Towable Backhoe

[ray66v]

Bigger is faster, and easier. Weight is everything when digging. And a towable or small mini, just don't have any.

A sub compact TLB is about as small as you want to go. And, you would still have a machine that can do other tasks.

A bigger mini EX, will really dig well. But is a more limited with other tasks.

A bigger TLB would be the most useful. A tractor is only too big if it doesn't fit in the building.

 

[dodge man]

I helped someone install field tile last year and ran this machine for a little while. He got it with some extra buckets and a couple of other add ons. It’s very nice and smooth to operate. It cost him a $100k and that was lightly used. I understand the attraction of the towable or low dollar mini ex for someone who doesn’t make a living with one.
View attachment IMG_4296.jpeg

 

[mike0000]

Here’s a drainage ditch I dug with my one ton last summer for a neighbor, he didn’t want it too deep. Pipe was 8”, ditch was only about 12” deep about 80’ long, took about an hour to dig. 16” bucket, it dug very easily. Once you have one of these you “find” jobs for it to do, and if your neighbors can see them from the road, well you make new friends..

 

[sd455dan]

Here’s a drainage ditch I dug with my one ton last summer for a neighbor, he didn’t want it too deep. Pipe was 8”, ditch was only about 12” deep about 80’ long, took about an hour to dig. 16” bucket, it dug very easily. Once you have one of these you “find” jobs for it to do, and if your neighbors can see them from the road, well you make new friends..
View attachment 5336845

That is a really nice job.

 

[mike0000]

That is a really nice job.

Thanks Dan!

 

[sd455dan]

Thought this might be helpful to the OP a comparison video between a towable and a China mini ex if he has not seen it. The video also does a good job of showing how long it takes to move dirt with these machines limited weight.

 

[51allis]

Thought this might be helpful to the OP a comparison video between a towable and a China mini ex if he has not seen it. The video also does a good job of showing how long it takes to move dirt with these machines limited weight.

one of the nice things about the Mini Ex. is that its a 2 different job machine? - not only does it dig but it also has a blade that backfills etc. I would for sure take the mini ex over the towable.

 

[gmgm]

I feel towable excavators were a "thing" in the 1970s, they've been overtaken by mini-excavators (and even TLBs) a long long time ago. I'd invest whatever $ into a mini-excavator instead of a towable, whether that's second-hand & decent quality, or new & Chinese. A few k gets a lot of digger now.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

For the price of either ... I'd rather put the money into a TLB.

That video makes me glad I spent my $4500 on upgrading my SCUT to a TLB ... That was painful to watch, and I thought my toy tractor was "limited"!

Does the OP already have a tractor? Seems like the guy in the video didn't, and like he says, not great, and frustrating to use, but better than a shovel!

If OP does have a tractor now, on some you can add one on, as it originally was and option, I know my Massey Ferguson is not like that though, the BH comes from the factory that way

 

[quicksandfarmer]

SD455dan- I don't have heavy equipment mechanical skills but I feel real good that I could work on and fix the towable backhoe. There is a company out of PA called Liberty that seems to make a good quality unit. I will keep doing research, and another thing my budget is around $7 grand.

You'd have a dollar left over for coffee:

https://www.amazon.com/HUAYEE-Excavator-HY14C-Hydraulic-Semi-Auto/dp/B0F1F8BYG3

 

[bcp]

Around 10 years there were many project post videos by Metsaman, using his towable backhoe. Here's one. Interesting to see what it can and can't do.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/making-forest-road-with-minibackhoe.374415/

Bruce

 

[sd455dan]

For the price of either ... I'd rather put the money into a TLB.

That video makes me glad I spent my $4500 on upgrading my SCUT to a TLB ... That was painful to watch, and I thought my toy tractor was "limited"!

Does the OP already have a tractor? Seems like the guy in the video didn't, and like he says, not great, and frustrating to use, but better than a shovel!

If OP does have a tractor now, on some you can add one on, as it originally was and option, I know my Massey Ferguson is not like that though, the BH comes from the factory that way

Or be a better negotiator than I was, and get a full size TLB for around 7k or less, there is no comparing the power of a 13000+ pound machine with a 2 or 3K mini.

Watching the videos what struck me more than anything else was the very limited ability to "push" the tiny blade into a pile of dirt to move it. A full size 2 wheel drive TLB will move so much more material and if you need to move it even across 9 acres the time savings is a lot.

Also you get an FEL that will put most 75HP tractors lift to full height at the pins to shame as well. I am a big believer in old and ugly does not necessarily mean useless, and buy as much of an old serviceable TLB by the pound price as you can.
Weight is your friend when moving dirt etc. Moving heavy weight comes up at times.
Ever going to need to pick up a full pallet of concrete? Even with all of the pallet weight out beyond the bucket using some add on chain on forks the old TLB's could lift a 3200lb. pallet and transport it.

All that said I did see one video "Durability test- and let's Dig with a 1.8".

