Not another HFPB topic!

[GeneV]

I saw one of those tow-behind deals on youtube, same thing as the HF one, but you don't have to swap the wheels or manually install the stabilizers (they just fold down). That alone makes it way more user-friendly than the harbor fright one, but I'm sure the price is appropriately less user-friendly lol. With that said though, I dunno if I'd buy one of these things new if I was in your shoes. Me, I'd either hunt for a good deal on a woods bh65 (I think that's the one that fits GC tractors), or trade up to the GC1710 altogether. Or...

I was weighing options back when I was tractor hunting, with or w/o the backhoe. One thing I was debating for a scut with only a loader was to get some sort of backhoe attachment mounting on the loader. I saw this vid, for instance: 125r front hoe - YouTube. Titan makes something like this too. One concern would be the weight of the backhoe attachment, and how far out it is, probably the lifting capability ain't all that great compared to a real backhoe. Obviously you'd need a 3rd function valve as well, but hey...all the more reason to get a grapple down the road.

Oh yeh, my very first option I was thinking about was just to get a stump bucket. Obviously not as versatile as a real backhoe. But, I've seen some vids on youtube, people digging short trenches with them, digging holes for trees, etc, all sorts of handy shtuff people do with them. Actually that's where my mind was going, but then I stumbled on my GC1710 private sale, and the rest is history.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
As has been pointed out previously, a backhoe will void the warranty on his Massey.

 

[GeneV]

A 3pt mounted backhoe will void the warranty, not a subframe mounted one...you know, like the kind every scut tlb has.

 

[Imold]

Yes I do regret not getting the 1720 TLB after the fact and he did have one on the lot but but but I did not think I would need the backhoe, again it was suggested that I get the one with a backhoe from some members here BUT I did not think I had any use for one, famous last words.

I am sure the HFBH will do me just fine plus it will give me something else to tinker around with.

 

[groundcover]

If you can find a clean mini excavator snap it up , do your projects and sell it . I think I was the last guy in town to buy a mini , so far none of us have reached a point that we have finished projects to the point that we are ready to sell !

 

[nyone]

The problem with any towable or 3pt hitch back hoe is you have next to no breaking force. I use to own a 3pt backhoe. Was hardly worth putting on my tractor. Almost faster just to dig by hand. Few years later i bought a 3,500lb older kubota mico Ex. Its like having an arm that can do everything. Best $8,000 i have spent on a machine. How ever once you get one you will find that your projects never end for it and you can never sell it.

This past summer i built a section of driveway 12x150ft long though a swamp. Swamp so soft it would have been impossible with any machine with tires.

 

[cdaigle430]

in my opinion the HB BH is a great deal for the money and what you want to do with it. My dad has one from Northern Tool and loves it for trenching. I bought my GC2410 with the BH and it was the best money I ever spent.
My BH became the hero one day when the coupler attaching my water line to the well casing broke one winter. Plumber couldnt get a BH for a few days so I used mine to carefully dig all around the well casing-5 feet deep by 10 feet....top 3 inches was frozen. Then one winter my septec tank leach field was thought to be frozen in February. Used two blow torches and the BH to chip away at the frozen soil to remove the ocer. Was a good day cause we found the leach field was blocked by coffee grounds and stuff my wife should not have been putting down there.
As for the broken coupler-it was found that when the plumber replaced the line 2 years before he forgot to replace the coupler so it was free of charge minus my time, wear and tear on BH. He even paid for the moon dust to cover it back up.
I am 100% certain that the HF BH will do the same.

 

[Imold]

If you can find a clean mini excavator snap it up , do your projects and sell it . I think I was the last guy in town to buy a mini , so far none of us have reached a point that we have finished projects to the point that we are ready to sell !

I have thought about that but then it is money spent that could be used for when I upgrade from my scut to a cut with backhoe.

 

[Imold]

The problem with any towable or 3pt hitch back hoe is you have next to no breaking force. I use to own a 3pt backhoe. Was hardly worth putting on my tractor. Almost faster just to dig by hand. Few years later i bought a 3,500lb older kubota mico Ex. Its like having an arm that can do everything. Best $8,000 i have spent on a machine. How ever once you get one you will find that your projects never end for it and you can never sell it.

This past summer i built a section of driveway 12x150ft long though a swamp. Swamp so soft it would have been impossible with any machine with tires.

See above response, a mini ex would be nice. You guys keep this up and I will end up selling one of my Harley’s to help pay for a used mini ex hahaha.

 

[Imold]

in my opinion the HB BH is a great deal for the money and what you want to do with it. My dad has one from Northern Tool and loves it for trenching. I bought my GC2410 with the BH and it was the best money I ever spent.
My BH became the hero one day when the coupler attaching my water line to the well casing broke one winter. Plumber couldnt get a BH for a few days so I used mine to carefully dig all around the well casing-5 feet deep by 10 feet....top 3 inches was frozen. Then one winter my septec tank leach field was thought to be frozen in February. Used two blow torches and the BH to chip away at the frozen soil to remove the ocer. Was a good day cause we found the leach field was blocked by coffee grounds and stuff my wife should not have been putting down there.
As for the broken coupler-it was found that when the plumber replaced the line 2 years before he forgot to replace the coupler so it was free of charge minus my time, wear and tear on BH. He even paid for the moon dust to cover it back up.
I am 100% certain that the HF BH will do the same.

I have a 750 gal septic system and my wife has a tendency to use the disposal way to much, had the system replaced 30 years ago by the seller when we bought the home and it is getting to the point I might have to go to a 1000 gal holding or a mound type septic system being I have no where to put a new drain field due to how close I am to the lake and my property does not have the room to move it so being able to dig out the ground and replace it might be a option but hopefully I will have my home sold in a few years and not worry about it.

Our frost layer in winter is anywhere from 3 feet to 5 feet all depending on the temps we get so I know the HF would not work unless I had a really good way to thaw the ground, that’s where a mini ex would come in handy, last year was the first time I had the line freeze and it froze 2 feet from the tank, it was below zero for a long time and we had a lot of guests over so we used a lot of water with toilets and showers and doing dishes, it was more then usual, now I will pump out before Christmas and then three months after that to keep the tank clean, I never put straw down last year and I think that was also a contributing factor, we did have a lot of rain before the ground froze so that did not help either. The price ya pay for living close to the lake, home was built before all the tuff setbacks came into effect.

I am pretty sure the HFBH will suit me just fine for what my intentions are plus like I mentioned earlier I will do the pump upgrade to speed it up a bit, think it’s around 3-400.00 to do it.