Buying Advice Used sub/compact tractor, what to buy?

[Tenx82]

Do you have mechanical skills?

How wide of trench are you planning on?

I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I can DIY maintenance/repairs as necessary. I have thought about going with a bigger, older unit, but I'm concerned with ending up with a machine that needs major/costly repairs within a few years.

My plan for the foundation work was to go the full 6' at about 3-4' width and taper up/out from there. The dirt from the full depth area will all be moved elsewhere. The tapered area will be set aside and put back in place.
(This won't be my first time doing foundation work, but it would be my first time doing the excavating myself.)

 

[ning]

I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I can DIY maintenance/repairs as necessary. I have thought about going with a bigger, older unit, but I'm concerned with ending up with a machine that needs major/costly repairs within a few years.

My plan for the foundation work was to go the full 6' at about 3-4' width and taper up/out from there. The dirt from the full depth area will all be moved elsewhere. The tapered area will be set aside and put back in place.
(This won't be my first time doing foundation work, but it would be my first time doing the excavating myself.)

Ok, that changes everything

There's no way you'd get me digging that much of a trench with a SCUT or CUT backhoe.

Seriously, that's not in the "a bit here and there" category unless you're a vampire and have centuries to do "a bit here and there" unless "a bit" is like 20 hours a week.

 

[LittleBill21]

as someone currently digging a very long ditch, you will probably be very unhappy.

the biggest issue is getting rid of the dirt, you need a very low dump trailer for the small height you can get over the trailer. I am digging a 2 foot ditch and I have to back up

I designed this system to move the tractor while I am in backhoe mode, and if I didn't have it, I would rent or buy an excavator, and I am still looking at them.

Now able to move tractor from backhoe position. Push Button, 3D Parts, Should have come from the factory this way.

Some of you may remember my complaining about not being able to move the tractor with the seat reversed, while using the backhoe. I thought this was crazy, as who just sits in one place and digs (guess I need to dig ditches). After trying a stick for about an hour i said screw it and designed...

www.tractorbynet.com

The biggest problem is getting close to the house without falling in the hole, you will never get to 6.5 feet, simply due to clearance swing and over hang.

I wish you luck.

 

[2manyrocks]

I wonder if you'd be happier with a little mini excavator? The little gas units sold for $4-5,000 and the diesel units sold for $7-8,000 at the local equipment auction about a month ago.

 

[sd455dan]

I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I can DIY maintenance/repairs as necessary. I have thought about going with a bigger, older unit, but I'm concerned with ending up with a machine that needs major/costly repairs within a few years.

My plan for the foundation work was to go the full 6' at about 3-4' width and taper up/out from there. The dirt from the full depth area will all be moved elsewhere. The tapered area will be set aside and put back in place.
(This won't be my first time doing foundation work, but it would be my first time doing the excavating myself.)

Seems to me with digging the taper at 3 foot wide, a bigger machine is not quite as big of a handicap, since you can be a bit off angle and then get closer to the foundation as you go. If nothing else I would suggest at least checking the local craigslist and maybe FB marketplace for a full sized machine.

I never see reasonably priced mini or midi ex's around here, but usually a few full size TLB's many times sub 10K for serviceable units. I was thinking how many times reading brand new CUT threads that the purchase turned into absolute nightmare on this site. Good used equipment can be exactly that many times because it is "used".

 

[Redlined0002]

Pay someone to dig your trench and then buy a Kubota 4x4 with Loader about a 30-35 hp without a backhoe. 6 months later you will be glad you did.

 

[jyoutz]

Seems to me with digging the taper at 3 foot wide, a bigger machine is not quite as big of a handicap, since you can be a bit off angle and then get closer to the foundation as you go. If nothing else I would suggest at least checking the local craigslist and maybe FB marketplace for a full sized machine.

I never see reasonably priced mini or midi ex's around here, but usually a few full size TLB's many times sub 10K for serviceable units. I was thinking how many times reading brand new CUT threads that the purchase turned into absolute nightmare on this site. Good used equipment can be exactly that many times because it is "used".

I was curious after reading your post about sub $10k full size TLB units so I checked CL for my area and surrounding states. The used units are considerably more expensive than $10K. 3 to 6 times more expensive.

 

[Page2]

The 2019 RK with all the extra equipment sounds like a pretty good deal, but it wont have the reach to do that foundation work you are talking about. Hire out the excavation, keep the tractor for other things that need done.

 

[2manyrocks]

If you use the TBN search feature, you can find any threads discussing the machines you are considering. Sometimes there is good information to be found that way. Members come and go and may not respond to your thread, but sometimes there's good information still to be found just by using the search feature.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Depending on the lengths of your foundations and soils, it might be quicker to do them with the Front-End-Loader (FEL) than a backhoe. Depends on whether you have the room on the ends to do it as drive throughs. Or short enough that the backing would be short enough to not slow you down too much.

