Backhoe Who regrets their Backhoe Decision?

OkieG · Jun 22, 2004

Dear DAP,
Please realize the liberty I have taken with a few of your words to exaggerate in my post is just intended to tease you. You don't deserve it...the keyboard just ran away with me. Please accept my apology if the humor I intended didn't come across. I also appreciate TBN and hope that coming from a different angle sometimes, doesn't detract from this great website.

OkieG

LBrown59 · Nov 3, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Hey, Henro, I was thinking yesterday that I regret getting a backhoe. Oops, I mean the backhoe literature. Now, it reminds me everytime im on the "s*itter" that I could have bought a BX for a little more than what I spent on my B7510. I am sure I could have found a billion uses for the BH, now that I passed one up. Just didn't like the skimpy loader capacities of the LA211 on th BX. But hey, there is always a new hoe to fit a B7510 at the nearby dealer, right? )</font>I could have bought a BX for a little more than what I spent on my B7510.
robertm
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This is why the BX 23 won out over the B 2410 and the BX 2230 for me.
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LBrown59 · Nov 3, 2004

I have 62 hours on my bx23.
At 40 dollars an hour that's $2480 I didn't pay someone to do the work i did with my tractor.

davidseaquist · Nov 7, 2004

I bought a bx22. I have about 260 hours on it. I use the backhoe as much as I use the loader. I have been landscaping my yard for the past year. I bought the bx22 bacause it came with a frame mounted backhoe that was easy to remove. I have used the bachoe for digging out trees, rocks, shrubs, terraceing the hillside, planting new trees and shrubs, moving rocks for landscape digging ditches for irrigation. With all of the rocks and decomposed granite on my lot a trencher would not of worked. I hope that I don't run out of used for my tractor when the landsacaping is done on my lot. david.

Bob_Young · Nov 9, 2004

This doggone thread backfired on me! Started reading it to reinforce my thinking that a BH wasn't needed. Now it's got me thinking of the things I could accomplish with one.

There's at least a dozen stumps on my Dad's property that need removal and there'll soon be at least a dozen more. On top of that, part of my farmland has a severe drainage problem. A serious ditch cleaning is in order as well as digging up a lane to put in a drainage culvert. Still don't think I can justify a BH, but it sure has got me thinking.

Looking at Kubota's L4560 backhoe for installation on my soon to be delivered L4300. It's got specs very close to the BH90. Anyone know anything about this BH? Is it simply a BH90 with a PTO powered hydraulic pump? How difficult is it to remove/reinstall this BH?

Tdog · Nov 9, 2004

Bob, you say you already have stumps for removal & you are about to have more. As others have posted, if you want to remove stumps, it is far easier to get the stump out of the ground while attached to the tree. Don't cut down the tree & expect to come back & have a cake walk removing the stump. Having the weight of the tree up top acts as a lever to uproot the stump - - - you push it over after having 'prepared' it with the BH.

penokee · Nov 10, 2004

I don't have a backhoe for my L3130, but have done two things that worked for me. When constructing a woods road or driveway, I've just flush cut the stump with my chain saw (a little tough on the chain) then filled over them with crushed gravel. In an area outside the roadway I've flush cut again then brush coated the end with concentrated Roundup. This prevents sprouting. I realize that you can't use these procedures in all cases, but it gets around my lack of a backhoe.

penokee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

viperman · Nov 10, 2004

The only thing I regret is not buying a bigger backhoe. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

catsco · Nov 11, 2004

I've noticed that buying too small a backhoe is the most common comment.

For me, though, the very small mini-hoe (Power-Trac with 9" bucket) at $900 is cost effective. I can only dig 4' depth, and there is no swing (the Power-Trac's articulation handles that), but it's a lot easier than hand work, and not nearly as expensive as a "real" backhoe.

The Lackender hoe is similar for skid steers and similar.

As many mentioned, the amount of use and need (and want! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) determine what to buy. Or not buy.

Mark H.

sanmigmike · Nov 17, 2004

You guys have messed me up. My wife read part of this thread and when I pointed out all the stumps we have and how she wants a two ponds.....

I see most of the sides and in the daylight I see more stumps than I care to think about, well beyond the "taking off my shoes" counting....

And the stumps have to go, at least part of them before we can put in hops, if indeed that is what we decide to do, in addition to the tree replanting we are going to do... One person told us about using a PHD on his tractor to speed the tree planting, didn't know I needed one of those too!

We will try the chain saw method on some of the stumps, but that will mean a third saw. Those suckers are big!

I was already under a sentence of death /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif if I didn't make up my mind on a tractor tomorrow my loving wife is going to kill me /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif. Right now it is either a 4310 or a L3130 both hydro /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif So now I gotta go look at the backhoe stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thanks guys! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif