Buying Advice Buying backhoe with the tractor upfront.

[fried1765]

Enjoy your BH’s gentlemen. I think they are not very useful on a little tractor that weighs less than 2000 lbs. We can agree to disagree

The used machines I have seen in that size range have BH’s that look like new. Once most people dig a trench or two and plant a few dozen trees they sit idle. That is a lot of $$$ doing nothing.

I have owned 20 acres for 9 years and had $600 of BH work done.

I have owned an intermediate TLB for 35 years!
A 1970 Ford 3400 for 33 years, and my current 2006 Kubota L48 for 2 years, both bought used.
I only put 500 hours on my Ford in 33 years.
I bought it for $10,000, sold it for $9,000, and did at least $75,000 worth of my own property maintenance, in addition to always having it available when needed, often for one hour or less.
I have been on my family 11.7 acres for much of my 80 years.

 

[Egon]

One of the many things a backhoe is designed for is trenching.

But; add in, doing anything a shovel can do, lifting stuff, getting unstuck and so forth. It’s just like a mechanical arm.

Remember, tractors were originally designed to pull things. No pto’s, no buckets, just a simple draft machine!

 

[4570Man]

I used to have a tractor with a backhoe. I used it a lot. It was what I had and it was significantly better than a shovel. I do agree a backhoe on a tiny tractor is about worthless. Even the biggest tractor backhoes are weak. I have a mini excavator now and it’s WAY better than a tractor backhoe but that’s all it does is dig. It won’t mow grass, it won’t plow your driveway, it won’t carry mulch to your flower bed, it won’t till your garden. Well I guess it could do all of those things but not good. So unless you want to buy a tractor and mini excavator the tractor backhoe is a decent option.

 

[fried1765]

I used to have a tractor with a backhoe. I used it a lot. It was what I had and it was significantly better than a shovel. I do agree a backhoe on a tiny tractor is about worthless. Even the biggest tractor backhoes are weak. I have a mini excavator now and it’s WAY better than a tractor backhoe but that’s all it does is dig. It won’t mow grass, it won’t plow your driveway, it won’t carry mulch to your flower bed, it won’t till your garden. Well I guess it could do all of those things but not good. So unless you want to buy a tractor and mini excavator the tractor backhoe is a decent option.

As others have often stated, a TLB is the Swiss army knife of small earth moving machinery.

 

[shooterdon]

To the OP

Make a list of the jobs only a BH will do for your needs.

I have a local guy that charges $100/hr and he does twice the work I could do with a BH. Makes more sense for me to hire the work out.

There is no outright correct answer...it depends on your needs.

I earn 8% on investments. So instead of investing $6000 on a BH, I can get about 5 hr of BH work done a year free. With no wear on tear on my equipment. It works for me, but I have only had the guy here twice in 9 years. YMMV

Obviously, some folks here use their BH a lot and it works for them.

What do you need doing?

 

[fried1765]

To the OP

Make a list of the jobs only a BH will do for your needs.

I have a local guy that charges $100/hr and he does twice the work I could do with a BH. Makes more sense for me to hire the work out.

There is no outright correct answer...it depends on your needs.

I earn 8% on investments. So instead of investing $6000 on a BH, I can get about 5 hr of BH work done a year free. With no wear on tear on my equipment. It works for me, but I have only had the guy here twice in 9 years. YMMV

Obviously, some folks here use their BH a lot and it works for them.

What do you need doing?

I have had a TLB for 35 years.
My current Kubota L48 TLB is worth 35% more (Tractor Data) than I paid for it used, 25 months ago.
That handily beats 8% per annum in my book!
And.......I have the machine available for use every day, if I should need it.
At 80, I use that wonderful mechanical arm with hydraulic thumb, more often than you might even begin to imagine.

 

[4570Man]

I have had a TLB for 35 years.
My current Kubota L48 TLB is worth 35% more (Tractor Data) than I paid for it used, 25 months ago.
That handily beats 8% per annum in my book!
And.......I have the machine available for use every day, if I should need it.
At 80, I use that wonderful mechanical arm with hydraulic thumb, more often than you might even begin to imagine.

I’m not 80 but any time I can use hydraulics to do work it’s a good day. Here’s a gravel spreader I rigged up to push gravel in a 12’ porch.

 

[paulfun9]

No. You rent a tracked mini-excavator complete, not a rental backhoe for the tractor. You can rent a much more efficient mini-excavator multiple times for the cost of a $5,000 backhoe.

shooterdon:​

Easier and cheaper to get a local guy to do my BH work and pay him $100/hr for small jobs.

Yes. Perhaps $2,000 dollars more purchased after the tractor.

But you can’t use it at will if it isn’t already at your place.
Most of the jobs I get offered lately are those the owner thought they could rent something for, but rain, work and no rental available were problems that they encountered.
Owning and having ready at your disposal is also much more profitable when you add up all the costs, hassles and bull crap you put up with when renting.
Not to mention when you sell you get most of that back and then the rental actually becomes the more expensive option.

I have made way more than the cost of my last backhoe just doing small odd jobs with it for others over the years and I assure you there was much more completed than trenching!

 

[Carl_NH]

If you want to "wear out your back don't get a back hoe" yes you can do much more renting a mini excavator but for utility and having a swiss army tool at your disposal "when you need it" is key.

As others have stated a BH with a thumb is a tool you will never regret having it long term - like others mine rarely comes off as its not just digging - its picking up logs for cutting, picking/placing rocks, a brush grapple and more,

 

[Williy]

I use my TLB for removing cactus, cedar trees, rocks, putting in water lines. It would cost me a small fortune
to have some one to come in and do all the work that I
have been doing and the best part is I have use of it when
ever I want to use it. No hassle to go to town to the rent it
shop fill out the paper work and drive home. And the time
it takes to go to town fill out the paper work and drive back
home I can have the job that I want to do done or about
finished because I don't need to spend the time to rent
and my BH75 does a fine job for me it sure beats a shovel!

willy!