Backhoe vs Tractor with backhoe

[Atypical_decorum]

I had this same question. Here's how I answered it.

Tractor with 3pt backhoe - it's still a tractor when the 3pt backhoe is off. Depending on the size of your tractor you can get a pretty stout backhoe.

Backhoe - can't do anything other than loading and hoe-ing. It is not a tractor. But if I didn't need the other functions a tractor can offer, a backhoe is better at digging.

The real question is, do you need a tractor for anything else other than digging? If no, get a backhoe, if yes, get a tractor and backhoe 3pt.

I got a woods 1080 - this weighs as much as a car and digs 10ft deep.

 

[howardjohn]

I have a case 480e backhoe. Aside from it being very sturdy for heavy digging I like the fact all I have to do is turn the seat around and I can use the backhoe. If you have a ag tractor with a backhoe attachment you have to get off the tractor and climb up onto the backhoe. Then off the backhoe back into the tractor to move. What about adjusting the engine throttle? Can you do that on an ag tractor with a backhoe?

 

[howardjohn]

I can reach the throttle from my seat regardless which way it is facing

 

[MinnesotaEric]

If you need a backhoe then get a construction machine as backhoes on tractors are a bit of an afterthought and are not as durable as a dedicated backhoe.

 

[Notforhire]

I had this same question. Here's how I answered it.

Tractor with 3pt backhoe - it's still a tractor when the 3pt backhoe is off. Depending on the size of your tractor you can get a pretty stout backhoe.

Backhoe - can't do anything other than loading and hoe-ing. It is not a tractor. But if I didn't need the other functions a tractor can offer, a backhoe is better at digging.

The real question is, do you need a tractor for anything else other than digging? If no, get a backhoe, if yes, get a tractor and backhoe 3pt.

I got a woods 1080 - this weighs as much as a car and digs 10ft deep.

The Kubota built TLB's are a little different. I originally bought my L47 as a tractor loader with a 3pt hitch. It's very much like a 4701 ag tractor except it has a huge subframe and a much more powerful loader, three hydraulic pumps, and quite a few more refinements.
Shortly afterwards I bought the backhoe "attachment" that turned it into a TLB.
It's a TLB that can become a tractor, not a tractor that becomes a light duty TLB.
I still mow with my L47 just as I did with my previous ag tractor.
It's not a Case 480, but it only weighs about half as much. It was really designed for landscapers and the like.

 

[Atypical_decorum]

The Kubota built TLB's are a little different. I originally bought my L47 as a tractor loader with a 3pt hitch. It's very much like a 4701 ag tractor except it has a huge subframe and a much more powerful loader, three hydraulic pumps, and quite a few more refinements.
Shortly afterwards I bought the backhoe "attachment" that turned it into a TLB.
It's a TLB that can become a tractor, not a tractor that becomes a light duty TLB.
I still mow with my L47 just as I did with my previous ag tractor.
It's not a Case 480, but it only weighs about half as much. It was really designed for landscapers and the like.

I got ya. I didn't know those TLBs had a 3pt/pto.

 

[number9L]

Silly question, but here it goes.

Which would be most ideal for a 6 acre property with long driveway, mature trees, snow removal, and making and maintaining a small veggie garden. A midsize backhoe with loader or a midsize tractor with backhoe and loader?

Haven't read the whole thread, but what you posted in OP, I'd ask

- what tasks do you need a backhoe for?
- what is the lay of your property?

I've got a L3800 4x4 with FEL, have had a Case backhoe, and now have an old LinkBelt LS2800 excavator. My 82ac is mostly slopes / hills, and 95% wooded.

I would not want to run my tractor all the time with a backhoe attachment on it. Especially so on slopes. I can take my tractor FAR more places on my property with the FEL removed. It makes a HUGE difference in stability on slopes. I can't imagine how bad it would be with a backhoe attachment on it as well.

If you have use case where regular digging is needed, I'd buy an older used Case / Deere backhoe with the money you'd spend on the backhoe attachment for the tractor - and I'd imagine it would hold it's value more as well, if you ever decide to sell it.

If your use case is occasional digging (once or twice a year), I'd just rent a small excavator for a couple days to do the work.

The Case backhoe I had was FAR superior to the tractor FEL for doing FEL work. However, I was never comfortable taking the backhoe on any kind of slope, it felt like riding on top of a basketball. Very unnerving and constantly pinching a knot in the seat cover. The backhoe was much heavier than the tractor of course, so trying to work it on soft ground done more harm than good, leaving ruts everywhere you went.

The excavator is a dream on slopes / hills, not much worry of turning it over. It's been used to dig the basement for our home, built ditches, roads, loading my 1-ton dumptruck, pushing over big mature trees, using as a crane, lots of uses.

..

 

[rScotty]

It's interesting how many TBNers have an old full size backhoe - like a JD310 or Case 580....not many Cat 316s or JCBs however.

Once you use a full size machine it is an eye-opener. To plow a few feet of snow, I just lower the bucket to skim the ground and drive forward. The bucket is full in a few yards, but that makes no difference. It just keeps going forward. The power and lift is awesome. Look at how thick the metal is. No wonder they last forever.
rScotty

 

[Wobblin-Goblin]

It's interesting how many TBNers have an old full size backhoe - like a JD310 or Case 580....not many Cat 316s or JCBs however.

Once you use a full size machine it is an eye-opener. To plow a few feet of snow, I just lower the bucket to skim the ground and drive forward. The bucket is full in a few yards, but that makes no difference. It just keeps going forward. The power and lift is awesome. Look at how thick the metal is. No wonder they last forever.
rScotty

Yep. 100hp and 18,000lbs of weight.

My dad was commenting on yellow machinery vs. farm tractors with loaders and he said, "No matter how rugged a farm tractor is with a loader, you still have to be careful. A (yellow machine) doesn't care either way."

Everything is better built when it's yellow. My 2007 JD410 "doesn't care."

 

[rScotty]

Yep. 100hp and 18,000lbs of weight.

My dad was commenting on yellow machinery vs. farm tractors with loaders and he said, "No matter how rugged a farm tractor is with a loader, you still have to be careful. A (yellow machine) doesn't care either way."

Everything is better built when it's yellow. My 2007 JD410 "doesn't care."

I believe that the yellow loader backhoes are deliberately built so that an operator doesn't have to be careful. After all, there are no operator's certificates most places. A company has no idea who they are hiring to run those things. But they are so incredibly rugged that they are strong enough to withstand almost - or maybe everything - that a uncaring operator can do to them. It would be very hard to get one to hurt itself.

BTW, from JD I was able to get the original build sheet for our 310SG. The FEL from a 410 is an option on the 310. Ours handles it easily... I forget the lift spec, but it is something crazy. If I remember right it is almost 8000 lbs to full height. That will certainly handle most things.....

rScotty