Backhoe Who regrets their Backhoe Decision?

Bob_Skurka · Jun 14, 2004

I understand that many people love their backhoes but for me it is just not worth it. I've been watching the thread for a while and I obviously am in the minority here. But I still stand by everything I wrote, and I suppose if I had enough uses for a hoe as some others on this board, then I would buy a small, dedicated track hoe. Something with a minimum of a 10' reach and an 18" or larger bucket. That would be a much more useful machine than a slow to use, undersized backhoe with a 7' or 8' reach that makes moving the unit a too frequent chore.

But I don't want to find uses for a dedicated machine and I don't have the need for the bh that now sits idle, so I regret investing anything in the bh.

AndyMA · Jun 14, 2004

Bob

I respectfully disagree with you. I find the backhoe easily as useful as the front end loader. Where I live, there are so many rocks and roots that I can barely get into the ground without the backhoe. I would never have a tractor with out a backhoe unless it was just for mowing or the like. I realize that many areas of the country don't have the rocks New England has. Renting would also never work because I need it when I need it and I can't arrange al the work for one time.

Andy

Bob_Skurka · Jun 14, 2004

Andy

I have no problem with anyone who disagrees with me. I am speaking for myself and my property. I've owned it for about 14 years, lived here for almost 10, still have not found a rock on the property that I didn't bring here on a truck. I've never dug out a stump, and my backhoe projects are generally larger than a tractor mounted hoe is suited for.

To20Chris · Jun 14, 2004

I think OkeeDon got it right with the comment on geography and geology. I've got way too many rocks and roots and stumps, etc. I also have a multitude of trenching projects for water control. The BH was one of the major reasons I got the tractor, and I have used it a lot so far. It's a small one (6.5' with a 12" bucket), but it fits well with the jobs I do, and kept the cost down. I know I could rent one, but my schedule is unpredictable, and having it here when I need it and have time is a big deal. I bought an inexpensive little car & it's paid off - I'll gladly drive it til it drops to pay for my BH! Which is just another way of saying I could swing the price of admission, and I choose to spend it on the BH. If I couldn't have afforded it, I would have had to find another way, but it is likely I would not have bought the tractor either.

Maybe someday I'll run out of stumps and rocks and pipes - nah, who am I kidding! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

OkieG · Jun 15, 2004

I think OkeeDon got it right with the comment on geography and geology. 

OkeeD has a point, but as I see it, there are 3 types of people we've found responding here:

1. Those who need a BH, and get it. ie AndyMA.

2. Those who don't need a BH, and either don't get one, or wouldn't get one again, ie Bob Skurka.

(I think these are the two types OkeeDon is talking about)

3. Those who don't (really) need a BH, but get one anyway, and would do it again, ie Henro.

People 1 and people 2 are rational, know what they need (or call a mistake a mistake), and act accordingly.
People 3 are irrational, know what they want, and act accordingly (Mistake?! What are you talking about?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif).

Who's right, who's wrong? Personally, I can be very rational. Especially, on issues I don't care too much about. But, we're not talking about those kinds of issues....we're talking tractors!
Unfortunately, I find myself as a People 3 person. It's a character flaw that I pretend to work on from time to time. My BH does get work done, but just the satisfaction of operating the machine, and doing it when I want to is priceless and worth more to me than the work that gets done. Is there MasterCard ad material here?

Hey, listen,...just calling a spade a spade. A few years after you figure out you're a People 3 person you quit trying to justify. Life is to live. I have some regrets in my life re: money spent, but at least as many re: money not spent. When faced with a tractor related purchase, "No", is still a possibility, but I try to work through that.

OkieG

OkeeDon · Jun 15, 2004

( OkeeDon:

There is no easy way to move the tractor with the hoe bucket. Every time you want to reposition, which would be often with a trench, you have to climb out of one seat and into the other, raise the stabilizers, release the brake and put it in gear, guess at how far to move it, set the brake and put it in neutral, climb off the tractor and back onto the backhoe seat, lower the stabilizers, and dig again for a short time before you have to repeat it all. 

Not true. I move mine easily (short distances) from the BH seat. Raise the stabilizers a bit, use the bucket to shift the machine forward/backwards/side to side.

JEH )

Libertine, How do you do that? Do you lift the rear wheels completely off the ground with the bucket and shove the tractor around while it's in the air?

Henro · Jun 15, 2004

3. Those who don't (really) need a BH, but get one anyway, and would do it again, ie Henro.

...People 3 are irrational, know what they want, and act accordingly (Mistake?! What are you talking about?? ). 

OkieG,

You may have hit the nail on the head...come to think of it, along with the backhoe I also have a wife... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Your theory seems applicable to more than just backhoes! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I think there is a 4th category...those that need/want a backhoe but don't buy one for whatever reason... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And a 5th maybe...those that really need/want a backhoe but don't know it yet... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Works for tractors too...

Henro · Jun 15, 2004

Libertine, How do you do that? Do you lift the rear wheels completely off the ground with the bucket and shove the tractor around while it's in the air?


I'll let JEH speak for himself, but I know with my backhoe it is not recommended that you move the tractor with it.

Larger backhoe (the real things) regularly do this kind of move. Bucket is flat on the ground so it will slide and not dig in, stabilizers lifted off the ground a little(maybe), and the backhoe is used to lift, push or swing the rear.

It is pretty neat to see what the real backhoes/operators are able to do with their machines (as I guess you know better than I do). I wonder if some of us are doing simalar things with our tractors?

When I got my backhoe I found a library book that had a lot of pictures...I don't have any real personal knowledge on the subject, by the way.

Bottom line for me is trying to move my tractor with the backhoe the way a large tractor can be moved, especially since it is not recommended by the manufacturer, is something I decided not to do.

It is a major pain to have to keep moving from the backhoe seat to the driver's seat to reposition the tractor after a few feet of digging when the trench is long. But it sure beats digging by hand so my back does not complain. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I did get my tractor stuck in mud when I first got it, and used the backhoe to lift the rear enough to get some wood under the rear tires so I guess it may have the power to lift and push the tractor...

Having a 3PH backhoe is another reason I want to avoid making it a practice of lifting the rear of the tractor with the hoe. This puts a lifting force on the 3PH end of the hoe, and if the top link attach point would break, would tend to push the seat up towards the rops, with me in the middle! There is a safety bar under the 3PH arms to prevent such an event...but I hope I never have to rely on it...

I wonder if anyone came up with extenders for the HST directional pedal, loader joystick and steering wheel, that would make moving the tractor from the backhoe seat simpler to do? Hummm...do I see a winter project in the making? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

RobS · Jun 15, 2004

I know with my backhoe it is not recommended that you move the tractor with it.


Rather than hi-jack this thread I'll start a new one under "Owning/Operating" to cover this interesting topic /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

MadDog · Jun 15, 2004

Bill: I have found that it's not difficult to move the tractor from the BH seat. I can reach the FEL joystick and steering wheel quite easily and you can just use a pushstick to give the HST pedal a little nudge. Generally, you're only adjusting the BH position a bit to get better digging position and on a 7.5' BH that only requires going a few feet.

BTW, the more I read of this thread, the more I am convinced that I had it right in my earlier post; it's a purely individual value judgment - anyone who is uncomfortablel spending the $ on a backhoe, shouldn't and should rent instead and accept the inconveniences that that entails.

Conversely, those (like you and me, for example /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) who are willing to pay the price and prefer the convenience of being able to hitch up the BH for two or three hours of work whenever they have the time and inclination, should buy a BH so long as it doesn't screw up their family finances. If it did, the CFO would certainly object and the fun of using the BH would be easily outweighed by the domestic grief. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif