you ever seen one of these before?

[s1120]

I was at an equipment dealer off of Cape Cod yesterday, and they had a Terramite tractor. It looked kind of cool, but I had never heard of it before. It looked to be just a little bigger then the Ingersoll loaders. Any one use one.http://terramite.com/

 

[JonLeonard]

Terramites are built about 50 miles from here in Charleston, West Virginia. I have used one several times and was seriouly impressed by the amount of power in such a small unit.

They are everywhere here, and all the rental stores use them almost exclusively. The build quality is very good, but no fancy sheet metal work. (The one I used had three sheets of 1/8" steel sheet welded together for a hood, if that tells you anything about how heavy it is built!). Its also small enough that I can tow it easily from a rental yard with my F150. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Phred]

Paul,

I rented one of these (5C) for a weekend to do some culvert work, digging, and move some gravel. It is very solidly built, however, that is about the only postive comment you will hear from me.

I must confess that the whole activity did not start out well since I was suppose to get a NH with a 3 point backhoe.
I went to pickup the unit and they say, sorry we don't have the unit we promised but we have something just as good..... /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

Well it was not just as good:
Gas burner, and very hard to start.
Top "speed"... well lets just say that the snails were passing me.
Don't even think about a fiull bucket of gravel, and any sort of hill. I found myself wondering wether this gutless wonder was going to die on me.
With a full bucket the loader cylinder bleed down even with the engine at high RPM.
Backhoe works pretty well but I hope you are a small man, because there is very little space for your feet when using the hoe. My size 11 boots fit with at least a micron or two to spare.
Did I mention the starting? Even when warm it was a struggle.

Bottom line is that for the $17 K, you can get a diesel tractor and have all the capabilities of a 3 point hitch. This terimite is a dedicated hoe and does not have this capability.
Maybe this thing would make since for a contractor working on 1/4 acre lots...?

Granted my property is pretty large, but I was not impressed and will not be renting that unit again.

Fred

 

[ERNIEB]

Paul. I saw one just a couple of days ago. A plumbing company called me for some pipe embedment and when I got to the job they were using one of these. It was a rental. Had a 20 HP Honda gas engine. The guys on the job told me that it digs good, but is rough on the operator. Evidently it jerks you around a bit. One of them, while noding his head up and down said " it will turn over too". I thought it best not to ask him more about that.
A niffty machine, but not as versatile as a skid loader or a 3 point tractor.

Ernie

 

[Bird]

I've never stopped to look at it, so don't know anything about them, but have noticed the local equipment rental place in town has at least one Terramite that's usually sitting out in front.

Bird

 

[JonLeonard]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the Terramite, mine was exactly the opposite.

It started within 2-3 seconds of me turning the key, so I think the one you got must have had some repair work needed. Only time it took me more time to start was when I ran it out of fuel /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I also lifted buckets full of 3/4" crushed limestone (heaping) and moved them with no problem up and down hills. Even with the bucket raised it ran fine (I found out when I started coming here that you shouldnt travel with the bucket up, so I wont be doing that one again!)

You are right, it definately could stand to have a faster ground speed. I had a load of gravel delivered and told the guy to just dump it at the end of the road. By the end of the day, its was getting agravating to keep trucking it the other end of the road.

Having never run a backhoe other than the terramite, I cant compare it to anything else. It did do everything I asked of it, and very quickly. The short reach of the hoe is inconvient, but nothing in its class is any better. Gets annoying to dig a 3ft deep ditch, which takes about 2 minutes in my soil, then have to turn around, move it forward, turn back around, dig 2 minutes, repeat...repeat...repeat.

The model I used was a 5C as well, but I believe it had a 22 or 25 HP Kohler engine. Maybe that is the difference?

 

[Phred]

Jon,

I did not mean to be so negative, but this machine is just not the right tool for my property. As you found it is very inconveient for moving material any distance.
But your right the hoe works well other than the need to constanly move the machine. Did you get just a little bit tired of turning that seat?
I guess my point is why buy one of these when the you can have a three point tractor for about the same money. I have done the same tasks with a compact tractor in much shorter time. The only case I can think of is for a contractor or similar construction application where you have no need for a mower or other 3-point implement. Also if working on a small lot you would not notice the slow "speed".

Fred

 

[JonLeonard]

Changing the seat direction every time was very annoying! I know the tractor mounted ones typically have a second seat. Before I actually used the Terramite, I had figured the one seat would be better, but since the operator area is so cramped, you have to actually get off the tractor, move the seat, then get back on. Im guessing you have to get off the tractor, and then get on the rear seat, with a 3ph mounted hoe as well. The ultimate solution is to have a unit with some leg room, so you can just swing the seat around while you are sitting on it.

I completely agree with you though, that for the homeowner, it wouldnt be a good choice...too limited in what it can do and you cannot dismount the hoe or the loader. Unless you have money for both a regular tractor AND a terramite /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

All the towns/cities around here have them (and love the things). Its easy for a couple of guys to take a pickup, hook up the terramite on its trailer, and go replace a waterline or something. Much cheaper to move and use than a full sized hoe/loader. These are also short distance jobs, so the power of the implements is more important than the travel speed.

For my "rental" needs, it does a fine job. With that said though, I definately will have the next load of gravel dumped in the middle of the road (instead of one end!) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif