Anybody here have much experience with either 3 point or tow backhoe?

[Greench]

I know someone who broke his off. Cost him 12 grand for the lesson. If it's not a subframe mount I'd steer clear of it.

All I can add is do not rotate the boom of a full cat on your leg twice because wasp would not let you turn it off in the cab and you jumped on the back like a friggin idiot. The first time hurts. The second time when you turn it the wrong way trying to make it let go hurts more. It cost blue cross 350K

 

[anchorhd]

I use a woods bh90x, with sub frame, on a nh t2310. Would need an excavator if I didnt have it.
Only issue is putting it back on sometimes.

 

[Smokeydog]

Can’t remember if it was some Kubota information or salesman saying the B20 was inspired by the proven Case 580 design. While the later B26 has many improvements over the B20 model it is not built as ruggedly built.

 

[panamaguy]

I already have a Case 580CK backhoe. It is pretty worn out but still digs. But it does the digging with a two foot wide bucket. According to the manual it will dig a ditch 14 feet deep. My big backhoe also goes places. It needs big places because it is big. But I have a need to dig narrow ditches that are about two feet deep in places where only a small machine will go.
I did make myself a 6 inch wide bucket that affixes to the dipper and will dig two feet deep. It works OK but there is still the limitation of the big backhoe. And I have already bent the thing. The bucket is welded to a piece of 2 x 2 1/4 wall square tubing and has a 2 x 1/4 piece of rectangular stock welded to back of the square tubing, like a spine, for reinforcement. I bent the square tube anyway. About 90 degrees. Because of all the rocks.
So I keep lusting after a small backhoe with a thumb. I keep seeing pictures of 3 point backhoes on tractors the approximate size as my Yanmar YM2310. And pictures of tow behind excavators.
My soil is glacial till. It is full of rocks of various sizes. A bucket with a thumb removes these rocks much easier than digging them out. I know because I rented a small, about 4 feet wide, tracked excavator that had a thumb. Pulling rocks up and out is way easier and faster than digging them out.
So, does anyone here have any experience with these small machines? I know they will be much slower than my Case and I can live with that. But can they do actual work in rocky soil without extreme frustration?
A tow behind would make for a pretty long machine assembly, but in most places I can live with that. But it seems to me that a tow behind might be trouble because it would be so light it would get tugged around. Unless being hitched to the tractor all the time. This would at least tend to hold it in place when digging a ditch in line with the long axis of the tractor.
A 3 point hitch type would be shorter, easier to transport, and have a little more stability side to side. Or would it? I mean the sideways stability. I think I saw methods of attaching 3 point backhoes that added sideways stability.
So, are these small machines worth looking at? I would love some opinions.
Thanks,
Eric

If you have enough work for it buy a mini hoe. I have a IHI 15NX and added a thumb as the pedal and lines are already run out to the stick. Yanmar 3 cyl and has been a great machine. I retired to Panama and out of boredom bought it and put in house foundations as they do not do basements also water and power lines. It will dig just about 6 feet so more than enough for anything I need to dig. Have even dug 3 swimming pools where they could not get a big hoe in and every bucket was dumped into wheelbarrows, 6 tired kids after that

 

[jeffie]

I have a jd 1025r with the quicktach backhoe. I use it in my landscape business to tear out shrubs, and plant large trees. As panamaguy said they will fit anywhere and is a perfect match for my needs. I just crossed 700 hours trouble free just routine maintenance.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I priced a unit to attach to my new B series Kubota. About $6500. Rental for a small excavator is about $400 a day in our market, maybe a bit less. I did the math and will rent the excavator...and won't have to store it when it's not on the tractor.

 

[racardon]

I have a Massey Ferguson 1260, 39 HP tractor with front loader and 3 pt backhoe. Previous owner put a subframe on the tractor. Definitely won't compete with your Case 580, but it is way way better than a shovel and pick. I've used my backhoe in some pretty hard soil with a few large rocks. It took a while to break through the surface, but then did fine. I've also had several hours seat time on a couple of mini-excavators. They will definitely outrun a 3 pt backhoe in a trenching contest. But, I suspect a mini-excavator is going to be a lot more expensive than a 3pt backhoe even if you have to get the subframe.
A thumb would really make grabbing rocks easier. It's always a challenge chasing them around with a bucket. Thumb also makes it easy to place larger rocks where you want them.

 

[etpm]

After reading the many replies (Many Thanks!) I have decided to look for a backhoe with a thumb that I can attach to a sub frame. It looks like the tow behind diggers are just way too light for the ground I have here and 3 point units are too risky.
Looking at my tractor I can see how to attach a sub frame unit such that it will not put the kind of load on the tractor that causes breakage.
In the mean time I'll just rent a mini excavator with a thumb for the places it can be used. The thumb is a super time saver when dealing with the kind of rocks we have.
I'm pretty sure that once I start to seriously look for a small add on hoe I'll be able to find one at a price I can afford.
Thanks Again Everybody,
Eric

 

[4570Man]

I’ve seen some mini excavators in the 10k range. I think if you had one you’d be impressed and kick yourself for not doing it sooner. I have a Deere 410 and a 4.5 ton mini excavator. The Deere will out muscle the mini but for everything else the mini is way better.

 

[rScotty]

I priced a unit to attach to my new B series Kubota. About $6500. Rental for a small excavator is about $400 a day in our market, maybe a bit less. I did the math and will rent the excavator...and won't have to store it when it's not on the tractor.

I think that "doing the math" will lead to the conclusion that renting is cheaper than owning every time, for every implement, and for every job. That's simple enough, but clearly not right.

If it was, we wouldn't need to have compact tractors, do it yourselfers, tailgate parties, or TBN.

I always suspected that math was wrong; now I know why.
rScotty