buying advice?

[old bubblehead]

Also an old bubblehead, i get the reference. My backhoe suggestion is to be very deliberate matching components. I bought a green machine bc it could do everything I needed at the time in 1 machine. Mower, loader, tiller and was simple for my kids to operate the mower. Then I bought a 3 pt bushhog backhoe. They do NOT play well together. I think I damaged my hydraulic pump bc with the backhoe attached I'm pumping to a dead head. Took it to 2 dealers and had 20 year old kids tell me "is fine, it's supposed to sound like that". I'm working on separating the backhoe with a pto hydraulic pump but they're not easy to find anymore.
BLUF: quality dealer support is critical

Hey shipmate! The "three point backhoes" are, based on everything I've heard/read, a breakdown waiting for a place to happen.
I want one that mounts on frame rails bolted the length of the body. Yes, it lowers ground clearance slightly. No biggie in my neck of the woods. What it doesn't do, is torque your whole tractor to the point where you can't use your three point.
(In God we trust, all others we track.)

 

[JimR]

Hey shipmate! The "three point backhoes" are, based on everything I've heard/read, a breakdown waiting for a place to happen.
I want one that mounts on frame rails bolted the length of the body. Yes, it lowers ground clearance slightly. No biggie in my neck of the woods. What it doesn't do, is torque your whole tractor to the point where you can't use your three point.
(In God we trust, all others we track.)

My Kioti manual warns about using a 3pth backhoe without an undercarriage. It will damage the 3pth.

 

[jyoutz]

My Kioti manual warns about using a 3pth backhoe without an undercarriage. It will damage the 3pth.

It will damage much more than the 3ph.

 

[JimR]

It will damage much more than the 3ph.

I would guess that the lower 3pth mounts would break off. I have an active top mount and that would be destroyed.

 

[dusty3030]

You don’t want to hear this but scratch hay production off your list for the amount of tillable acres you have. At least for now. Rotational grazing and buying hay when needed will be more successful. Put your efforts and resources in improving your soil and forage quality and you can cut your hay needs to little or none for the number of animals you need to be self sufficient on the acreage you have. Research rotational grazing before you make equipment choices. Also do soil testing and get as much help as you can from your county extension office and nrcs. Without a good idea what shape your soil is how are you going to know what it’s capable of?

Advice in this thread to get an older bigger backhoe for your land projects is solid. Mini ex a good choice too. 75hp or bigger backhoe would probably be more versatile. One with a clamshell bucket and extend a hoe and or a thumb would be the grail. A full sized construction hoe or a 7,000 to 8,500 pound class mini ex can do more than a tractor mounted backhoe by far. Loader work too as well as traction to actually do the heavy work compared to a tractor mounted loader as well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Given your list of things that you need to dig means that you need two tractors. Hoping to get all that done in your lifetime with just one tractor that is using a three-point backhoe isn't going to happen. They are not practical for that type of work.

I bought an old 1998 New Holland open station backhoe for $18,000 twenty years ago and it's still running today. I've put over 6,000 hours on it, and hope to get a few thousand more out of it. An excavator is better for digging, but terrible at moving stuff. An excavator will out dig my backhoe, but it's more money and limited uses.

Buy the most hp that you can afford, and then some. It's fun when you start these projects, but once things start breaking, you will wish you had more power. More power means more strength, and ability.

It took me 20 years to finally get a cab tractor. The cost was just too much to justify when first starting out. A cab tractor will cost a lot more money than open station. Suffering through the heat and cold will allow you to buy more HP and a second tractor. Buying used will also free up more money for more HP and a second tractor.

 

[Hay Dude]

92HP Terex backhoe with Cab, AC, front loader bucket with flip down forks and a 19.5’ extendahoe 4K hours, with excellent tires and NO rust for $17,000!!!

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That’s just a little more than a backhoe 3pt attachment and can do 10 times as much work. Flip down forks on the bucket are great for logs.

I oughta buy the damn thing!!! lol

 

[Carl_NH]

HD - why don't you? I know you just got the excavator, but this could open up more opportunities potentially, and in 3-5 years, sell it and you won't lose much if anything.

I understand you can only run one machine at a time tho too!

 

[4570Man]

92HP Terex backhoe with Cab, AC, front loader bucket with flip down forks and a 19.5’ extendahoe 4K hours, with excellent tires and NO rust for $17,000!!!

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That’s just a little more than a backhoe 3pt attachment and can do 10 times as much work. Flip down forks on the bucket are great for logs.

I oughta buy the damn thing!!! lol

The first machine I had was a 310j. I sold it and got a skid steer and mini x. Then I impulse bought a 410d for $17,000. Then I quickly realized why I sold the first backhoe and sold it too. The skid steer and mini is just so much better. If the backhoe had a quick attach bucket and forks I would be more inclined to keep it around but backhoes that have quick attach frames usually aren’t $17,000.

 

[EddieWalker]

I welded on a Quick Attach plate to my bucket and had created the attachment for it on my loader. I can switch my backhoe front bucket to pallet forks, hay spear or grapple in just a few minutes. It really was life changing to be able to dig up a tree with the hoe, cut it into 20 foot lengths, and then pick up each log and carry it to the burn pile!!!

Something else to mention is how much stronger the loader is on a backhoe than a farm tractor. I can lift 6,000 pounds with it and carry a full yard of dirt.