Maybe it was just his skill etc, but what he did use it for he made it look easy and it did very well, even made me want one.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I would have been more than happy with an old yellow 75 HP TLB when I bought my little bitty one, but back in 2022 they were about as available as a used 3/4 ton pickup truck ...

So I bought my little SCUT TLB ...

Another thing that struck me as strange about the video comparing the tow bh and mini was how easy it got stuck in the dry gravel driveway ... I'd hope all the mini's aren't like that!

 

[sd455dan]

I would have been more than happy with an old yellow 75 HP TLB when I bought my little bitty one, but back in 2022 they were about as available as a used 3/4 ton pickup truck ...

So I bought my little SCUT TLB ...

Another thing that struck me as strange about the video comparing the tow bh and mini was how easy it got stuck in the dry gravel driveway ... I'd hope all the mini's aren't like that!

Yeah the tracks jamming up with almost no load is not like the tracked machines I have run, (Cat 312, PC 75 Komatsu, JD 550G LT).

Almost seemed like something was defective?

Did not see anything similar in the Kymron test, and he moved some dirt. If gravel is enough to totally jam the tracks up that easily- what a pain.

ps.

I agree on the 2022 Pricing,

Everything was overpriced IF you could find it in the first place. Tried to find a mini/midi EX for all of that summer and Finally gave up.
There was nothing around in a price range that even seemed fair, I HAD to have a digger for three non negotiable jobs that had to be done before winter and finally resigned myself to buy any digger that could likely do the work, so a beat on TLB it was during September of 2022. The good part ? despite leaking oil, sloppy pins, etc, The machine got the jobs done and two required a long reach and lots of digging force.
Today pretty sure it would sell as maybe 4- $5 K machine in the shape it was in at that time. On the other hand, imo it already paid for itself even before 2023 rolled around.

Maybe that is how the OP may want to look at it?
Guess it depends on how critical the jobs are and whether his immediate uses are more "need" related than just wants. Every day and time a digger gets the job done it certainly can be considered a job completed that has value in both DIY and paying down the investment cost, versus renting or paying someone else and their equipment time- do enough work and now the machine has not cost anything and still has value if sold.

Hope the OP finds the perfect machine and it serves him well whatever he decides.

 

[dfkrug]

I hope I am not the only one to post here who has had all three of the machines mentioned (towable mini-X, 1-ton-ish mini-X, tractor-mounted backhoe attachment), and many hours on each.

I built a CADDigger 728 towable back in the mid-90s while I waited for permits to build my first building on my mountainous land. It was very useful, esp for getting into a very tight place, and getting it up a very steep hillside. Other things I did with it (dig footers and utility trenches) would have been easier with my later-purchased XN08 mini-x or my Kioti TLB.

A towable is likely the first digger a homeowner is going to get. No regrets here. I sold mine when I got a tractor, and mounted a backhoe onto it. See it in my avatar, next to a Cat 315 I rented.

As for the above comparison video, the guy shows how a towable moves around. The user will rarely attach a vehicle for that purpose. I only towed mine twice myself, when I have to road it to my site, and once to a nearby welder for a repair. Towing on the road is an adventure since there is no suspension and it weighs only about 900#.

 

[dfkrug]

Yeah the tracks jamming up with almost no load is not like the tracked machines I have run, (Cat 312, PC 75 Komatsu, JD 550G LT).

Almost seemed like something was defective?

The system relief was probably set too low. Most come that way and need adjustment.

 

[sd455dan]

The system relief was probably set too low. Most come that way and need adjustment.

Ah, similar to the Kubota FEL pressure syndrome...

 

[rScotty]

For 7k you also might find something with a subframe to go on your BX. Depending on what you plan to do with it, that might be a viable option.
Personally, I prefer working with something to working on it.

I agree. A towable has got to be at least as much fun as a shovel - and probably not as good as a subframe mount, excavator, or TLB. it is amazing how much a little backhoe will throw a heavy tractor around.

Something we learn quickly is how much time a person spends repositioning a hoe as compared to how much time digging with it. A trench sure needs a lot of repositioning. Also, with most hoes, getting to the other side of the trench is easy. But just how does one cross over with a towable?

 

[dfkrug]

....with most hoes, getting to the other side of the trench is easy. But just how does one cross over with a towable?

Although the towables do not have 180-degree swing capability, they are very light. Mine was about 900#, including the 100# of lead that I added. Lifting the front half of the machine with the boom and dipper and swinging it around is quite easy. Once both outriggers are on one side of your trench, just use a scrap of plywood to get the second wheel over.

I did that a few times, but mostly I just planned not to have to cross over. Same with my Kioti. Unlike a tractor with a heavy "mainframe", I don't like to lift and move my tractor around with the backhoe. No problem doing that with the Kubota B21 and B20 TLBs I had, as they were built for that.

I also can't easily get to the other side of trench with my mini-X. It is too narrow, and my tracks would be perilously close to the edge of the trench.

I used to have a 4x8 sheet of 1.25" plywood, but years of using it over trenches has eventually destroyed it.