Why Not to Buy a Tractor Backhoe (the 4 reasons I haven't)

I use the backhoe for stumps. I live on 80 acres so never ending stump pulling.

I bought mine for a project that was going to last more than a month, and needed it. Since then, I have changed the bucket out to what I call a spade to run water lines all over the farm. But I agree they are a pain to go on and off. If you have just one small project, do rent. then buy a different tool like a flail mower that can handle 3 - 5 inches brush, a PTO wood chipper, or a PTO stump grinder. You may find them more use full

Burning stumps is my go to method. The previous owner of my property used to cut enough cedar every year to pay the property taxes and would cut out dead cherry, oak, walnut, etc for fire wood for both him and his nephew. That means hundreds of stumps from trees that take for ever to rot. Put a couple 3/4 - 1" holes drilled into them to create a chimney, soak them with diesel for a few days, drop a match down the holes, and let it burn. It's a lot less work and leaves a lot less mess than digging out or grinding.

If you need to dig use an excavator. Backhoes are never the answer.

There are three types of hoes there are want to be farm tractor hoes, then there's the industrial backhoe ( 580CASE ) and then there's the trac-hoe.
The person that dreamed up the farm tractor hoe should be taken out behind the barn and shot.
I'm with you Mike plan your project so you know what SIZE hoe you need and RENT IT!!!!!

Mike, I can attest that getting a machine with the hoe is sort of a double edged sword. I have the Branson 2400 compact tractor and it came attached via subframe. What I found out is that they are handy for small jobs...drainage ditchs, digging smaller holes for various reasons and removal of small stumps or trees...never tried a large one as I found out even the small ones take time (as you said). I have gotten a lot of use from it. Now, the bad part is, again as you say, it is a pain to get on due to the minute tolerance of fit...the getting off part was easy....I had to get my neighbor to help put it back on and we worked for a solid hour trying to manipulate it. The other problem I have found is it is impossible to put on a three point implement such as brushhog due to the subframe not allowing the lift arms to raise the full amount. I don't know what to do about it as it would take removal of the frame and that would be a major time consuming event. My neighbor is a good craftsman, and he suggested we try to build an attachment to extend past the frame....in any event it is something I did not anticipate. Saying this, I realize rental of the hoe is an option, but the process of driving to the rental place and paperwork and bringing it to the farm and then unloading etc, cleaning before return etc is time consuming. For the small jobs, the ease of simply backing it out of the barn and going to work is great...not so great if the hoe has been detached though...

Your not in construction are you?

There are pros and cons. With the backhoe on when you have a load of wood or gravel on your front loader going up hill; your front loader with the backhoe is like an equal distribution on weight. You will not spin you back tires. If you take off the backhoe and try that same thing (GOING UP HILL) your back tires will just keep spinning and you won't make it up the hill. Believe me I had a JD 4500 with all the goodies. This are things dealers do not tell you.

Had a jd 310 for years . Hardly ever used it . After buying my first tractor I question why I ever bought the backhoe in the first place. It was only used to maintain my up hill driveway. As far as a backhoe attachment I don’t believe I’d put a lot of money into one of those simply because they don’t have any reach on them.

I could not be happier with my backhoe, it's a B3300 Kubota and would never think of getting rid of it.

Buddy you don’t know much about backhoes if you got the right setup it only takes few minutes get with the times

Glad to hear people like the backhoe. I was considering not getting one after this video. I understand where he is coming from but it seems everyones experience is different

I've got a Kubota BX-25 sub compact backhoe. I'm able to store it in the garage and the machine has been bulletproof. I've dug over 200 feet of trenches at my house for underground wiring; replanted flower/bush beds; put in a firepit and dug stumps and holes for my neighbors and church. I view it as money in the bank. The biggest PITA about about a backhoe in my opinion are all those dang grease fittings. I hit them every year. The best thing about a backhoe is the safety aspect of its stabilizers. If you are on a tricky slope, you can extend a stabilizer on the downhill side and reduce the old pucker factor.

U asked for comment I r so wrong I made a ton of $ with my bradco 511

Bradco tskes less then 1 minute. A tractor man a backhoe is must

I considered All your views on backhoes in the past! How much would I use it? Where will I store it when not in use? How many projects will I need it for? Etc! For me it wasn’t worth spending $6000-10,000 for a backhoe but I did run across a used backhoe for $2600 that needed a little work.
Couple leaks and a worn pivot pin….had about $300 into repairs and so far after 4 years I’ve used it 5 times on various jobs…
Probably has almost paid for itself vs renting equipment for those jobs! I did find a place inside one of my building that’s out of the way and so far im fairly happy with my purchase!
Great video and I agree with your opinions!

