Dose anyone still use just a backhoe and dozer as your primary equipment? This combo was populer around here years ago but it seems like most people have gone the skidsteer and mini ex route now for residential work.
A backhoe and dozer make an ok combo. Not many around here using that set up. Most guys either with a 20 ton hoe and dozer or loader. Most mini x guys use a skidsteer.
Yup, still use a 420 BHL and a D3 (plus CTL and SSL). Can't windrow material with a straight blade and angle blades don't work that well on a BHL as there's not enough weight on the front end. D3 is also better for land clearing and getting close to grade, with use of the blade tilt. Steel tracks are also preferred in debris vs tires or rubber tracks on CTLs. Although all models have their use/application - just how much time do you want to take for the task vs the number of machines you want in your fleet.
Oh ya sorry forgot about small dozers.when someone says dozer to me I automatically think d7. I know of a few utility contractors that use a 550 case to clean up with
Thats my setup. Not many jobs I can't tackle with this combo. I occasionally rent or hire out other machines, but 90% of my work is done with the backhoe and dozer.
It seems like its a versatile setup I am hoping to go this route eventually i currently have a case 1838 ssl and gmc 7000 dump truck
A good combo in my opinion for residential and smaller sites is a 314 sized hoe for space constraints and a big CTL if you are looking at two machines. That combo is very efficient and allows you to take on a range of projects. Now if you just want/need one machine, 953 track loader. It's the jack of all trades.
I would love to try a 953 but dont see any around this area ever. Probley because there is to much bedrock around for them to be effective. I spend most my time runnig hoes in the 7-20 ton size right now. I am thinking backhoe because I can use it for snow removal and road it from job to job when ther close
That is where a backhoe shines - it's mobility. I have a 420DIT, doesn't get used that much but it's handy when you need it. It shines on smaller jobs where you need the muscle a mini hoe can't provide and shuttling small amounts of material around. A 420's boom is comparable in capacity to a 308 sized excavator and it comes with the ability to use the front end.
Yair . . . So what's the go with permits/registration to run a backhoe on the street CM1995 , can you run them out on the highway or do you have to stick to designated routes? Cheers
Scrub we can rode them on secondary roads - city, county, state with an orange triangle affixed to the rear to be legal - nothing else needed. Although it's not practical to road it a long distance. I have driven the 420 15 miles to a job site once, got a lot of "one finger salutes" along the way... I also drove a Gradall 534D6 20 miles from a project to the shop, that was a slow go.
Rubber tire tractor loader backhoe & steel track dozer is a great combination .You wont go wrong with it . I gave up on just having one machine to do the job a long time a go . Just to many different tasks & circumstances on different jobsites a guy has to deal with . If I could only pick one machine for a job it have to be the old Deere track loader / with backhoe . http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=10565523
TD those 450/550 Deere loaders with a detachable backhoe were popular around here too but 941's, 951's and 955's were the most common for basement diggers in the 70's and 80's.
Yair . . . Gotcha CM1995 . Around here they are subject to a yearly registration fee with plates . . .a feller south of here has a JCB with ride control and that thing can really scoot. Cheers.
Yeah CM1995 , same story in my area . My neighbor has a pretty nice mid 1980's JD 450C track loader with the backhoe . I keep trying to talk him out of it ...... LOL !... Like I need some more retro equipment .
Do much trenching with 953?
I've roaded my tractor and scraper 30+ miles more than a few times.
Yep, 8' wide.:tong
41 years strong now with only a TLB and a small dozer.My JD 410G and a JD 450D,hardly anything I can't do with either or both.As I always say ''necessity is the mother of invention.'' In other words when you're limited to having one of each type piece of iron,you WILL figure out how to make what you have work for you,experience of course helps also. Having said all that I did treat myself recently to a mini ex. I haven't figured out yet how to make my 410 smaller--makes my plumbers happy for them tight city jobs.
I have the same outfit. I would like to add a 953 and that would round out my needs. I agree with CM a 953 is a versatile machine. And I have trenched with one as well. Spoon out about 20' , drop a track in and load out on the low side. I had one guy that did 2000' of pipe like this 24" deep. Would have been faster with a hoe but he wanted it done that way for some odd reason.
It is amazing what "impossible" jobs can be done with just those basic machines.I love to take on a job that seems difficult to most and make it look easy but you don't gain those skills over night as tuney443 says but there is much satisfaction in getting them done.Ron G
For us a 953 and a 307 excavator do 90% of the work.