Buying Advice To Backhoe, on not to Backhoe...

[Automobilist]

Having read a bunch and looked at a few different tractors, I'm leaning in the direction of a Mahindra Max 26XL, HST. Looked at the smaller, say Kubota BX series, but just not enough ground clearance.

My property: Five acres, slightly sloped,heavily treed on four acres.
Lots of woody underbrush & ferns.
Lots of downed trees, some solid and some rotting.
Lots of smaller 1-4" trees to clear out. Will have a pro come in and clear the larger trees for a building site.
Want to clear and build paths, level parking areas, etc.

The Mahindra Max 26XL looks like it's got enough size to pull trees, etc and still fit in the forest.
$16,300 with FEL & 5' box scraper.
$22,300 adding backhoe.
Don't know if I'll use the backhoe $6,000 worth!?

 

[BigBoyToys]

I wouldn't give up my backhoe for the world. It was a priority when I bought mine. You'll use it to dig out all those 1-4" stumps.

 

[joefromga]

The first time you need it you will kick yourself for not getting it.

6 grand seems like a lot until you're holding a shovel staring at a place where a hole needs to be.

I don't dig much but a backhoe can do other things too. Lift your trailer, pick up furniture, move pipes, and other things. Plus they look cool.
And sometimes dealing with rocks that are just too big to move by hand but maybe not enough room for the loader to fit. Or move concrete chunks as well.

Get it!

 

[mguitas]

I wouldn't give up my backhoe for the world. It was a priority when I bought mine. You'll use it to dig out all those 1-4" stumps.

You can dig out 4 foot stumps too, just takes a little longer.

 

[redman135]

If you need to do digging is hiring a small track excavator an option?
Is it worth hiring a pro to do the digging?
What other attatchments can you get for $6k?

 

[jeff9366]

CPENN481 shares your dilemma. The two of you have similar property and similar desires.

His thread has forty-four posts, thus far: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/354652-decisions-decisions.html

~~~A good read.

 

[davrow]

A backhoe was first on my list... I selected my tractor around that.

Is it worth 6 or 7 grand? Maybe not, but I wouldn't get a tractor without one. An only tractor, that is; additional tractors wouldn't need one.

 

[sea2summit]

A backhoe was first on my list... I selected my tractor around that.

Is it worth 6 or 7 grand? Maybe not, but I wouldn't get a tractor without one. An only tractor, that is; additional tractors wouldn't need one.

Doesn't know what he's talking about^

Both mine have a BH

 

[Qapla]

Think about this aspect too, with the backhoe on there you won't need additional ballast for the front loader.

 

[GManBart]

If the $6K won't hurt you, a BH is a very handy thing to have. In many cases I honestly think the BH is even more handy on small machines because you can get them close to stuff, drive them on the grass, etc and not tear things up. I have some plants/trees around the house that need to be replaced, and digging them by hand is going to be a pain, but putting my full-size backhoe next to the house would tear up the lawn, and I also don't want to run over the septic lines with 18,000lbs of machine. If I had a SCUT or small CUT with a BH that wouldn't be a problem.