The backhoes on SCUTs and CUTs, are frequently lacking in breakout, depth and reach. And most have 4 to 5-foot FEL buckets. So, it may be more efficient to move dirt with the FEL.

If there is length for pull throughs, I might look at using a box blade for the bulk of the material.

RE parts for the RK. The bulk of the mechanical parts will cross to a TYM. Things like the gauge panel, and controls are different, but can be replaced with TYM parts which will just look different. And TYM doesn't change base parts with great frequency. My TYM T233 is a 2007, and the T293, is I think 2017. All of the major repair parts have the same part numbers for my two tractors, except the engine parts. And normal wear parts are the same as the current production T25. The difference is in the engines and coupling from the engine to the transmission. And on my T233 and T293, the engines are pretty common Mitsubishi engines. If I search for engine parts online by omitting the first five characters of the TYM part number, and include Mitsubishi in the search terms, the Mitsubishi parts show up.

 

[deadheadmartin]

It's close to the limit of their ~6.5' dig depth so I'm assuming I'll need to do a little work by hand.
I'd love to get one with an ~8' dig depth, but those all seem to be out of my budget.

They are no more than a power shovel, buy the right tool for the job.

 

[sd455dan]

I was curious after reading your post about sub $10k full size TLB units so I checked CL for my area and surrounding states. The used units are considerably more expensive than $10K. 3 to 6 times more expensive.

Seems prices have gone up and I have not looked much since I bought the Ford 550, but looking "today" at older TLB's locally just on CL heavy equipment:


Even the 1971 Deere would put a new SCUT to shame digging 6 foot deep of course jmo

$7500

https://spokane.craigslist.org/hvo/d/spokane-71-john-deere-tractor-backhoe/7835120992.html

$12.5K
really old running JD with a home built trailer asking

https://spokane.craigslist.org/hvo/d/airway-heights-69-jd-backhoe-trailer/7831133460.html

$16.9 Case 580 C Runs great

https://spokane.craigslist.org/hvo/d/kootenai-case-580c-backhoe-with-rops/7836401619.html

Second to last trench I did with the 550 36" deep X 400' It was a little hard on the Harbor freight 12" wide bucket I adapted instead a full 2 foot wide trench, but some welder work fixed it up. My guess is that 100lb HF bucket is probably about as beefy as what come on a new SCUT backhoe for a bucket.

TLB can make short work of moving a full 3300lb pallet of concrete if needed for a job as well. New is always nice but there is serviceable old equipment out there, many people buy an old machine get the jobs done and then sell them for close to what they paid for them. I just truly believe a newish/new SCUT would loose against even the lowest priced backhoe above digging the depths the OP is asking about especially if the SCUT or old backhoe is also tasked with transporting those spoils.

If I was to buy today out of the list above the Case 580 C would be it, Even at the 16.9 K price, if as described should also be powered by the venerable Cummins 4BT and has modular drivetrain parts replacement unlike a Ford 550-555. Oh and if a guy feels like it with some of the money saved add a hydraulic thumb to the backhoe.

After thinking about this some more maybe the Op should just rent a nice Kubota KX040 or something similar and then buy a CUT/SCUT that fits all the other more tractor only uses the OP may have planned.

 

[Tenx82]

Thank you everyone for the replies/info so far.

The one I was going to buy sold before I could get there, but that may have been a blessing in disguise.

Looks like I'll be looking more for a 35-50hp tractor, and either buying a mini excavator or hiring out the foundation exciting.

 

[ning]

Thank you everyone for the replies/info so far.

The one I was going to buy sold before I could get there, but that may have been a blessing in disguise.

Looks like I'll be looking more for a 35-50hp tractor, and either buying a mini excavator or hiring out the foundation exciting.

I think you'll be happiest with this route taken, happy hunting!

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I'm a frequent advocate of renting the right tool for the job as opposed to buying something that you can stretch and make-do for a bunch of jobs. I'd rent an excavator for time necessary to do the digging--it'll be faster than a small tractor-mounted hoe; then rent a skid-steer to do the back-filling and dirt-moving work.
After you've got those things done, you can focus on what you really need in a machine that will multi-task, without ending up having a couple rusting lawn ornaments you'll never use.

I considered a backhoe for my B2301. I can rent an excavator for less than $500/day and get more work done in one day than I can in two or three with a tractor-mounted hoe. In four years, I've only needed the excavator one time--as opposed to having a $6500 chunk of iron sitting in my door yard.

 

[Deanes]

A backhoe on that size tractor will prove very disappointing and time-consuming. If you need a tractor, just get a heavier one with a front loader and rent a real backhoe or mini excavator for such occasional use.

 

[13720]

You can do a lot of work in one day with an excavator rental. They are much more versital than a backhoe. The flexibility of rental machines allows a wider range of options.