trencher

[deereman64]

I came across
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93167

Has anybody seen or used this item. is it an alternative to hiring a small backhoe?

 

[Scozz]

I have a similar hoe (home made Cadweld 728) it works well within its limits. Great for smaller projects in soil that is not laden with rocks and roots. My soil is full or the later ... in fact my soil is more like rock with a little dirt. I wound up cuting the engine off and converting it to 3 pt. It works better with the weight of the tractor attached but still has its limits. All in all it has served me well...Scozz

 

[flusher]

Renting? If you have $3K worth of backhoe work to do, maybe buying something like this is the way to go.

People in the "Build-it-yourself" forum have described homebuilt BHs. You can get plans from CADplans and buy kits from Metkit

Metkit

The BH kits range from about $1500 to over $4K depending on the size of the BH. The Metkit 821 MetDigger looks pretty close to the HF model and has a $4200 pricetag, compared to $3K for the HF unit.

I expect that, like the Metkit 821, the HF trencher requires a lot of assembly, i.e. the HF unit is essentially a kit, like the Metkit.

Don't know anything about the quality of these two products. Need to see one of these HF units up close and personal. Don't recall seeing one of these in my local HF store in Chico, CA. Check steel gauge, type and quality of hydraulic hoses/cylinders, etc. Probably less concerned about the Subaru engine.