JD 485 Backhoe

[sunnyside360]

I've been thinking about getting a JD 485 backhoe for my JD 4320 open station tractor. I plan on using the backhoe to remove stumps, clean out ditches, and plant some trees here on this old 300 acre farm. Got a price today of $8300 with 24" bucket installed by the dealer. List price is $9778 and includes all attaching hardware. This is about 15% discount. I'm told the 485 came out recently for attaching to either the OS or Cab tractors. Is this a good backhoe and is this a good deal?

Thanks in advance for your help/opinions.

 

[kennyd]

15% off list is a good price...and it includes installation so you are even further ahead-add to that they are including the power beyond kit (unless you already have it installed).
The 485 is just an updated model of the proven #48 BH to fit the cabbed machines.

But some food for thought: There are some great deals on mini-excavators around right now...

 

[jenkinsph]

Hope this doesn't sound arrogant but I think $10,000 is a nice down payment on a lightly used 110 tlb or as mentioned above a good mini excavator. I would also say that you can get a lot of backhoe work done by a contractor for $10,000 and have no headaches and repairs to deal with. A 14' backhoe can do an amazing amount of work in a very short time whereas a much smaller 485 will require a lot of patience.



Steve

 

[AKfish]

Well... 300 acres is a pretty good sized piece of work. You'll have to be the judge of the size of the projects and whether or not a JD485 backhoe is up to the tasks at hand.

IMO - I'd have some reservations that the job might be too big for the tool. And you might be better off in the long-run to invest the $8,300 into a different platform.

Excavator or backhoe. My experience has been that for digging, clearing trees, rooting up stumps, you can't beat an excavator.

But a TLB is a good "Swiss army knife".

Best of luck.

AKfish

 

[jenkinsph]

AKfish, nice pictures but man you need a cab on that thing.



Steve

 

[AKfish]

AKfish, nice pictures but man you need a cab on that thing.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. Cab.. yep! It was a pretty crisp day; about -5F.

My next tractor will have a cab. Need a mower/baler tractor but don't want a gear tractor. I'm really spoiled with the hydro tranny on the 110.

AKfish

 

[sunnyside360]

Well... 300 acres is a pretty good sized piece of work. You'll have to be the judge of the size of the projects and whether or not a JD485 backhoe is up to the tasks at hand.

IMO - I'd have some reservations that the job might be too big for the tool. And you might be better off in the long-run to invest the $8,300 into a different platform.

Excavator or backhoe. My experience has been that for digging, clearing trees, rooting up stumps, you can't beat an excavator.

But a TLB is a good "Swiss army knife".

Best of luck.

AKfish

WOW! Nice pictures -- awesome machine. After seeing your 110 TLB I'm thinking I should take a close look at that model.

 

[AKfish]

Time and the size of the project are critical factors. If you're not in a big hurry for results and the project isn't too extensive - then a 110TLB (or the Kubota L45) might be a good fit.

However, 300 acres is a large "work area" and the 110 would be hard-pressed to be a very efficient platform with large jobs.

That said; either machine is alot more capable for excavating, stump/tree removal, etc. than a 4320 with 485 hoe - IMO. But... the 4320 will certainly get the job done.

The 485 hoe will be slower than the 110; and the 110 will be alot slower than a 10,000lb excavator.

It really depends upon how important time is to you and how big the projects are you have in mind.

AKfish

 

[sunnyside360]

Time and the size of the project are critical factors. If you're not in a big hurry for results and the project isn't too extensive - then a 110TLB (or the Kubota L45) might be a good fit.

However, 300 acres is a large "work area" and the 110 would be hard-pressed to be a very efficient platform with large jobs.

That said; either machine is alot more capable for excavating, stump/tree removal, etc. than a 4320 with 485 hoe - IMO. But... the 4320 will certainly get the job done.

The 485 hoe will be slower than the 110; and the 110 will be alot slower than a 10,000lb excavator.

It really depends upon how important time is to you and how big the projects are you have in mind.

AKfish

AKfish, I'm not in a hurry to do most anything these days since I'm retired. Just trying to restore parts of this old dairy farm that's been in the family for over 100 years. It hasn't been farmed since the mid 60's so lots of brush and smaller trees need to be removed on about 75 acres -- will leave the rest as wooded. It's amazing how much help the bush hog is for the smaller stuff. I rented a D4 Cat for a week and pushed all the bigger trees on piles. Most of what is left is red pine about 6" in diameter -- maybe 40-50 trees and not real difficult as compared to the oaks and maples handled by the D4.
Other projects are smaller and include cleaning out a couple of small streams, ditches, replacing a couple culverts, and etc. I'm also considering a grapple to move brush and smaller trees.

 

[sunnyside360]

I took the plunge yesterday and ordered the JD 485 Backhoe and an AV20 Root Grapple for the 4320. Dealer gave me 20 some percent off the grapple. Now the agonizing wait time begins -- will take about 10 days for delivery of new equipment to the dealer and then he has to pick up my tractor and install. Can't wait to put it to work.
Thanks to all for your comments.