Which Backhoe?

[Builder]

JCB had the first .."RIDE CONTROL" and "HYDRO CLAMPS" , built the first tele-handler too ?
And "overlap" their parts like axles, trannies,hydraulics in backhoes,telehandlers .
And you will "NEVER" see a welded boom on a JCB ?

I see a lot of local service departments fixing problems with JCBs. I have 2 heavy mechanic friends who work on them and think they're problematic compared to Deere, CAT & CASE.

My biggest point is there's a reason they have significantly lower resale value than CAT CASE or Deere here in the states. It's because they're not as reliable and not holding up as well and have less dealer support. I just went through the buying process again 6 months ago and used JCB hoes looked like a bargain compared to C,C & D. All the dealers thought that they lacked reliability and dealer support. Let's face it, part of owning/operating a machine is parts & service.

I don't want a urinating match to errupt here, so we might just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Builder]

Did you see this old Case in Pittsburgh? 120HP 780 4x4. Little old but man.....

90 Case 780D Backhoe Loader - 4WD / Full Cab...NICE! - (eBay item 150162252501 end time Sep-23-07 15:00:00 PDT)

 

[ScottAR]

I've been lusting after it for a few days now... Supposebly the 710 deeres of the same era were a more balanced machine but I'd sell my 580 for that bad boy...

 

[jfh0jfh]

@ builder ...Don't get me wrong i've been in canada 10 years and i would rate most of your AG machinery above european any day and and am no european "salesman" ..You have good stuff .
All i am saying is an un biassed opinion of backhoes ,We've run 100's of backhoes..Case,Deere,Cat,Ford,Fermec,Hitachi,MF,Volvo,Komatsu,Bobcat ? and there is a top 3 , From an owners and operators point of view .
#1 JCB
#2 CAT
#3 CASE
The others came and went .
I appreciate the bad parts backup that maybe in the states but here in canada its getting better and is only a matter of time ..Government are using JCB now ?
Jcb excavators aint so good ..Nice to use but weak undercarriage ,JCB has always been known for "SMOOOOOTH" movements and visability ?
If you can't drive a jacob you can't drive ?

I hear that too from professional operators about JCB & Cat; another friend loves Fiat Dozers. It's good feedback but for my use (farm and limited contracting - and I do my own maintenance) I have to consider everything: maintenance schedule, durability; strength; then ease of use and speed.

I'll take a slower and clumsier TLB w/ a reasonable maint schedule any day over a fancier machine. There are some incredble deals right now on NH & Terex TLBs. They're awesome to run. But they don't look like they'll take punishment. I have enough trouble w/ the relatively simple electronics on my JD 4310 tractor.

 

[jfh0jfh]

Bought it out of protest ...Hired 2 contractors to clear bush and they filled the fires with dirt and left the stumps in the ground and charged me full whack so i got mad and spent a lot of money to prove a point ...Best thing i ever did It's a 180 hp "67" powershift ,24 v start 80% undercarriage ,New chains ,Cylinders new and new transmission ,Full rops ,Angle blade and hyster winch $20'000 ?
Worth more now than i payed for it ...Done the 90 acre clearing job but she's a keeper ?

I loved my D&E also. About the same as yours - and a 1967 - w/ angle blade & winch. But I did some work on it and decided it was too big for me to work on. I got it apart, fixed it, put it back tohgether and sold it.

Also, I got it stuck once and realized I needed something it's size to get it out. My neighbor has an old D8 but it's actually smaller. But I got it out finally and that was enough.

 

[jfh0jfh]

Did you see this old Case in Pittsburgh? 120HP 780 4x4. Little old but man.....

90 Case 780D Backhoe Loader - 4WD / Full Cab...NICE! - (eBay item 150162252501 end time Sep-23-07 15:00:00 PDT)

Yes, awesome. I'd never seen one before. Is that the biggest Case? Too many hours for me or I'd go for a look at it. About 180 miles from me.

 

[ScottAR]

That was the biggest Case ever made, Quit making them when they shut down the Indiana plant in '92 or thereabouts. They share drivetrain pieces with the
W series loaders. The local water utility had one several years ago.
It could flat put a hole in the ground.

 

[Builder]

Yes, awesome. I'd never seen one before. Is that the biggest Case? Too many hours for me or I'd go for a look at it. About 180 miles from me.

I wouldn't be surprised if that machine would go 12,000-14,000 hours, no joke.

If you don't plan on a gazillion hours/yr, give it some thought. If you get it cheap enough and it should ever break, you'll have lots of $$ left over to fix it. If it never breaks, you can laugh at all the jokers driving new $87,000 machines and eating bologna sandwiches for lunch.

 

[jfh0jfh]

I wouldn't be surprised if that machine would go 12,000-14,000 hours, no joke.

If you don't plan on a gazillion hours/yr, give it some thought. If you get it cheap enough and it should ever break, you'll have lots of $$ left over to fix it. If it never breaks, you can laugh at all the jokers driving new $87,000 machines and eating bologna sandwiches for lunch.

It went for $15,800. If I'd had time I'd have run over for a look. ~ 3 hours from me.

I don't put on many hours and believe me, a big machine like that is exactly what I'm looking for. But I've had several high-hour machines and I want something a bit newer.

Still, if it hadn't been on ebay I'd have made an effort to go see it. I'm even consdering a low-houir JD 710 - whch is a little bigger than this 780 I think.

There's a 3600 hour unit in AZ for ~ $23K. I emailed them. Too far to ship I thnk but, yeah, it's a great machine.

 

[Builder]

The JD710 is one big bad azz machine. You must consider that it will pretty much have to stay put on your farm unless you got a buddy with a big lowboy.

Awesome machine with a 6 cylinder diesel!

CAT makes a 446 that's massive, too.