I was wondering what would be a good midsized backhoe to buy. We would like to use it for snow removal and digging, trenching, and landscaping duties. Would like to have a cab, heat,. What would be a good used one to look into. Have used CASE and CAT and JOHNDEERE equipment before and would like to stick with those brands unles there is a better one out ther...
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Looking for BackHoe
- Thread starter Abe0389
- Start date
wilddanz71
Well-Known Member
I have a ford 555 2wd I love it.
IT dose all that i ask it to, mostly used for snow removal and digging and some gradeing.
I paid 12 grand about 6 years ago, it has a" million hours", and I cant kill it.
they are work horeses
IT dose all that i ask it to, mostly used for snow removal and digging and some gradeing.
I paid 12 grand about 6 years ago, it has a" million hours", and I cant kill it.
they are work horeses
insleyboy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
- Messages
- 191
- Location
- Monroe Michigan
- Occupation
- Operator 25 years, was laborer for 7 years
Case 590 is all our company has bought the past few years. They have tremendous reach on the extendahoe model. Cat's new pilot controls seem very popular. Geez ever heard of a dynahoe? They were indestructable machines in the 80's. Not many around these days.Koehring actually made a very strong machine around the same time, but they had transmission issues and did not last. Other than that John Deere, Ford....Case seems the best bet these days!
coopers
Senior Member
580SM would be a good choice.
Bellboy
COPPA
Three words, ne, J - C - B. 3CX. Centre mount. Got that?
Second hand is almost always, someone else's second hand problem. But, I would also recommend the Case. 580SK. If you prefer though, stick with a brand new backhoe.
Second hand is almost always, someone else's second hand problem. But, I would also recommend the Case. 580SK. If you prefer though, stick with a brand new backhoe.
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joeeye59
Senior Member
What about cold weather starts? any particular diesel to do the job not a problem starting ... a lot of the older machines have broken starter aids...
ncbschzzt
Well-Known Member
start aids are super simple to fix, just depends on how cold you are talking about
JS580SL
Senior Member
Case or Deere. Stay away from Cat.
Without further explanation, this post tells us nothing. Any reasons that you can offer to explain your position?
AtlasRob
Senior Member
Also VERY addictive and to be avoided at all possible costs unless your only other option is suicide in which case I would recommend try the ether
AtlasRob
Senior Member
1st look at who your nearest dealer is, 2nd find out how good they are. Once you have located a source of spare parts and reliable back up you will then know which is the best machine to look at buying. Thats the easy bit, finding the right machine is the hard bit.
There really is very little to choose between the main manufacturers.
Compile a list of requirements.
How much your willing to spend !
Expected age 2, 6, 10yrs old, beaten to death POS you are going to use 1weekend in 6 months or as suggested something reliable that it would seem your going to use regularly.
Cab, heater, 4 or 2 wheel drive, bucket + forks on front, 4 in 1 bkt, extendahoe,
Once you have sorted those out and your budget
see if you can locate a machine.
jughead
Senior Member
what is wrong with careful use of ether? i have used or been around quite a few vehicles that had what looked like factory plumbed in ether to help cold starts.
AtlasRob
Senior Member
Nothing, but how many people use it like that.
I was taught to use it as a very, very last resort as engines become addicted to it :beatsme But I live in the UK where a realy cold winter might take us down to - 10c about +15f in your money :drinkup
JS580SL
Senior Member
Majority of people I know who have bought Cats, wether it be series 1, B, C, or D regret it. I know a few who love them and had luck with them.
My dad owned 2 416's. An 88 and a 94 B. An owner operator who took good care of them and had nothing but problems. The 416 had a bad torque convertor, hydralic pump go at low hours while the machine was trenching in the road, transfer case problems.
The 416B around 2,000 hours burnt through several quarts of oil between each 250hour service, ended up being a bad set of rings. Trans problems. The banana boom split across the pin that connects the dipper. Cat knew the machines had these problems and had drilled holes in the boom to camera the inside, told him it was fine only for it to split later. The stabilizer pin snapped. The dump piston was cross threaded from the factory. Some sort of problem were the boom would swing to the side on its own.
Thats all I can remember for now. 4,100 hours on a super L other than a thermostat, muffler mount bolts, regular maintnance, and a stack or 2, no problems.
If Cat had better qaulity they would have a decent hoe. Like I said, I know quite a few people who will never go with a cat backhoe again after having many problems.I think John Deere is the best all around backhoe out right now. I think Case is still the best for manueverabilty.
Case and Deere are proven to be reliable in my eyes. Majority of my backhoe experiance is on Case 580's so I will lean towards Case right off the bat.
My dad owned 2 416's. An 88 and a 94 B. An owner operator who took good care of them and had nothing but problems. The 416 had a bad torque convertor, hydralic pump go at low hours while the machine was trenching in the road, transfer case problems.
The 416B around 2,000 hours burnt through several quarts of oil between each 250hour service, ended up being a bad set of rings. Trans problems. The banana boom split across the pin that connects the dipper. Cat knew the machines had these problems and had drilled holes in the boom to camera the inside, told him it was fine only for it to split later. The stabilizer pin snapped. The dump piston was cross threaded from the factory. Some sort of problem were the boom would swing to the side on its own.
Thats all I can remember for now. 4,100 hours on a super L other than a thermostat, muffler mount bolts, regular maintnance, and a stack or 2, no problems.
If Cat had better qaulity they would have a decent hoe. Like I said, I know quite a few people who will never go with a cat backhoe again after having many problems.I think John Deere is the best all around backhoe out right now. I think Case is still the best for manueverabilty.
Case and Deere are proven to be reliable in my eyes. Majority of my backhoe experiance is on Case 580's so I will lean towards Case right off the bat.
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mikef87
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2007
- Messages
- 433
- Location
- waltham
- Occupation
- owner/operator/mechanic/laborer/truck driver
I agree with you. I've had a few Cat 420D IT's it will not stand up to my Case 590s. It just can't take the beating a Case can. From time to time you push the machine to the limits and the Case will take it everytime. I have a Case with 10,200 hours. Changed the oil every 250 hours, greased al the time. And that machine was worked hard. I use it as a backup machine now. I'll take a Case over a Cat anyday. Cat makes good dozers and excavators, but backhoes I'm not to fond off.
joeeye59
Senior Member
I have to look into the cold start system on my 1988 JD 310c to see whats missing or broke, or if it still half there to fix?... because if I'm going to be starting it in the winter the temp is usually in the 20's and 30's for the most part of the winter... then for a short amount of days we might get them few cold days and nights in the teens, and rarely the temp does go in the single numbers.... it hardly goes bellow 0º but there has been a winter or two where it did dip below 0º.
I mentioned cold starting for the person that posted to keep in mind about what he buys can start cold with no issues, because he mentioned snow removal, because being new myself to my backhoe I noticed when the summer ended and it was getting cool out side my backhoe didn't start in a split second like it always did in mid summer when I first got it, I actually had to crank it over for a short moment for it to start, so being I have no cold start button that works I can tell I'll need it, so I need to get that system working....... I also see I have a 110 volt plug hanging down, it's the heater coil that looks to keep the coolant hot/warm... I don't know if its a good idea to keep that plugged in all winter? or as long as the antifreeze is good it will get thru the winter out side just fine because I have no garage to keep it in.
AtlasRob
Senior Member
If you intend to use the machine at least weekly for a few hours I would say the 110v heater is the ideal solution