Buying Advice Chinese backhoe manufacturer

/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #1  

blackd

Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2002
Messages
655
Location
So MD
Tractor
Yanmar FX24D replaced with Massey GC2400
Does anyone have experience with Weifang Yijia Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd. and their attachments? I am currently negotiating for a 3 pt backhoe, and wonder if anyone knows about quality and problems with payment?

Another question: is there US duty and tariffs due on these attachments when entering the US?

Any help is appreciated.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #5  
Got any pics? The LW-6 can have a few suttle differences, and all are not created equally. Knowing what I know now, I would either want to lay eyes on the one I was purchasing, or get good current pics of, and assurances that they are of the model that will be delivered. Of particular importance is the boom swing pivots. Each pivot needs to be comprised of 3 plates, 2 on one side of the pivot, sandwiching the other plate with the pin passing thru the three plates. If it dosn't have 3 plates per pivot pin, the pins will not stay square and the holes in the plates will quickly wear and the boom will flop all over the place when you try and swing... The thrust bearings must also be placed properly in this mix so the heavy boom swings smoothly. Good pics can show this fairly easilly...
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #6  
FWIW, I had a LW-6. Kept blowing piston cup seals, and didn't have dual acting swing cylinders - very poor swing power. Sold it and bought a LiTW. Great back hoe, used it about 20 hours, and bought an excavator which was better for my needs. Too bad you don't live closer, I'd make you a great deal on my LiTW (and it has a thumb).
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #8  
Unless they have changed you will need to install a return line filter, especially if you plan on running it on the tractor hydraulics.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #9  
I did a lot of modifications to my BH to get it the way it should have been. I don't feel too bad about this as I received a screaming deal on it, and I enjoy a good engineering project every now and then:) At any rate, here is a thread I started about those mods.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...fications.html?highlight=backhoe+modification
The very first pic is of the area I am refering to, the boom pivot. IF you zoom in, you will see a white zip-tie around the lower boom side plate. That was the only plate there when I got it, with the tractor side plate above it and a thrust bearing sandwiched in between. That boom weighs hundreds of pounds and can have thousands of pounds of force applied to that top pin when digging. It didn't take long for the pin to start to angle as the forces wore unevenly on those 2 plates. This caused the boom to buck and jump when swung. I added the second boom side plate, made slightly larger pins and trued the holes. Now it swings smoothly without bucking. I did this top and bottom. Knowing what I know now I would not buy one without this type of pivot structure. Got a tractor dealer near you? IF you go and look at the BH's they sell, you will be able to look closely at the pivot area and will be able to see what I am talking about, as most everyone does it this correct way, but some of the chinese do not. That pic you just posted does not show the pivot areas...

The pic does show that the BH does NOT have an onboard tank, and that it appears to connect directly to a tractor's hydraulic system. WHat type tractor are you planning to attach this BH to? A BH being all hydraulic really works the fluid, and generates a LOT of hydraulic fluid heat. Most tractor systems do not have a very large volume of fluid onboard as they typically only feed steering and loader/3PH operations. Those operations are also only part time so they do not generate much heat. Because of this most tractor hydraulic system are not prepared to dissipate the heat generated by a BH at work. Most of these small BH's have an onboard tank(5 gal) and a separate hydraulic pump that is driven by the PTO. The tank gives volume so it takes longer to heat up to fluid damaging temps and the tank surface area is large to allow it to more readilly dissipate heat...
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks, RonMar. As I understand it, originally your BH had a single plate on the top swivel attachment? You added a 2nd plate and aligned the holes and made a longer & larger pin to attach the boom?

I am planning on attaching to my MF GC2400. I want a self contained 3 Pt unit driven off PTO. If I begin to use it for anything other than the light trenching planned, I will consider fabbing a sub-frame.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #11  
It had a single plate on each side of the swivel on both the upper and lower pivots causing both pins to wear unevenly and be loose. I added another plate on both the top and bottom pivots and made 2 longer pins to span the larger gaps this created.

A BH with a self contained hydraulic system driven by it's own PTO pump is what I would reccomend. You also beat me to the last suggestion. A subframe is a good idea if you plan on doing anything serious with it like this:)
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer
  • Thread Starter
#12  
Yup! That was the pic that confirmed my sub-frame need. ;-) I, luckily, do not have any trees like that on my lot, nor boulders, or hard clay. I have mostly light sandy soil.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #13  
Once you get the bugs, defects, and leaks out of these, you end up with a really powerful unit except for the swing capability. There are various photos of my BH with sub-frame on this site. I ordered a 6 foot hoe and ended up with a seven foot!

If you choose to self import I recommend you buy factory direct and not from an offshore based trading company who has no presence in the USA. Don't be fooled by photos or text on their websites. When I imported mine several years ago I ordered two repair kits for every cylinder, two spares for every hose, one spare pump, extra bucket teeth, and at least a dozen of the lollipop shaped wire locks on the cylinder pins. After it arrived, fully accompanied by missing parts, defects, etc., I spent maybe another $500-800 on repair welding and fabrication to fix the non-fitting frame, cylinder repair by re-honing, etc. I even traded wrong parts to Tommy for the right ones. Thanks to Tommy @ Affordable!

I bought directly from Jinma although I believe the BHs were made by others. They were superb and apologetic about solving problems and replacing parts. We are an importer and I believe they treated us well because of that. I think we were not regarded as a one time only retail sale.

Import duty on farm equipment at that time, two years ago, was zero. The price of the BH alone, CIF Boston was just under $2K. Then came the broker costs, inland freight, etc. I think the total investment from start to finish, including weld repair totaled around $3500 not counting the hours I spent chasing leaks, claiming defects, lost time, time spent repairing and not using, etc.

Your options are:
1) Self Import and take your chances
2) Buy same item from USA based importer with reputation and willingness to give you names and phone numbers of recent satisfied customers of same BH
3) Buy Korean BH or equivalent from reputable USA source
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer
  • Thread Starter
#14  
Thanks, Steve for your advice and history on both my questions.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #15  
i picked up a vtek backhoe for 2k. i used is to do a lot. transplanting a dozen 6 feet tall citrus was the big job it did. only had one issue with a cylinder seal. it has its own sump and pump that goes to the pto.
as far as subframe mounting, it can lift the back end of the tractor up, it is only 3pt mounted. i don't see a need for the subframe to be honest, i have it hooked to a harbor freight quick attach. didn't modify anything.
one thing though is that it isn't as strong as id like it to be, mainly digging into the top layer, but after that it does what it should for a 12" bucket. great for footers, transplanting, digging holes to bury dead animals.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #16  
Does anyone have experience with Weifang Yijia Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd. and their attachments? I am currently negotiating for a 3 pt backhoe, and wonder if anyone knows about quality and problems with payment?

Another question: is there US duty and tariffs due on these attachments when entering the US?

Any help is appreciated.

I know this company, this is a typical trading company on alibaba, because I m also manufacturer in China:laughing:
I don't know which factory they buy backhoe from, so my suggestion is that you should ask them provide the backhoe photo which will sell to you, but not those marketing photo. I also have many photo for LW backhoe, too many factory in China produce them.
 
Last edited:
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer
  • Thread Starter
#17  
Thanks, Jack. I will follow your advice if/when in the future I do business with a business in China.
 
/ Chinese backhoe manufacturer #18  
Thanks, Jack. I will follow your advice if/when in the future I do business with a business in China.

I mean that suggest you ask for their photos as more as they can, to buy something oversea, it will always surprise you when you see the real product, but the photo is the only way for you to feel them.
 
 
Top