Mini Excavator ,or Small Backhoe

[kenmac]

I'm looking to buy either a small backhoe ,or small mini excavator to use around the farm.
I'm leaning toward a mini ex.

Pros of mini ex: more powerful hydraulics , can lift more, spin 360 deg., can add thumb as it is plumbed with aux hydraulics
cons; only moves at a snail's pace about 3 mph.


small backhoe pros.. can move around the farm much faster, also has front bucket
cons; weaker hydraulics, can't lift as much, can't dig as deep as mini ex, not plumbed with aux hydraulics

What are your thoughts ?

 

[bdog]

I recently got a Deere 35G mini ex. I love the thing. I had a full size backhoe prior to this and for what I do the mini runs circles around the backhoe. They fit anywhere, are very maneuverable, and being able to rotate 360 is amazing. They do move slow but I can get anywhere on my property in 15 minutes with it so not too bad.

With my backhoe it was a pain getting it in the right spot and setting the outriggers and then most the time I couldn’t get the dirt where I wanted due to the limited swing so I ended up moving it twice.

Just today I was digging right along and parallel to a fence. I was able to swing the boom and have the bucket digging a couple inches from the fence. No way I could have done that with a backhoe. I went crazy with buckets too I have a 12”, 18”, 24”, 34” no teeth and 48” no teeth. The smooth buckets are awesome for grading and moving loose material.

 

[kenmac]

I recently got a Deere 35G mini ex.

Got my eye on a Terex TC35

 

[4570Man]

It seems like you understand the pros and cons of both machines. Would you rather have the better digger or the more versatile machine. I’ve dug about a 300 yard ditch with a mini and mucked a small pond with a mini and that’s about the extent of my experience with one. I think I could have finished the ditch faster with a comparable strength backhoe. The mini would have no doubt dug the ditch faster, but I’d have made up the lost time filling it back in. The excavator is the only practical way to muck a pond so it’s the clear winner there.

 

[cabinhollow]

I got a Kubota KH90, 2 1/2 years ago. Older mini, with cab. The engine had been replaced with a low hour, 39 hp one.
One of my best buys. I have a tractor with a FEL, so I use them together.

 

[kevin37b]

Mini x all the way .

 

[fried1765]

I'm looking to buy either a small backhoe ,or small mini excavator to use around the farm.
I'm leaning toward a mini ex.

Pros of mini ex: more powerful hydraulics , can lift more, spin 360 deg., can add thumb as it is plumbed with aux hydraulics
cons; only moves at a snail's pace about 3 mph.


small backhoe pros.. can move around the farm much faster, also has front bucket
cons; weaker hydraulics, can't lift as much, can't dig as deep as mini ex, not plumbed with aux hydraulics

What are your thoughts ?

It really depends on your individual situation.

I have a medium size Ford TLB with turf tires.
I can go anywhere on my (12 ac.) property, including the lawn, and not make a mess.
The TLB also has a (5/8 cu Yd.?) bucket, and forks.
I actually use the forks at least as much as the bucket.
I have a manual thumb, but never use it.
I do have another Ford FEL, but for the versatility, I would never surrender my TLB.
If your projected projects are not huge, a TLB is the way to go.
If the projects are big, a mini will likely be too small anyway.

 

[Langanobob]

I have both, a mini excavator and a SCUT TLB. You pretty much nailed it in your original post. For trenching the only mini excavator drawback I can think of is they are painfully slow moving around, at least mine is. If your mini ex has a small pusher blade that’s also very useful.

If I had to choose betwen the two for general purpose use I’d pick the TLB due to the loader bucket and ease and speed of moving around.

 

[bdog]

As much as I love my mini x I wouldn’t get one unless you had something else with a FEL. A FEL is about the most useful thing to have around the place. My skid steer has been tied up all week holding up something over an area we poured concrete on and I am waiting on it to cure before we can lower it and use the skid steer. We had to get by this week working with only the mini x. I welded a hook on one of the buckets and used it to carry around the engine drive welder, I used the 48” bucket to move 3yards of dirt about 150’, etc.

Having owned many machines including a Kubota M59 TLB and a Deere 310 backhoe and now the mini I have a pretty good grasp on what each will do. A backhoe will do pretty much everything but is not the best at it. A skid steer will run circles around a backhoe for loader work and an excavator will outperform a backhoe for digging. If you can only have one machine though a backhoe will do most things for you. My biggest complaint with my backhoes was getting them in tight places with the backhoe in the right position to be able to dig.

 

[laurencen]

when I purchased the CK20 I also got the backhoe with 9 and 12 inch bucket, after I tried to put a electrical line to my workshop using the backhoe it took forever and little bit at a time I picked up a backhoe for the Bobcat, way better but getting on and off plus moving it around I bit the bullet anf got the Bobcat 430 mini, no cab and I must say it made short work of trenching, tree and root removal.

last year I upgraded to the Bobcat E32 with cab, slow moving but when it gets to the worksite its a beast