Buying Advice To buy or not to buy, that is the question...

   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #11  
Hi all

This is my first post but have been reading lots lately.

I'm looking for input/advise on the usefulness of purchasing a SCUT with the backhoe option. I'm not looking for this to degenerate into a conversation of which manufacturer makes the best widget. I'm looking for input from those that purchased their SCUT with the backhoe and found they really didn't need/use it and those that didn't and later regretted having not purchased the backhoe.

I'm in the market for a SCUT and am torn as to whether a backhoe will be nothing more than an overpriced ballast box or if in fact I will find more uses than I expected. Letç—´ face it, this is an expensive option and if I can put the money spent to better uses I would rather go that route. I'm really looking forward to upgrading from my current GT to something with a frontend loader, MMM and snow blower, but am totally torn on the backhoe.

Thank you in advance.

Brian
NH. is the "granite state"!
A SCUT with a backhoe in NH. would seem to be a waste of money.
If you really want a backhoe, I would think that at a minimum, you should have a 40+Hp CUT, with a sub-frame mounted backhoe.
I have an old (but sweet) 46Hp Ford TLB, for play, and I only dig in pure sand.
Sometimes, it too is not big enough.
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #12  
NH. is the "granite state"! A SCUT with a backhoe in NH. would seem to be a waste of money. If you really want a backhoe, I would think that at a minimum, you should have a 40+Hp CUT, with a sub-frame mounted backhoe. I have an old (but sweet) 46Hp Ford TLB, for play, and I only dig in pure sand. Sometimes, it too is not big enough.
Nah, I think he should buy a new fully loaded M62. 😄
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #13  
As you can see, another one of those "it depends" decisions. People can have some really strong opinions on it and it is certainly justified for many, I'm just no one of them. I'm not willing to pay a bunch of money for "handy" and we own several hundred acres of mixed woods, farm land and CRP. When my brother and I were in the process of preparing build sites he bought a used Case BH and we used the heck out of it for a while then rarely, now not at all.

We both have new tractors as well as old and when we need BH type work, we just figure all the things that need done and rent one or a mini excavator, we are way ahead financially. Yep, I still look longingly at the various TLBs and even looked at one last year, but I find I need the money more than convenience.

Off hand I can think of several other pieces of equipment I would use more than a BH, but what is best for me may well suck for someone else.

Good luck deciding.
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #14  
I had my previous tractor for several years without a backhoe. It was ok. I found an affordable hoe for it and got it. It was great. I used it a lot when I was building my house. My brother borrowed it, both my sons borrowed it, my nephew borrowed it. When my house was all done I didn't use it a lot but I did use it in my firewood cutting. I picked up logs, moved logs, loaded logs and used it to hold logs while I was cutting them.

I got a new tractor about a year or so ago and got a hoe with it. I do not use it quite as much, but when I need it, I want it. I've dug up many rocks and stumps still use it when working with my firewood. I don't see me needing it any less. I can see additional future uses as well.

It's detached most of the time except when I use it and when I use it, I'm glad I have it. Could I get along without it, yes, but I'm glad I don't have to.

I'd rather have it (today) and not need it, than need it (today) and not have it.

Take the cost of it today and average it out over the life of the tractor, and it doesn't amount to much on an annual basis for the convenience of having one.
 
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   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #15  
I use my backhoe all the time. I would sure hate to be without it. I would have been better off financially to sell the tractor after the house was completed, but I would have to do a whole lot more manual labor that way. No thanks on that I'll keep the tractor. When I need to dig a hole I can jump on the backhoe. When you need to dig a whole you can grab a shovel or drive to the rental yard and pay them about 300 bucks. If I rented a excavator ever time I couldn't get buy without one I would be financially ahead going that route. If I rented a machine every time I actually use my backhoe I would be financially ahead keeping the backhoe. I bought my backhoe attachment used for about $4,000. You can't rent a backhoe very many times for that.
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #16  
Here is one of the last things I used my backhoe for. Due to weather that is still an ongoing project. If I was renting a machine I would have postponed it to summer. Doing it like I did I would have had to rented a backhoe about 3 times. When we build our house even though we hired out the major work I still used my backhoe enough to pay for it. image-3189630993.jpg Here is my most common use for a backhoe. Sure makes cutting wood a lot easier. image-3790030170.jpg
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #17  

That's exactly what I do, as well as drag logs out of the woods with it.

As well as get rocks out of the way:

Web%20big%20rock143956806.jpg
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #18  
I'm in the "rent it if you need it" category. Sure, would have been a nice option but not enough need to justify. Have had my tractor two 1/2 years and still have no BH need great enough to justify the rental. However, I have several attachments I could not use without removing the backhoe first. So I've saved myself a lot of hassle taking the BH off and putting it back on. :D

Sent from my iPhone 2.0 using TractorByNet
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #19  
When I had a water line leak.

Did I need a backhoe, nope.
Would a shovel have worked, yes.
Would I have rented a backhoe, no.
Am I lazy and used a backhoe, yes.

image-2492789763.jpg



image-1285475708.jpg



As it turned out the line was 30 years old and had significant buildup. We decided to run a new line. That project would have required renting a trencher if we didn't have a backhoe.
 
   / To buy or not to buy, that is the question... #20  
Greetings Highland Hunter,

Last spring I bought my 1st tractor . . A scut . . Massey gc1715. I thought about a backhoe and decided against it. Today I'm glad I chose as I did because I wanted "nimble but powerful". Alot of users of backhoes seem to keep them on the unit a great deal of the time "in case they might need it". That would not be my desire to have this unit on mine all the time.

Plus you have to store it somewhere convenient. I'd rather use that space for a set of forks and a 3 pt sprayer and my fel. I use my fel alot . . But its easy to attach and detach. I cut 2 lawns of an acre. And this year I will add a mini grapple for use with my fel. That grapple will allow me to pick up rock as big as 27" . . or a log or big slice of trunk up to the same 27". That same unit will let be pull/tug a shrub out of the ground or pick up a bunch of branches. Quick, fast, convenient with my quick attach . . and its on . . Its off and takes little space and reinforces my fel focus. And when I redo part of my irrigation this year . . I'll rent a trencher for $150 a day that will let me run hundreds of feet in a few hours.

A backhoe can be a good thing . . But I'll rent a post hole digger or trencher or backhoe for occasional needs at far less cost and no space required. "Nimble and powerful" is the goal :)
 

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