Looking for BackHoe

[Mackcat]

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...

I have owned 2 555 ford and 2 LB75B New Holland Backhoes and they were all great machines no major problems at all, of course I serviced them every 200 hours. all i ever had to do was change the starter and batteries.

 

[eRay]

I have owned 2 555 ford and 2 LB75B New Holland Backhoes and they were all great machines no major problems at all, of course I serviced them every 200 hours. all i ever had to do was change the starter and batteries.

The members on here are not too big on New Holland, but I have to agree with Mackcat. I have had a 2005 New Holland LB75B for about a year and a half now with absolutely no problems.And it was about 1/2 the price of one of the big three.

 

[Bellboy]

I have had a 2005 New Holland LB75B for about a year and a half now with absolutely no problems.And it was about 1/2 the price of one of the big three.

As can be seen by the avatar. As long as she works well, who can complain. And reading some more recent posts, we call the D series cat 'clatter'pillars. Need I say more? Need you say more?

 

[stock]

give me a massey/fermec/terex any Cat 428 here eat rear diff's .Wouldn't mind trying a komatsu mind you

 

[Pelicanroost]

Dinah da Ho

Dynahoe's are tough machines. My 490 with a 4in1 does the work of a backhoe and small dozier.

Pel

 

[smithexcavating]

Have 5 Deere hoes here. 4 of them are 410G's and one 410J. All of them except for the oldest G have excavator style joystick controls. All have couplers on front and back. Use them to hoe pack as well as general material handling on site, laborers love them, always easier to move mud tray with forks than by hand. Have had nary a problem with these machines. Defiantly do not baby them. Didnt for the TMC on the new J, little scared of all the technology in a laborer's machine.

 

[RTSmith]

Bought a 420D EROPS used. Definitely Ok the 4WD. Don't need the EROPS. I'm in and out a lot doing general farm work and the doors get in the way. Love the pilot controls on the rear. Love the machine overall, very refined. As has been said, what service capabilities are around you? That makes a difference. A Lexus doesn't cut it in Antarctica... (no dealers, get it??)

 

[rwatkins]

Id vote on deere or komatsu, our wb 150 komatsu has a grid heater in it. So as long as the battery is fine its never to cold to start.

 

[Patriots88]

Well where I work has all Cat 430D's and haven't had a major problem yet. Are oldest machine is a 2002 with 6500 hours on it and the biggest project we have done was a water pump, other then that we have just kept up on routine maitenance. I know some people dont like Cat but we haven't has a problem yet, knock on wood! So if you were to get a cat I would say a 416 or 420 would be good for your application. The other machine that you might want to try is a Ford 755B. Where I work only bought Ford backhoes until they stopped in 1993 when we switched to Cat. Ford is a good quality machine and Fast. Very versatile, can do almost anything with them, usually pretty cheap, only downfall no 4wd on the 755 but it has enough weight for plowing snow. So I would say to get a Cat or Ford, depending on how much you want to spend Ford is probably the cheaper way out.

 

[sandnsnow]

We just ordered a new LB95. I have had a 310SG nice machine, 580SM nice but not near the power of the 310. I demoed a new Deere and that was my first choice. Case is nice but crappy dealer and just not as nice as the Deere. Komatsu was nice but the response in the controls were slow. It was almost the same price range as the LB95. Ive never had a Cat but there are alot of them around here. I ran one acouple of years ago and it worked.

After some seat time in the LB I found it to have the awesome brake out force. Controls were smooth and responsive. Ride was of even with ride control. Awesome visiability. Chair was easy to spin and the pilot controls were the same as the Deere I think? New arched boom and the price was better than all the rest. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[sandnsnow]

Here are some specs.


Lifting cap. Breakout force Hydraulic flow Weight
New Holland B95 5,870 15,057 40/3,045 14,440
John Deere 315SG 5,785 10,300 28/3,625 14,700
Case 580M 2 3,750 9,480 28.5/3,050 13,359
Case 580M Turbo 2 3,750 9,480 28.5/3,050 13,359
John Deere 310G 4,446 8,100 28/2,750 12,800
Caterpillar 416E 5,106 9,014 34.8/3,292 14,960
Caterpillar 420E 5,722 10,076 43/3,611 15,474
JCB 214e 4,945 11,730 29/3,300 13,046
Case 580 Super M Plus 2 4,680 9,480 28.5/3,050 14,905
Case 580 Super M 2 4,680 9,480 28.5/3,050 14,285
John Deere 310SG 5,785 10,210 28/3,625 13,500
JCB 214 5,400 12,638 39/3,300 15,593
Komatsu WB140-2N 5,678 12,790 43.6/3,000 16,600
Komatsu WB140PS-2N 5,678 12,790 43.6/3,000 16,600
Terex TX760B 3,466 10,485 37.5/3,250 14,975
Terex TX860B 3,466 12,291 42/3,250 15,964
Volvo BL60 5,121 10,004 30.6/3,190 16,564
Volvo BL70 5,754 12,037 42/3,625 17,800

 

[tuney443]

I'm a dyed in the wool Deere guy,have been for 25 years now.My 410G is unbelievably strong,smooth, and agile.Couldn't imagine a better machine.

