor a 5-9k price tag into the number of days you might actually use the backhoe ($9,000 / $150day rental in the above = 60 days to break even), you've got enough to make a more informed decision.

The UPside is they make a great counterweight for stuff you're lifting on the front end !

 

[fried1765]

A setup like that might be a poor use of funds (I can't speak to that) but the idea of getting/having a backhoe itself is something that I greatly agree with. I've done all sorts of odd things with mine (which admittedly might be a bit larger than some found on this forum)

To be a bit blunt, I find my backhoe itself near indispensable. I probably use it 70/80% of the time over my loader.

I totally agree!
My Kubota L48 (11' dig) is not as big as a JCB, but it is a suitable size for doing REAL WORK.
The rental theory really does not work.
I use my TLB less than 20 hours per year.
When you need a TLB, are you actually going to rent it for that 1-2 hour job?
Then too......how will you transport it?
Do you have an adequate size trailer (I actually do)?

I have had a TLB for my personal use (Ford-10' dig) for the last 33 years.
I never want to be without a real TLB!
It is the handiest tool I have ever owned.

 

[tradosaurus]

All good points. I'm close enough to a tractor dealer that rents a backhoe that they will deliver.

At what size of tractor is it worth buying a backhoe to do decent work? 48hp?

I've heard that once you utilize something like a mini-excavator you will not be as pleased with a frame mounted backhoe on a small tractor.

 

[fried1765]

All good points. I'm close enough to a tractor dealer that rents a backhoe that they will deliver.

At what size of tractor is it worth buying a backhoe to do decent work? 48hp?

I've heard that once you utilize something like a mini-excavator you will not be as pleased with a frame mounted backhoe on a small tractor.

Mini for ONLY trenching?
Absolutely!
How can you move even a few yards of material more than 30' with a mini though?
By definition, a TLB has a LOADER with bucket, specifically for moving material from "A" to "B"!
A TLB is a Swiss Army knife equivalent.

 

[DK35vince]

All good points. I'm close enough to a tractor dealer that rents a backhoe that they will deliver.

At what size of tractor is it worth buying a backhoe to do decent work? 48hp?

I've heard that once you utilize something like a mini-excavator you will not be as pleased with a frame mounted backhoe on a small tractor.

I have an 8 1/2' digging depth backhoe with 11 foot of reach. With a 12", 18" and 36" bucket I use on my 35 HP tractor.
Works great and plenty of power for anything I have ever needed to do (thousands of feet of water line , electric line, drainage pipe, culvert pipe, drainage ditch's, tree stumps, steep bank removal, dig the foundation for a pole barn, Etc. Etc.)
Ready to be used any time I need it at my convenience , without the hassle of renting and trailering for every project.

 

[PrevNuru]

Yep, and I am aware.

 

[rScotty]

I used a 3pt mounted backhoe of about that size for 20+ years on a variety of tractors. For my uses it was fine. The bigger the tractor the better. It was size-matched to a 20/25 hp compact, but I liked to run my little 3pt hoe of about 375A size on a Catagory II 3pt. tractor with 40 hp. Not for the HP, but for the heavier 3pt and greater tractor weight. Even a little hoe will throw a large tractor around. Danger! On Ag tractors, Make SURE that you turn OFF the DRAFT Control on the tractor when using the 3pt hoe!!

Run the 3pt hoe at slowish RPM. I normally use tractor idle speed or slightly above. The hoe just isn't made to slam around. And always keep in mind that it is made for digging straight off the back of the tractor. As long as you can get into that positon then it will do surprising work. For something that needs a lot of side pressure or off-axis digging like digging out stumps or digging off to the side like working on an embankment then you would probably want a different tool just because you spend so much time repositioning the 3pt hoe. But for digging trenches or anytime the alternative is doing the job by hand then it is a wonderful tool. And once you have one, it is always there when you want to work. For me, that's important.

You do just have to work within the capabilities. A 3pt hoe isn't like a real frame-mounted backhoe which can lift the whole tractor for repositioning. You can't do that. Oh, the backhoe might do it, but that's the kind of stress that breaks things on the tractor. And the 3pt hoe doesn't like to do much side-sweeping motion. The 3pt backhoe is very good for straight line trenching, or digging holes in the ground directly behind the tractor, or even working as a boom lift when it can be squared up to the work. It's main limitation is always that you have to get off and reposition it often because the 3pt hoe wants to be set up to work straight off the back of the tractor. I'm trying to say that it will certainly swing to dump a a bucket of dirt off to the side, but it doesn't want to put a lot of downpressure or do much digging when swung off to the side. If you hit a big rock the little hoe can lift it surprisingly easily, but then it can't put it very far to the side. Doing so would twist the 3pt hitch where it connects to the tractor.

Bottom line is that with a real TLB or the best of the frame-mounted hoes you can put full backhoe force in any position that you get reach with the hoe. Not so with the 3pt hoe which works directly off the back and of course below the hoe. And the 3pt hoe needs a constant re-positioning to get into a position where you can do that. Still, it beats hand-digging by a huge amount. Where I think the 3pt hoe really excels is in trenching. For straight line trenching it is almost as good as a TLB at the digging part if you don't mind having to get off the hoe and onto the tractor every 3 to 5 feet of trench to move to a new digging position.

I'd say if you can find a good used one, buy it and try it. See if it will work for you. Good used 3pt hoes are always in demand, so you can get your money back or at least most of it. Once they lose their initial depreciation they seem to hold the same used value forever. I recommend the type that have a backhoe hydraulic pump that slips onto the PTO output shaft. That type also has a fluid reservoir within the backhoe itself so that it doesn't use the tractor hydraulics at all.
good luck, rScotty

 

[rScotty]

I totally agree!
My Kubota L48 (11' dig) is not as big as a JCB, but it is a suitable size for doing REAL WORK.
The rental theory really does not work.
I use my TLB less than 20 hours per year.
When you need a TLB, are you actually going to rent it for that 1-2 hour job?
Then too......how will you transport it?
Do you have an adequate size trailer (I actually do)?

I have had a TLB for my personal use (Ford-10' dig) for the last 33 years.
I never want to be without a real TLB!
It is the handiest tool I have ever owned.

I completely agree. It took me 40 years and many tractors & implements before I figured out that what worked best on our small acreage was NOT the popular 3pt Compact Utility tractor with the optional loader & backhoe. What really fit the jobs (mostly landscaping, not tillage) that we were doing on our small place were best done with a small construction TLB having a solidly mounted loader and hoe but with an optional 3pt hitch.

My wife wouldn't ever let us be without a small TLB with a thumb - and I feel the same. We use it for everything. If you held us to one tractor forever, it would have to be one of the mid-size Kubota TLBs with the optional 3pt kit and a thumb.
rScotty

 

[tradosaurus]

I have an 8 1/2' digging depth backhoe with 11 foot of reach. With a 12", 18" and 36" bucket I use on my 35 HP tractor.
Works great and plenty of power for anything I have ever needed to do (thousands of feet of water line , electric line, drainage pipe, culvert pipe, drainage ditch's, tree stumps, steep bank removal, dig the foundation for a pole barn, Etc. Etc.)
Ready to be used any time I need it at my convenience , without the hassle of renting and trailering for every project.

For me I don't have a pressing need for one. I like the convenience of being able to drive an excavator to the spot and digging without all the set up of a backhoe on the back of a tractor.

 

[Richard]

Get one of each & make it a collection