I have a factory-installed one on my 2000 T354. I was actually looking for a smaller tractor with a backhoe but was not in stock. They offered to sell me a tractor without the backhoe and I could pick up the backhoe when it came in. And install it myself or pay them $1k to install it. I ended up buying the T354 with a backhoe already installed instead. Have not regretted it. And glad I bought it. As the T354 was much more capable than the smaller tractor.
I am a very mechanical person (aircraft mechanic for over 25 years). The BY75 backhoe is I believe 1,100 lbs fully assembled. So you will need some sort of lifting device to assemble one. I would think a 3pt boom or even the loader would suffice. Once assembled, getting it on and off the tractor is done with it's own hydraulics. So some sort of lifting equipment would only be needed for assembly. Not sure what that entails though. If it's mostly assembled, or totally apart. I would guess at a minimum the main backhoe assembly is separate from the sub-frame. It is extremely long when together and I am sure prohibitive shipping wise fully assembled.
You will need a good collection of tools. At my 50hr service which I did myself. I went over the tractor checking for loose bolts and such. And found almost all the backhoe sub-frame mounts on the tractor itself were loose, with some bolts ready to come off. To tighten some of the bolts were challenging and had to make several trips to my tool box to get combinations of tools to get into some of the tight places.
As for the digging power of the backhoe, I don't have a lot of experience with heavy equipment to compare too. But consider the BY75 as a "homeowners" type tool. For example this past summer I took out 2 evergreen shrubs / trees on each corner at the front of my house. They were both about 17' tall about 8' round at the base. It took me about an hour to fully pull each stump from the ground with the backhoe. Basically, it was not strong enough to just get under the stump and lift it out breaking the roots. Had to go around and dig around each major root and break them. My ground here in Maine is very rocky soil.
I am glad I bought the backhoe with the tractor. But I do realize it has limitations. But for me I believe it was a worthwhile investment. As for price, the backhoe added $6,300 to the cost of the tractor vs same tractor without one purchasing it new. This was June 2020 purchased from TYM dealer in Maine that gives a pretty good discount from list prices on new units. Though they do not give discounts off list on accessories after the fact.
www.ocalatractor.com
