I am looking at a Ford 655D,1994 I think. It has 6200 hr and is in decent shape. I was wondering what HEF people think of the for lack of better wording, the sliding hoe mount. I hadn't seen one like this but the hoe can be moved from side to side on a a rail mounting. Thoughts
Side shift hoes are more common in the UK or Europe. I'd see if the machine might be made in the UK. Don't see many side shift Fords. Good for getting close to buildings or widening trenches but not as stable as a center mount.
Thanks Dave. Are they reliable?
Fords were generally pretty reliable from what I've heard. Know a guy that worked for the city that had some Ford's back in the day. He liked them better than the JD's that replaced them. One thing he liked was the flat glass when running the hoe. He said the curved glass in newer machines distorted your view.
I don't think I've seen that before but it seems like it'd be very handy!
I would not want a side-shift backhoe. The side-shift would be nice but the stabilizer would be a handicap in many situations where it needs to be set down on anything very high. Many times when working in and around trees and rocks is an example.
My employer had many 655D's. They were good machines, and strong for the size...was important because they could lift the road plates. We did have a couple with trans solenoid problems, but not a deal breaker. Anyhow, we did not have any Fords with the side shift, but we did have a JCB or two that had it. It works fine. The only problem they had was reduced stability vs the stabilizers that fold down. You see, the fold down style deploy farther from the tractor thereby increasing stability. Really not a problem most of the time. For our guys (electric and gas utility work) they pick metal plates over the side of the backhoe and move them into place. They used to also pick cast iron pipe over the side as well, that is pretty much gone due to plastic pipe now. Not sure as I have not looked, but getting parts for the side shift portion of the tractor may be a bit rough as they are not common...if there was a problem.