This guy is a professional bloviater.

Thanks for the video from Australia, I've got a 23s subcompact great little toy but I use the mid deck mower a lot as well as the FEL and Backhoe, I don't have a concrete pad and my 5 acres is very rough so takes a good 40 minutes to change everything around and yes it is a total pain when doing it twice a week but it's mainly the mower I don't like taking off and on as it's quite heavy for someone with a crook back. If I could turn back the clock I'd buy a separate mower and a bigger tractor with Backhoe and FEL and just leave them on as they are pretty handy.

I just traded up to a larger tractor and added a backhoe this time around. I plan to put in a septic system with it in the next year or two which should be fun. The big reason I got it though was for gravel extraction. When digging from a virgin working face in a gravel pit the compact tractors lack the weight and power to cut and scoop effectively. The backhoe will let you loosen big sections of the face then you can scoop up the loose material and load it into a dump truck/trailer easily.

I have a remote cabin that is 75 miles of mountain 2 lane road away from the nearest rental yard so having the added versatility with the BH is worth it.

Thank you for talking about this attachment for a small Tractor. For me, I bought a used 190 Dynahoe (monster 19000 pounds) for me it was a Restoration project. I ran them in 1979 was a very strong machine. The Backhoe end is PART of mainframe (no disconnect) it's just my Toy. I call her Little Muskie after Big Muskie because BUCYRUS-ERIE Built and sold them.
It is way overkill. But like you so wisely pointed out. I still had a swimming pool size hole after working around a big maple stump that dug out
it still was a huge job to strap stump to front bucket and Dump in Dumpster I rented from Recycling company. You can not dig out Stumps with small tractors. My friend who owns land had it Logged, Rented big CAT excavator with thumb, to remove all the stumps into burn piles, he was making a tree Farm.

Mike, I like your videos, you do a great job! I just picked up my BH77 backhoe for my L2501. I love this thing! It is so cool to play with.

With that being said..I think you are right, it's big to store and a lot of money.....BUT, I had to have one for the fun of having one. Lets just call it "Therapy"...Hahahah...

Most people would probably be better off to rent one when needed, but I wanted one and now I have it. I built a dolly for it last night and can hardly wait to do something with it. I am going to try a ripper tooth to try and get some stumps out but we will see.

Keep up the good work.

Towable backhoes pulled by a tractor gives you the best of both worlds.

You loan out your tractor??? NOT ME! I owned a rental store, no way!

My thought on the money! Just call backhoe Doug.

I agreed totally. In full disclosure I also have a 710g deere, but yeah a tractor mounted backhoe is slow and weak. Renting a mini is better.

And as far as stumps, yeah I do that with a 50 mt track hoe and I move at minimum a dumptruck load of material from the base before I can pull them out, of course they fill a 4 yd bucket when they come but yeah, I doubt the 710 could get them out. In closing it all depends on what you want to do but 7 0r 8 grand was better spent on the 710g than a tractor mounted backhoe. Just me.

Edit the 710 was more than 7 or 8 g. Just a good down payment but a 2 yd wheel loader and a 12 mt hoe, it works for us.

There is to hook up he doesn't no too much

Agreed. These little backhoes are also not as powerful for the size. Better to rent a mini ex for $200-$250 a day.

Skill issue

Working men needs dack ho

that's funny abt your neighbor

Call someone with a 580C if you gotta bury a horse

So far, I’ve used my backhoe more than the bucket. After I get all my cut off stumps it may be a different story. But at 62 I’m done using a shovel

Totally agree on every single point 👍

Owning a backhoe for a quy like me is as a toy for adult. I am old but i just like to play in my sand box. Don't buy a tractor with a loader, a scraper, a snow blower a box blade,
or a backhoe with the intention to make money or saving money, It's only for fun. If you have the anough money to buy that, DO IT. Don't pay for fitness, go outside and play.!

Yes by the way yes you are right there's a lot of backhoes that are difficult to take off with the kabota BX23S is by far the easiest to take a little heads down

I own a Kubota bx23s and I would highly recommend if you want a tractor with a backhoe get a kubota or a John Deere because it takes me maybe 5 mins on and 5 mins off for install and removal and I use it more than anything else in my opinion if it comes down to money is in my case it boiled down to this 300 bucks a month for tractor with backhoe 350 dollars a day for backhoe rental in my area to me it wasn’t a hard decision

Takes me 10 minutes to pull off or put on my Workmaster 25S backhoe. Lower the backhoe to lift up the rear just a bit to release tension on two clips. Pull the 2 clips. Lower the stabilizers which angles the backhoe away from the tractor. Unclip hydraulics. Drive away. Revers to reinstall.

