Comparison I purchased a Massey Ferguson GC1720 - here's why

[frugalangler]

The CB65 is a serious backhoe and looks it. I didn't realize it had about 400 lbs. more breakout force than comparable units.

Yep, and since that is the most serious duty it will see, that was important data point in my consideration. One of the primary uses of this guy will be stump removal, and yes a CUT would be better suited in many folks eyes, but they are larger footprint and much more difficult to maneuver in the grove of walnut and hickory trees I have. I had (still have if anyone is really interested) a spreadsheet of all the capacities (no guarantee of accuracy, it's scraped from whatever literature I could find online or in brochures), etc., that I could gather and three of the key points were 3PH, FEL, and BH forces/capacities. According to the data I could find, this 'little' guy excelled in FEL and BH, and was adequate in 3PH for my purpose. One other subtle aspect was the way they tied the BH frame to the FEL, makes the whole thing a lot stiffer - some others do also, but I didn't see anything quite as well done in my look over of other units.

 

[Ron of Va]

Congratulations on your purchase. I bought a GC1720 the first of the year, and I am quite happy with it.

I also considered the JD 1025R, but I was concerned about the plastic hood, and other plastic parts. I had the plastic hood on my JD lawn tractor shatter in my hand during the winter. And there was a JD1025R on sale on craigslist a while back with "lots of broken plastic" as part of the description of the condition. (ok, enough of that) It finally sold.

When I checked on the JD 1025R the JD dealer gave me a price of $23000, and the MF GC1720 with a mid-mount mower was $18,600. Those were my decision points. Not to mention the JD dealer was going to charge me $250 to put fluid in the rear tires for ballast. If I wanted the ballast it would be N/C from the MF dealer.

I wanted to suggest that you check the hydraulic fittings to the front-end loader. Mine were barely over finger tight and began to leak within a week of taking it home. A little research shows that this is fairly common.

Here I am hauling in a 7x12 PJ Dump trailer and doing a little work with the unit.

 

[dalola]

Great write-up frugalangler! I went through a very similar process to find a SCUT to fit my needs, ended up with a KB BX2380, just took delivery this week. (pic below)

My short list was the KB, JD 1023E, and LS MT125. Not respective of price, the KB was my fav, but quotes were coming in really high, until I hit a dealer that was really discounting, making all 3 units within a couple hundred dollars. At that point, it became an easy choice. Like you, I shop *value*, not just price.

I really wanted to kick tires on the MF, but very sparse dealer network around here, and even more sparse inventory. Looks like a great machine, enjoy!

 

[Powerguy]

Ron

I'm looking at a GC 1720 but am worried it's not strong enough. My property is very hard, I live in Washington state.
Had a L2850 1991 kubota with 3 point hitch backhoe that wouldn hardly touch my ground, just drug the tractor backwards.
What kind of ground do you use yours on? My ground is like flour(very small almost like ash) with rocks in it and very hard as soon as it dries out, when it rains the top 1-2" is just slick as Craph.
Any info you can give would help and thanks

 

[AxleHub]

Ron

I'm looking at a GC 1720 but am worried it's not strong enough. My property is very hard, I live in Washington state.
Had a L2850 1991 kubota with 3 point hitch backhoe that wouldn hardly touch my ground, just drug the tractor backwards.
What kind of ground do you use yours on? My ground is like flour(very small almost like ash) with rocks in it and very hard as soon as it dries out, when it rains the top 1-2" is just slick as Craph.
Any info you can give would help and thanks

Might I suggest Powerguy, that TBN is a fine forum for information and ideas - but if backhoe use is in question because of your specific ground type - no "opinion" is going to give you the answer. Either rent a GC1720 for a day or get a dealer to come out and demo one for backhoe use. Its the only way - you'll get an answer that relates to your specific need of ground type. You may find - your land is not friendly to backhoes until you get to big sizes that requires rental or contractor.

jmho

 

[arrow]

I think you should offer your services as a "buyer researcher".

 

[Ron of Va]

The only way to know for sure is if you do as Axlehub suggests and see if the dealer will come to your home and demo the unit.

If I had to guess, I would say the GC1720 would handle it, but it would depend on how big of bites you take with the bucket. It might also be technique, when the backhoe starts dragging the tractor, it is time to curl the bucket.

The curl power of that backhoe bucket is very powerful. I made a ripper tooth that I welded to a 5/8inch thick 2" x 8" piece of steel which I bolted to the center of the bucket. The weld didn't totally fail, but the 5/8inch mount, bent 90 degrees when I curled it against a stubborn root. Before I bent the ripper tooth, the front end of the tractor with the FEL came off the ground.

 

[frugalangler]

I think you should offer your services as a "buyer researcher".

Considering the number of hours I put into this I'd never break even.

 

[jenkinsph]

Nice write up.:thumbsup:

Hope you enjoy many years with the tlb.

 

[seijirou]

I had (still have if anyone is really interested) a spreadsheet of all the capacities (no guarantee of accuracy, it's scraped from whatever literature I could find online or in brochures), etc., that I could gather and three of the key points were 3PH, FEL, and BH forces/capacities.

I'm really interested!

Thank you for this thread. I'm going through the pains of trying to figure out my first tractor and your thread has been a great help.