Backhoe Is your backhoe worth it over the long-haul?

[mrutkaus]

There's a book out, "Blink" I think (no rhyme intended), and some some research out just recently on making complicated decisions, the jist of it is for complicated things like this you let your subconscious do it. For simpler things like which wrench to buy, you think hard consciouslly about it.

Mike

 

[LBrown59]

Hi witel,
I'm glad you have done your homework and the vision to foresee future projects on your property.
Now, in your your first post you said this...
-OR- should I rent one when I need it knowing that I'll eventually pay so much for the rental that I could have bought a backhoe.
I just love this statement you made and it's so true...
From reading other posts, I've noticed the trend to spend other people's money. Nice!
However, in this case if you decide to buy a backhoe, you will be money ahead, that is, in owning another implement after all is said and done. Especially should you decide to sell it after you break even. I doubt that you will though, there are constant uses for the backhoe that you might not even have thought about yet. That one time you need it is worth it when it's sitting back there in your shed.

Or allready on the tractor ready to go.

 

[LBrown59]

Not sure how much use you'd have for a backhoe in your situation, so I'll leave the suggestions to the folks with stables, etc.

I didn't buy a BX23 because my neighbor had a BX22, and he told me I could use it whenever I needed a backhoe. I ended up using his machine a ton, and also rented a JD110 twice, and a smaller Allmond backhoe once - all of that in an 18 month period. In my case,

* I could have easily justified the cost of buying a backhoe.
*I will want to upgrade my subcompact a size or two if I find a larger property.


And where you are building your house, you will have a lot of rock that you may want to dig up, move, restack, build retaining or landscape walls with, etc.

*I wanted one was all the justification I needed.
*I don't up grad just add to.

 

[LBrown59]

While what Brian H says is true, it's still nice to be able to hop on my tractor anytime I want and go out to dig for an hour or so without knowing I have to my a** off for a whole day to get my money's worth.

I wouldn't miss my BH any more than I'd miss my car.

 

[LBrown59]

Yow! Now that's deep!

I agree that reach is a very important factor. My old hoe can dig 14' and the reach is 17? 19?. Hard to remember. Anyway, that sounds like a lot, but it's never enough! The back side of the hole slopes too much, the spoils pile is to big too close to the tractor, etc. But, if you have too much weight out too far the tractor can get tippy.

The other important thing is how much the bucket can hold. That relates to how many scoops it takes to dig a hole and how big of a rock you can get out (without a thumb). Thumbs are the cats meow when it comes to making a hoe more usefull for non-digging uses. (wish this hoe had one...) But, it was cheaper to go from a 12" wide bucket that holds 1.9 cuft to a 36" bucket that holds about 8 cu ft.



jb

The BH bucket on my BX23 holds 5 shovel fulls.

 

[LBrown59]

Do people find that the smaller backhoes(6'-7' digging depth) to be significantly less useful than the bigger ones(8-9 ft depth). I am thinking about purchasing a smaller one, but am worried that I won't be able to do the some things(septic tanks, etc). However the smaller ones are smaller, lighter, and less hard on the tractor, and are able to do almost all the things I have seen listed. I have a 4000 lb 45 hp HST.

Chris

Reach for digging and reach for dumping will proably come into play more often than digging depth.

 

[john_bud]

The BH bucket on my BX23 holds 5 shovel fulls.

Ah yes, that brings it back down to reality~


jb

 

[Rick Jay]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I've been active on this great forum. As a refresher, I have a Kubota B2910 with a Woods 7500 backhoe. Oh....I live on 2/3 of an acre!

Our ground is clay with rocks, a pick ax is usually required to dig any type of hole in the ground. I NEEDED (wanted) a backhoe...it just happened to require a 30hp diesel tractor to power it!

Is it worth it over the long haul? For me, yes. But that goes for the overall purchase. I've used the backhoe for many things I never even thought of back when I bought it. Mine spends a lot of time sitting around. Heck...I bought my B2910 new in June 2000 and I still have less than 200 hours on her. But considering the work I've done with it in that time, it's well worth it.

Once you have one, you won't want to be without one. If you can justify even 1/3 of the cost of a backhoe with current projects in mind, I believe you'll easily justify it's cost over the long haul. My recommendation is to get the biggest one you can afford. For my purposes, I've had several times where I could've used something with a little more reach. As LBrown59 stated, moreso for reach on the surface and dumping rather than digging depth.

~Rick

 

[Volfandt]

Was out doing some fence row cleaning and got some valuable aide from my BH in cutting up some firewood and collecting up and transporting the debris back to the burn pile.
The BH w/thumb easily picks up and holds trees and large branches for easy cutting. It's like having another helper, a stong helper
The BH ain't no grapple but it easily collected up the debris and held it as I carried it back to the burn pile, all without having to leave the seat
I know I already said a BH was worth it over the long haul in a previous post but thought I'd add to it along with a few pics of the BH keeping my back pain free

 

[Kendall69]

I won’t go into the hundreds of uses for the backhoe, but the payback does come quick.

Like others rental is $300 - $400, a day, but that’s just the beginning. Like others have said damage waiver etc.

Now comes availability, seems every time I needed one so did everyone else, secondly delivery times, I always go a lot of “Oh, sorry the last job took longer than we thought”

Now there’s the usage factor. I never ever have a full days use of a backhoe, because it does so much work, a few hours here and there gets the job done.

At $350/day I’ll get my money back after 20 days work (7K), then the next 20 days work I put (7K) back in my pocket- the next 20 days I make (7k), and on and on and on. Then when I’m done with it, I sell it for 3.5K.

So nowhere on the planet can you get the use of a backhoe for 3.5k for three years, well worth it.