I am new to the tractor world. I have a TYM T265 backhoe with subframe. Love it. I have so many jobs lined up. Can’t wait to get a thumb for it and am finding it hard to get one here in Australia. We are going to build a fish pond with lots of fairly large rocks and this is going to save my back a million. I have hugelkulturs to dig and causeways to fix after the floods here in Queensland Australia. It’s heaps good mate. I reckon ya gotta build a bigger shed, then you’ll be right mate. Cheers

I have a backhoe on my tractor. I don't use it ALL the time but I do ise ut every few months and I'm glad I have it. Removal and installation is pretty easy but you are right, I have to install/uninstall the 3-point to uninstall/install the backhoe. Kind of a pain but I do like having the hoe and probably wouldn't change it given the chance.

I guess im a believer in explosives. I say blow up the stumps if you're out in the county.

You just helped me decide to not get a backhoe on my new bobcat tractor, this video is spot on :)

I enjoy your videos and all that you have taught me Mike. But - this time, eh - I have to disagree with you. I LOVE my 2038r backhoe and now that I am getting older, I wouldn't want to be without it! Having the BXpanded on there makes it even more useful! Its not just for digging holes. Even loosening dirt to remove with your bucket loader is helpful. Composting, digging a hole and turning over the waste in there is useful. And yes, it provides great ballast too. Fortunately with the JD 2038r, you don't have to remove the 3-point hitch. Yes, it takes more time to put on and off than 3 -point implements, but its worth it. I'm sure you could find a load of projects around your property if you stopped and thought about it. But - if you like digging with a shovel, that's cool too. Just my 2 cents.

My dad also had a John Deere 500 series with the whole extension that he dug out a lot of stumps with. But that is a full size industrial backhoe.
I have operated several different brands of backhoes but I have never liked them.
I love running mini excavators. I wish my dad would have had one of those too. I ran his Ferguson most of the time.

My dad had a Massey Ferguson 200 and a 220 industrial skiploaders that had PTO and three point hitch and he used them for rototilling, weed abatement, grading, and a few other things. He also had a side shifting backhoe that went on to that thing with two steel beams making up a subframe that went on to the tractor and hooked on to the backhoe, and the hydraulics were directly tied into the tractor hydraulics.
He could attach or detach it and less than a half an hour.
Those tractors were from the '50s or '60s.
In the seventies he upgraded to a 275 Massey Ferguson agricultural tractor but had the industrial loader added to it.

I have always heard that there are many types of tractors, and excavators are one type of tractor.
Just like backhoes, graders, scrapers, compactors, forklifts, etc.
Maybe those people were wrong. Like all the people I worked with on construction sites for the past 40 years.
They do miss use a lot of terms. Like every skid steer is a bobcat, every skip loader a Fergie, every forklift a JLG, etc. It always drove me crazy!
They probably think that every four wheel drives the Jeep, and every motorhome is a Winnebago, and every facial tissue is a Kleenex etc.
It is sad how so many people don't know the names of equipment that they run or other common things they use everyday.
Those are actually all brand names. And each of those brands makes other type of tractors to, not just one specific type.
It's crazy like calling every car a Ford, and every pickup at Chevy, every OTR truck a Kenworth, etc.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard a brand name use for every backhoe ever made. 🤔😉😃
They just call them a backhoe, not even a TLB.

I agree with Mike. I use my Kubota MX5400 too much for ground work and to be switching back and forth looks like a pain plus the back hoes are very expensive. I have a retired friend heavy equipment operator with a back hoe. He charges me only $400 for 10 hours. So definitely not worth getting one.
Also Mike enjoy your videos and you seem to be a very nice guy.

I have a towable trencher. I can move it with the tractor and manouver it under its own power. Convenient and i find that whever i need it, i tend to need access to the tractor loader as well. Much more versatile

I always need to dig or pick something up, and can never seem to get enough rear ballast.

Seems a good fit for a backhoe, but honestly I think a quality mini excavator is probably a better choice. Only benefit I can see with a subframe backhoe is that I no longer need to worry about another engine's maintenance, as well as the other associated systems which would be redundant. Of course I think the backhoe might be the only way to get my rear ballast up to recommended numbers.