Tractor Sizing Subcompact with Backhoe, or Compact without.

[ShenandoahBolens]

Mr. ShanandoahBolens,

For what it is worth, I have been cutting down trees and digging up stumps around my pastures for almost 2 years. (I have 160 acres, 80 acres pasture and 80 acres wooded.) I have a stump bucket that attaches to my FEL to dig up the stumps. When I had a lot of work to do that may have been done by a backhoe, I instead rented a mini-excavator from Home Depot for a week for $1000. I used it to dig out the ditches around my property, as I had some really wet pastures caused by poor drainage. I got everything done in less than a week. Do you think you could get everything dug up on your acreage in a week's time? The nice thing about a mini-excavator is that it is easier to move from one spot to the next than it is with a tractor and backhoe. Plus, you have to take the backhoe off every time you want to mow with your tractor. I suspect that if you buy a backhoe you will use it quite a bit and then after that not much at all.

But take this from someone who has never owned a backhoe. Many folks on this forum love them, as best as I can tell.

Senile Texas Aggie

That's not a bad idea. I'm pretty handy with a chainsaw and I could go through and take down all the trees I'm looking to remove, cut up the excess wood, and just leave 4-5 foot high stumps which I could use the excavator to remove. If I did it that way, I'm sure I could make do with a 1 week rental of a mini-ex

 

[SenileTexasAggie]

One idea I forgot to mention is that if you get a 3rd funtion valve installed, then you can get a tree shear for the front. Using a tree shear you can cut down the tree practically at ground level, leaving the stump there, as it is not in the way most off the time. One thing nice about a tree shear is that you can use it to trim or cut off limbs. Then you can get a grapple to pick up the trees and limbs that you cut down and pile them up or chip them up in a wood chipper. I have all 3 of these implements and I love them!

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[PEJ5]

Hey Guys,

...snip...My neighbor has a large New Holland backhoe and is more than happy to help out when needed, but my dilemma is which option is more suited to my tasks.

I am still back at this valuable statement - a neighbor more than happy to help out with his backhoe. When I was shopping for a used tractor, a BH was on the list. When a great heavy tractor at a great price fell into my lap, the BH requirement faded. I have two small jobs that require a BH and I too have a neighbour with one. On the other hand, I have had many jobs that required some weight, strength, clearance, and slope stability. My pallet forks are my number 1 attachment and the tractor can handle them.

Buy the bigger tractor and attachments that will get most of your jobs done. It you actually come up with a BH job on your property that would cost you $5K to have done, then you can justify a BH. In the meantime let your neighbour have that fun. I agree with the comment above, you'd use them more often at first, then not so much.

 

[dodge man]

I think you will find that people that have a backhoe will say how the great they are and you can’t live without them. People that don’t have one will say they are a waste of money and rent something when you need it.

 

[Diggin It]

I am still back at this valuable statement - a neighbor more than happy to help out with his backhoe.

I prefer not to lean on others too much. 'Happy to help' can get worn out fairly easily.

 

[rScotty]

Get the BX with FEL and backhoe. It will actually be heavier then a G214. The FEL alone doubles the usefulness, backhoe almost triples it. Backhoe has a high initial cost, but retains a huge part of its value if you resell, even 10 years from now. The SCUT will just take longer then a CUT do do a job. If you are removing a lot of tress and can't burn, get a chipper.

I agree with that. The world changed for us when we got a 4wd subcompact with a loader...and then changed even more with the backhoe. We have a bigger one now (more land) but we used to have 3 acres and a tiny BH on a 15hp subcompact with loader. If you get a thumb on the backhoe it will also be useful as a crane that easily lifts everything that you used to have to lift with muscle power. I'd go small and versatile everytime.

you'll get your money back, too.

The whole key here is that you are not in a hurry and want to enjoy the work. The smallest subcompact made working at an older guy's pace is still equivalent to a couple of muscle bound guys working full speed...
rScotty