What do you consider a worthless piece of equipment?

[AzIron]

A backhoe is just like a Swiss Army Knife. Handy if that's all you can find in the bottom of your backpack, but otherwise generally useless for anything in particular.

Except opening letters, I guess . . .

up to 8 backhoes the work we use them for will out perform any excavator in variety at about the same price pound for pound and the places I take backhoes on a regular basis would be a lot of work for a mini ex and sometimes near impossible for something on steel tracks

In my very un qualified opinion I could never get away from backhoes and go all excavators my profitability and flexibility would drop a lot

 

[Welder Dave]

I've often wondered if I could override a CVSE officer if I got pulled over for some BS violation and I whipped out my Red Seal truck & transport ticket. Wonder how that would go down?

Read John Griffin's post about tree's and it appears they officers at the weigh station didn't know the rules regarding cranes.

 

[Willie B]

up to 8 backhoes the work we use them for will out perform any excavator in variety at about the same price pound for pound and the places I take backhoes on a regular basis would be a lot of work for a mini ex and sometimes near impossible for something on steel tracks

In my very un qualified opinion I could never get away from backhoes and go all excavators my profitability and flexibility would drop a lot

I have land 3 miles from home. I can be there in 15 minutes driving a backhoe. 100 yards is steep. I can't make the hill with an unloaded truck towing a heavily loaded trailer. An excavator would force me to unload out at the US 7 intersection & walk an excavator 1/2 mile. I can use one machine to dig, load, & a multitude of other tasks an excavator can't do alone, would need a loader also. An excavator & skid loader paired might do the job, they'd have to be quick to make up for transport time.

As another example; I had a square hole to dig. Customer wanted 15 x 15, 6' deep, flat, square corners suitable to pour full of concrete. He specified the spoils be placed 100 yards away. It was just far enough from home to justify using the trailer. Loading & unloading twice each & doing the job, including levelling the floor of the dig took 8-1/2 hours. Had I hauled in an excavator, & skid loader, then shuttled the spoils 100 yards with the small loader bucket on a skid loader, I'm pretty sure it'd take much longer.

No argument, a 5 ton excavator will dig faster than an 8 ton backhoe. A skid loader will move soil well, the small load capacity is a limiting factor. Can't beat the versatility of a backhoe.

 

[cuttin edge]

I've often wondered if I could override a CVSE officer if I got pulled over for some BS violation and I whipped out my Red Seal truck & transport ticket. Wonder how that would go down?

My father was a mechanic all his life. The last 30 as a T&T man. I remember him going to court because of something like that. I remember how mad he would get at trucks getting towed in to the shop when there was no need at all. Once a fella was towed in. He had a crack in the angle that bolted the fifth wheel to the frame. Well past the last bolt. it could have been cut off at that point and not made a difference. Worst part was, he was hauling a tandem dump trailer load of road salt, and they towed him in with a single axle wrecker, still hauling the trailer.

 

[materthegreater]

I have land 3 miles from home. I can be there in 15 minutes driving a backhoe. 100 yards is steep. I can't make the hill with an unloaded truck towing a heavily loaded trailer. An excavator would force me to unload out at the US 7 intersection & walk an excavator 1/2 mile. I can use one machine to dig, load, & a multitude of other tasks an excavator can't do alone, would need a loader also. An excavator & skid loader paired might do the job, they'd have to be quick to make up for transport time.

As another example; I had a square hole to dig. Customer wanted 15 x 15, 6' deep, flat, square corners suitable to pour full of concrete. He specified the spoils be placed 100 yards away. It was just far enough from home to justify using the trailer. Loading & unloading twice each & doing the job, including levelling the floor of the dig took 8-1/2 hours. Had I hauled in an excavator, & skid loader, then shuttled the spoils 100 yards with the small loader bucket on a skid loader, I'm pretty sure it'd take much longer.

No argument, a 5 ton excavator will dig faster than an 8 ton backhoe. A skid loader will move soil well, the small load capacity is a limiting factor. Can't beat the versatility of a backhoe.

Willie, how long is your trailer? I don't move backhoes very often but I moved a Ford 555D today and the boom hung off the back of the trailer a bit. My trailer only has a 20' deck including the beaver tail.

 

[Willie B]

18' flat + 5' beaver. John Deere 410C with long lip loader bucket & extend a hoe I could only catch the bucket teeth on the extreme rear of the trailer. Case 580 Super N outweighs the JD , but is 2.5' shorter.

I remember people towing backhoes with loader bucket over the tailgate of a single axle dump, front wheels off the ground.

Others used a short trailer, loader bucket in the air over the truck body. Vermont Agency of Transportation might take a dim view of that.
One small scale excavator towed all the time with little or no chains, flipped his JD 350 (?) into Baker Brook one day on washboards.

 

[materthegreater]

I've never liked the idea of transporting equipment with the loader bucket up, though I have done it for short distances on rare occasions.



I now have a bigger truck and bigger trailer and the Ford fit a bit better but it's still not ideal.



Current trailer shown here has 17' flat, 3' beaver.

 

[Welder Dave]

Looks like an older MF backhoe in the 1st pic.?

 

[materthegreater]

Yep

 

[Welder Dave]

I think the backhoe might be a 220 but what is the tractor?

 

[skyking1]

Several of the contractors I have worked for over the years had backhoes in the fleet.
R T & T was notable for bidding and doing 8" ductile iron water mains. He had a Case excavator that sat quite a bit, and a few 580's and mostly 590 4x4 extendahoes. We laid miles of ductile with the extendahoes. They were fast, and had plenty of power for the job. We had enough reach for the 18'+ long sticks of pipe.
I'd load a trailer of pipe, pull the slip on forks off that hoe and tuck them under the pipe, and then put them on a hoe on the job and scatter pipe. We ran a crew of 3 operators and a pipe layer.
I can't see how we could have done it with only excavators as quickly.
Backhoes rule when you have the right kind of job for them, enough space to work, etc.
I do think the little backhoes on kubotas are a joke, only because I value my time. If I have digging to do ( and not with the company iron) I will rent a 35 mini or similar before I fit my large self on one of those little TLBs.

 

[skyking1]

I worked at a rental shop that had a skid steer backhoe attachment. In the couple years it was there I think it might have went out once.

I've dug one ditch with a bobcat skidsteer backhoe. That was enough!
I do enjoy all the new kit that can go on a CTL or skidsteer except for that piece of junk with another seat on it.

 

[materthegreater]

I think the backhoe might be a 220 but what is the tractor?

Not sure, that was several years ago. Wasn't my machine.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Let's see a mini do this

 

[1693TA]

Don't ask my wife this topic question regarding anything I own.

 

[Acoals]

Let's see a mini do this

Why do we want to do that ? ? ?

 

[Welder Dave]

Wouldn't going along both sides on top be much easier and safer?

 

[Old Doug]

Wouldn't going along both sides on top be much easier and safer?

Ever saw a Herzog cartopper? I worked for Herzog several years ago.

 

[skyking1]

Wouldn't going along both sides on top be much easier and safer?

I don't think the other side is accessible at all, and even an extendahoe is not going to reach the middle.

 

[skyking1]

Ever saw a Herzog cartopper? I worked for Herzog several years ago.