I am looking to purchase one of two JD backhoes and need help from you experts. I have a 1997 JD 310e (no cab) with a little over a 1,000 hours and in good shape. I also have access to a 2011 310SJ (with cab) with 4500 hours. Both have been maintained and all systems work. Can you provide me with your opinion on which is a better unit considering both are within about $1,000 dollars of each other. Pros and Cons would also be appreciated. Either unit will be used around my property, ditch, moving large rocks, trenching, road base work and other hobby like work.
Are you sure of the hours on the e model? If they are in the same condition, the e will probably be a lot cheaper to maintain over the years, just based on much less dependence on electronics.
I thought the same about that Hr meter and electronics. The advantage of the newer machine might be parts availability, But I guess nowadays everybody struggles to keep parts on the shelf it seems like not like it used to be.
If you have snow a cab is really nice.
If you have hot summers a cab is really nice too!
If you will be working in dense woods a cab can be a liability.
I have the E myself. I would not trust that hour meter. It's a 25 year old backhoe. Lets be real. As Mitch pointed out, the E is the last series without electronics. That has been nice. I would check these machines out very closely. Get them up to operating temperature during inspection and run them. Problems might not show themselves until the hydraulic fluid gets good and hot. I would think the E would be cheaper to own. For example: The E main hydraulic pump might be $1,000.00 as it's "open center", but the SG main hydraulic pump "closed center" might be $3,000.00.
We've got a 1997 416Cit, and 2 1998 426Cit...and the highest meter among the 3 is 5500 hours, and we've had them all since new. Having been at this for more years than I care to think about, an hour meter reading is secondary to how everything looks, feels, and smells. Run 'em both. My 1993 410D broke a parking brake pin/ band just a few years back and the transaxle had to come out. And it only has 5500 hours on it. Everyone hates that one because the backhoe controls are stupid jumpy. There is NO finesse game while digging until you've run it for weeks on end.
Why is that ? I spent a lot of time in the woods and many times my cab prevented me from getting slapped by tree branches. More than once the windows stopped branches from hitting me. I would never ever consider having a T/L/B without a cab.
A TLB is not the machine to use in dense woods if you're clearing tree's but in lighter bush a cab would offer better protection. You have to be careful but a broken window would be better than getting seriously injured by an unpredictable tree. Just being saved from getting slapped by branches is worth having a cab. I've been slapped a couple times by small branches on my track loader that windows would have prevented.
Well, cab or no cab it's best to cage if working in dense woods to protect you and the windows.
Post up pictures and links to the listings of each one, and let the people here look them over. It won't cost you anything, and someone here with sharp eyes might save you from a poor decision. Even better if you have someone local that can go with you, that knows what they are looking at. No one buys a new backhoe and only puts 1000 hours on it in the following 25 years. Condition will tell you the hours, more than the hour meter.
Yes but how many cages have you seen on a TLB? A lot of times it's just a short job and the operator never considered the unpredictable things that can happen working in tree's. A ROPS with a canopy is a definite requirement working in tree's though. I've had a good size rotten tree break and the top half fall on the canopy. Without the ROPS and canopy I could have been killed.
If it weren't for my cab I would most likely be missing 1/2 of my face because of live tree branch.
Yep, they are like Venus fly tree's.
You could have been cast as two face in a Batman movie.
Now that you mention it none. I have seen forestry cages on lots of tractors around here but not any on a backhoe.
I'd agree (having said that, I have a cab.... no glass, all been smashed prior to my buying machine). Well, ALMOST all was smashed. The farm was timbered 20 years ago. I was on the far side cleaning some of the mess, getting some burn piles gathered/burning. Had two different situations happen to me in the same area, at two different times. 1. I was backing up, didn't realize there was a 'spear' laying on the ground. That broken (but large) branch had one sticking up in the air. As I was backing up, I heard a noise....stopped to turn around and look only to find this spear had smashed the small viewing windows at the lower side of the backhoe window and in the time it took me to hear it, register something amiss, stop and turn around, the tip of that spear was about 3 inches from the back of my seat....coming right at me. One of the few times working this machine that I got the heebie jeebies realizing what could have happened. 2. Same area, probably after above incident but been too long. Was using hoe to collect, gather and move some large items. As I moved machine (raise stabilizers go into forward then reverse) one of the "branches" that were laying on the ground got run over by the tire. When that happened, the branch raised on end and speared the hoses that work the hoe, clipping on of them in two. I have never seen a hoe just drop to the ground "right now" like that did. I always thought it would bleed down but that was a harsh lesson learned! Knowing I was dead in the water, I started walking home. I was on the far side of the farm so it was going to take me a while. Fortunately, my wife's uncle (lived next door) knew I'd been out.....but hadn't seen me in a while so drove out to see what I was up to. Gave me a ride home. Took me a couple days to get out there with wrench, take damaged hoese off....get to shop, replace and back to speed.
I have near speared myself a couple of times on my small tractor. I cut a piece of 3/16" thick polycarbonate and used super heavy zip ties to mount it on the ROPS behind my head. It has a couple of scratches in it.
Asplundh has forestry cages on their ROW mowing tractors. Obviously fairly heavy duty since they can't tear them up. OP post some pics or links of the machines like Craneop said. Appearance tells a tale.