 

[ggnutts]

Abe0389, If all you are going to use your backhoe for is light work (snow, landscaping,) then i would definetly buy used. any of the machines you have mentioned would probibly make you happy. I am partial to the case because thats what i own.

 

[joeeye59]

start aids are super simple to fix, just depends on how cold you are talking about

Hi Everybody who replied, I know this post goes back to 2008. and I don't mean to take over the original post.

I'm now showing an interest in starting my JD 310c during the Winter to remove high volume of snow.
And plugging in the block heater isn't doing the job because when the coolant is hot enough it flows out of the engine block into the radiator where it's cooled down again being its very cold outside, and then it goes back into the block again, and the cycle repeats it self, so it's a never ending cycle of cooling down the coolant after the block heater gets the coolant hot, and it never gets hot enough to start the engine when using the block heater.

If I was to pinch off the radiator hose to stop the hot coolant from going into the radiator where it gets cooled off, I'm worried when I release the pinched radiator hose and the rush of the cool/cold coolant races back into the hot engine block I'm worried of cracking some part of the engine block/heads from the fast temp change, etc... I just rather not mess with it like that.

What if I pug in the block heater, so then parts of the block with be cold and warm to hot, then use a quick shot of ether to start it ?
Doing it like that I believe there won't be any significant quick temp changes as the coolant starts circulating once the engine is started.

Any feed back on personal experiences and knowledge is always appreciated.

Joe

PS... also my friend ncbschzzt... in time I'd like to talk about fixing the factory starting aid.

 

[Delmer]

Two options,
Replace the thermostats.
OR, drain enough antifreeze so the level is below the top radiator hose, it will still cover the top of the tubes to minimize air circulating, and it will stop the thermosiphon.

Do NOT use ether, the engine should be plenty warm to start after an hour or two with either of the first methods.

 

[Tinkerer]

Do as Delmer suggest about the thermostat(s).
A properly working thermostat shouldn't allow enough coolant from the radiator to drop the engine block temperature a significant amount.
Do you happen to know what the wattage rating is of your block heater ?
I would want a minimum of 1500 watt rating.
Yours may be defective and not heating as it should--- maybe.

 

[Tags]

I think any heat is a bonus to starting a cold engine. If you have a temp gun point it at the before plugging in and after it's been plugged in for a couple of hours, if its warmer than it was when you plugged it in that's better than nothing. Just use it to get through this snow we are getting and then work on figuring it out after.

 

[joeeye59]

Two options,
Replace the thermostats.
OR, drain enough antifreeze so the level is below the top radiator hose, it will still cover the top of the tubes to minimize air circulating, and it will stop the thermosiphon.

Do NOT use ether, the engine should be plenty warm to start after an hour or two with either of the first methods.

Sounds good Delmer, thank you... (If I touch the engine block on the right side its nice and warm, the left side is ice cold) (I still have not replace the thermostat)

 

[joeeye59]

Do as Delmer suggest about the thermostat(s).
A properly working thermostat shouldn't allow enough coolant from the radiator to drop the engine block temperature a significant amount.
Do you happen to know what the wattage rating is of your block heater ?
I would want a minimum of 1500 watt rating.
Yours may be defective and not heating as it should--- maybe.

I had a meter on the heating element and it showed it was drawing 1000 watt. (980ish, something like that) I don't know if it is a 1500 watt thats gotten weak ?

I feel like the block heater worked a lot better when I first got the machine.
Plus, after a while I needed to charge the batteries and this helped a lot, but didn't cure the issue.

Replacing the thermostat Delmer sounds like it should fix it to start cold when using the block heater, I figured this would be true since the right side of the engine block being very warm and the other side being very cold is a good indication while the engine block heater has been on for several hours.

Or would the block on one side being cold and the other side hot be the thermosiphon ?

 

[Tinkerer]

You probably have a 1000 watt heater. Pull it out and see if it is coated in lime -- would be something I would do.
New thermostat(s) needs to be done to see if the problem is gone.
Feel the top of the radiator after the heater has been plugged in a couple of hours.
If the block is cold like you described it and the tank is warm there is a problem.