Backhoe Learning to use backhoe

[harpoonalt]

I would rent a small bobcat style excavator, you can move down the line much faster than you can with a tractor mounted hoe. Depending on the unit the boom is longer which gives you greater digging distance which equals less time spent moving the unit, and swival time is faster. Find out what they have for you and do a little research before you pick it up.

this is what im talking about and he is 6 years old

YouTube - 6YR OLD OPERATOR EXCAVATOR 331E

I've used a tractor mounted backhoe and they can be a pain to do long trenches. Dig, get off, move the tractor, repeat until done. The style in the video works slick. Dig, move, dig, move. The time saved is huge. With the tractor, we finally had one of us run the backhoe and the other move the tractor. It's not hard to learn, but some people pick it up faster than others. You'll have a full day but it'll be a lot of fun. Let us know how it goes and as always......We love pictures!

 

[kennyd]

Since you already have a tractor/loader, I would suggest a mini-excavator. they rent for about $350 a day here. At my rental place...if you pick up after 12p on Saturday, you don't have to have it back till Monday morning before 9a for the 1 day rental price.. Like getting a extra 1/3 or 3/4 day for free

 

[newbury]

The rental/delivery for the backhoe for one day will be $400 - $500. Getting a excavator to come out and do the work will be around double the DIYS method.

You should plan on throwing away about a $1000 for this job. If the weather is good and nothing goes wrong you should be able to get it done in a day if your back doesn't give out moving pipe or whatever. Or you could go for the sure kill and hire someone.

Now if you put that $1K towards a BH for your beautiful tractor (if that's the tractor http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...pictures-you-your-tractor-15.html#post1747185 ) you then have a handy ballast and a BH to use any time. But then I'm biased, and backhoed.

 

[wedge40]

Not sure if things are the same in the great white north, but here we can get a one day rental buy having them drop the unit off Friday afternoon and picking it up Monday morning. That would give you two whole days to do this job. If it were me I'd rent a mini excavator, since you're not going to be doing any stumping I'd say 3 ton or less should be fine. These will have long reach and can dig quite deep. I just rented a 3 ton to dig stumps and was very impressed. Got the unit for a week at 900 bucks.

Wedge

 

[DmansPadge]

I would definitely suggest renting an excavator instead of a loader/backhoe. Also the idea of getting it for Saturday afternoon and having it until Monday morning is a good way to go. Just make sure to see how the rental agreement reads because a lot of rentals actually go by machine hours. One day is 8 hours, a week 40 hrs, etc.

 

[MarkV]

I sure would be tempted to do some calling and see what someone would come out and cut your ditch with a trencher would cost. You only have a 150' of trench and that would be less than half a days work here. Well within what your rental fee is going to be. Even the power co-op, considered the most expensive, charge $1.25 per foot for trenching. Let them do the hand digging to your connection point. Many plumbing companies have their own trenchers. Of course your Maine rocks may make things different than here and they will also make the backhoe work different than here.

MarkV

 

[WVBill]

Not sure if things are the same in the great white north, but here we can get a one day rental buy having them drop the unit off Friday afternoon and picking it up Monday morning.
Wedge

That's what I did when I dug the footers for my 24' x 24' workshop building a couple of years ago.

I got a bobcat mini excavator for the whole weekend for the one day rate of $600.

Never run a backhoe or excavator before so I taught myself. Completed the dig in 2 days (total 8.5 hours on the excavator clock). Actually managed to dig some pretty level footers too.

 

[budlite]

I've done this in the past year, although I did not have to go 4 ft deep. A mini-excavator is definitely superior to a backhoe for a long trench. With a BH you dig, raise the stablizer & bucket, move to the driver's station and move the tractor, then repeat every 10 ft or so. I think mine costs $350 for 8 hrs and that included pickup and delivery to my home about 12 miles from the dealer. Delivered on a Friday and picked up Monday am. Hour meter makes it easy to determine usage.

 

[MossRoad]

I rented a bobcat mini excavator for a day to dig our barn footings. I dug down 48" by 2-3 feet wide by 24' x 32' x 24' x 32'. That is 100+ feet. It took me about 2 hours. So I removed scrub trees for another 2 hours and returned the excavator for 1/2 day rental. The things are very easy to get used to. It helped that we have sand, so that sped it up a lot.

Re: Learning to use backhoe
In my situation I do not know how I could use a trencher. I built a new house last year and when I did I had the excavator bury a water line just beyond where the well is located. This water line stub is conected to a shut off valve in my basement. Unless I dig down by hand to find the buried line I need to connect to I don't know how I could use a trencher. My back goes out on a regular basis now that I am 50+. I don't mind hard work but don't need to be layed up for a another week trying to finish this project off before winter sets in.

As for a backhoe VS a trencher are you saying that your back is so bad that you cannot dig to hole near the connection end? I feel for you, having had back problems in the past. However, even with a backhoe, you are not going to be able to dig that close to the well to avoid all hand digging. Especially if you are just learning how to use the backhoe. You don't want to be learning next to your well. You may damage it. You are going to have to hand dig near it no matter what. Get a kid to do that part for you.

 

[BXpanded]

I've done this in the past year, although I did not have to go 4 ft deep. A mini-excavator is definitely superior to a backhoe for a long trench. With a BH you dig, raise the stablizer & bucket, move to the driver's station and move the tractor, then repeat every 10 ft or so. I think mine costs $350 for 8 hrs and that included pickup and delivery to my home about 12 miles from the dealer. Delivered on a Friday and picked up Monday am. Hour meter makes it easy to determine usage.

Just raise the outriggers and front bucket and push the tractor along with the hoe. Obviously, the trans must be in neutral and no brakes engaged. Don't forget to steer. The front wheels still determine the direction the machine goes when you push. Find a pipeline job somewhere and watch a pro.