To hoe, or not to hoe...

[bironacad]

Every other year I had a guy come in and move stuff with his backhoe/loader and for the money I couldn't justify buying one but I did, why? Last year he wanted $750 to keep my drive clean so.... I bought a tractor with as many toys as I could get away with.:laughing: My hoe has a thumb and I can't wait to play. There are a few rocks my mower will not miss once removed for sure, lol, life is short, have some fun. I will never break even though

My cousin says he read on a thread here that some guys biggest fear is that when he dies his wife will sell his stuff for what he told her he paid for it.:thumbsup: go figure.

 

[Mousefield]

Every other year I had a guy come in and move stuff with his backhoe/loader and for the money I couldn't justify buying one but I did, why? Last year he wanted $750 to keep my drive clean so.... I bought a tractor with as many toys as I could get away with.:laughing: My hoe has a thumb and I can't wait to play. There are a few rocks my mower will not miss once removed for sure, lol, life is short, have some fun. I will never break even though

My cousin says he read on a thread here that some guys biggest fear is that when he dies his wife will sell his stuff for what he told her he paid for it.:thumbsup: go figure.

That's PRICELESS (pun intended). :laughing:

 

[glkingar]

Mine came with a Bradco that mounts on a subframe. So I have to remove the lift arms but can leave the 3PH arms in place. Now to get to the question. I love my BH and look for reasons to use it. Don't tell anyone but sometimes I will go out and dig a hole to just fill it up again. I still have a ton of stumps to pull/dig out. My Mom's water line recently started leaking and I was sure glad I had it since the soil in NW Arkansas is mostly rock and clay.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

That's PRICELESS (pun intended). :laughing:

+1 :laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[sixdogs]

Had one in the past and sold it after I was all done and would never need it again. Yeah, right.
Now have a Deere 790 TLB and just when I think I'm done, another use comes up.
As others have mentioned, mine has more than paid for itself.

 

[sailorman]

So I have to remove the lift arms but can leave the 3PH arms in place.

What am I missing here ? How many arms do you have back there ? What is the difference between lift arms and 3PH arms ? Something to do with arms on a backhoe ?

 

[Whitey]

I find that a backhoe is a great asset to have if you are the type that wants to be able to fix anything that goes wrong on your property. I have owned two CUTs over the past 10 years and were they both were equipped with backhoes. I have installed new rain water conductors, repaired setic laterals, put electric into buildings, cut a new drive way, etc. It gives you the ability to dig anything that you want by yourself. The JD I owned was a frame mount that was quick disconnect.......it was convienent but you need some extra room to store. My current machine (Kubota) can dissconnect but I choose to leave it on all the time. One more thing.......if you can buy a used one.......in good condition.

 

[fredhargis]

I love my BH and look for reasons to use it. Don't tell anyone but sometimes I will go out and dig a hole to just fill it up again.

I had a neighbor a little like that, only he'd dig holes and not fill them up :laughing:, now his 10 acre lot looks like a mini-mountain rangc.

 

[sal64]

Does anyone regret their backhoe purchase? Maybe found out you don't use it nearly as much as you thought. Are they hard to use? Hard to move on/off when you want to use another attachment?

i vote no to a hoe, i bought a hoe for my jd990 about 3yrs ago used it first yr about 12hrs, now it sits for 2yrs in my dads barn becase there isnt enough room in my barn.

 

[Rand]

Purchased a bh for my 2305 and don't regret my decision. It's not something I use often, but is sure nice to have. Again, as others have offered, it's many times a "want" and not necesarily a "need" for most people. I have a 50 acre hunting camp and it sure comes in handy each year. We also live in an area with really tough tough hardpan soils. I'm physically no longer up to digging holes and the bh allows me greater independence, without having to wait and rely on others. However, if you can find a local fellow with a backhoe that works cheaply, then you might choose to forgo this expensive implement. I guess it finally depends on your finances and requirements of your property.