</font><font color="blue" class="small">( my neighbor has rented small to medium sized BH's several times (before I got mine /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) and he's been floored by how capable the BH is on my "small" tractor.)</font>
<font color="black"> Steve, I won't disagree with your statements about how useful you find your backhoe, as many others agree with you and I find myself a lonely voice on TBN when it comes to a BH. However, I think you keyed in on a critical point, and that is the size of the BH. A BH is capable of doing all sorts of things, and if the land use requires it (mine does not) then I can see it being a useful tool for some. However, were I will diverge is when we bring the discussion back to the original issue described in the original poster's points and he has some major digging to be done. Personally, I think we go back to the time versus cost issues with a big tool. Rental of a moderately large track hoe is fairly inexpensive (as I have cited I have done) and it will dig deeper faster father easier than any tractor mounted backhoe. The key is to rent the right tool for the right job. I'd never recommend renting a small bh to dig a septic system or to move a concrete septic tank. On the other hand a track hoe or excavator will do the job quickly and safely.
As for the land clearing, again, a dozer is going to do the job much faster than a 40-45hp tractor with a FEL and BH ever could. I've not rented one, but I've watched a few and they pop trees right out of the ground, root ball and all. Again, a tractor large enough to do the job is going to be too large to use to maintain the land after the tasks are completed. And a tractor small enough (for example the
B2910) to maintain the property is going to take forever to pop out several dozen tree stumps, dig a few septic fields, grade a long driveway, and I doubt it could even handle the concrete septic tank at all. Now I'm not trying to belittle the
B2910 that I use, but I am trying to be realistic about how much time it would take to clear a forrested acre of land. I suppose if I wanted to take the summer off doing the work to develop the lots, and I didn't have anything else to spend my time on, then the job would be a good job for 3 months worth of my own labor. But most of us can take a couple weeks off our jobs a year, plus evenings and weekends, and trying to do those jobs with a modest size tractor is going to take a long time.
My neighbor & I share the backhoe, when he saw what I dug with the track how, and how quickly I dug it he pretty much shook his head and realized that all the complaining I do about the LACK OF CAPABILITIES a back hoe has are true, when you match them up to a LARGE project. I guess I think popping a stump is child's play, but installing a full septic system is a real project that is BETTER & MORE QUICKLY accomplished with a tool designed for that type of work. I could probably dig a new field myself with the little Great Bend unit and its 7.5' (?) reach, but I'd take far longer than if I rented and used a track hoe. You want to tell me that you can dig a porch foundation and I will agree. You want to pop some stumps, again no arguement from me. But when the jobs call for multiple septic systems, multiple driveways, clearing land by the acre, and other large tasks, then I would line the tasks up, plan them carefully, and rent some big machinery to get the job done quickly.
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