I'm in Afghanistan fighting a war and researching backhoes for a future purchase. This JCB looks to be doing a great job. This is my fourth post and I have introduced myself on the introductions page. Sure do like your website and am learning a ton of info. Thanks, Bob
Hi, Bob. And THANK YOU for your service :usa And i agree with the formen you talk too, a TLB is the way to go. I would look for a 4x4 machine they make a great loader and a thumb on the hoe would come in handy if you plan on dealing with and rocks or logs. And as to make, that would depend on dealer support in your area.
Welcome to the Forums Ozarkguns and again, Thank You for your service!:usa I have 2 friends that just returned from a year service at Bagram. Glad to have you here. A backhoe is a very versatile piece of equipment, the jack of all trades but master of none. What kind of work do you plan to be doing? You might want to look into a mini-ex and a skid/CTL combo. Take care.
Thanks for the warm welcome. I have 100 acres in upstate New York. I want to build a motocross track to play on. I have an 873 Bobcat up there now. NY soil is pretty hard and rocky. It takes the Bobcat a long while to dig. My thinking is to have one person digging the dirt and another person moving it around with the Bobcat. After talking to construction workers in Afghanistan they seem to think a backhoe would be my best choice over a mini excavator. The JBC in the picture really moves the dirt.
a 10,000 lb mini would out dig a 20,000 lb backhoe in any condtion. the backhoe is good at everything but great at nothing , does that make any sence? a mini and a skidsteer with two operator will do more faster , much faster
I thought it was the other way around. Thank you for your input. I'll keep looking at mini excavators. I'm a car dealer with a 19' Jerr Dan aluminum bed rollback (if you live in the South, Flatbed if you live in the North.) If I buy a mini excavator I probably will not have to buy a trailer. This Kubota KX 121-3 belongs to the Charlotte Air National Guard. My son, Robbie and I thought this would be a fun machine. I'm open to suggestions. I'm in Afghanistan until the end of September and I like researching before I buy. I'm a C130 navigator and we are very busy here.
Thanks for your service Ozark! I hope you are helping take care of my son and the 2/1 Marines! I have owned JD310's for the past 15 years. I agree with the other posters, a BH can do a lot of things good, but nothing great. If you have two machines and operators, I'd go with the excavator and skidsteer, that would be a great combo IMO.
Hi ozarkguns, Not to many navigators around since GPS became available. I'm a C-141 navigator from the vietnam era myself. When I was flying navigators racked up more hours than pilots, sounds like it is still that way. Thanks for your service and be safe. I'm fairly new with excavators and have very little experience with a backhoe so I can't help much with your decision, but the other members will give you good advice.
We take good care of Marines ...............and they take good care of us. Yes, GPS has changed the flying world. I started out in the mid 80's on the C130B model without GPS. Our unit now has the H3 C130 with dual INU's and integrated GPS. The C141 was the long distance workhorse for many years. All C17's nowdays. I'm still leaning toward the versatile backhoe to maintain my property in upstate NY. The weight range of backhoes seems to run from around 14k-24k which is too heavy for the bed of my rollback c5500 Jerr Dan truck. (19' Aluminum) I would like to know if you think my truck could haul a trailer and backhoe if I mounted a pintle hook on my wheel lift? I'm a used car dealer and run a NC dealer tag on my truck. I would run a dealer tag on the trailer to get the equipment from NC to NY. I do not have a CDL license. I'm not 100% it would be legal or if my truck can pull this much weight. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks! Bob Both the Kubota and Bobcat are on the farm currently.
MMMMM now I know who got somebody's safe close to me.Good thing you live far away.Somebody here stole a 1,000 lbs safe out of a house.Maybe they saw this pic and then knew how to load it. Some States I'm not sure if you would be legal with out the CDL or not.In Texas it's a Commercial vehicle when it's over 26,000 but when you cross state lines it drops to I think around 8,000 and laws are different in every State.That makes it a bummer.
That safe is 2500# it came out the back door of a bank in Florida.
One more.... 3220# this one came out of the woods in North Carolina. I sold it for 8 cents a pound which came out to $258.
With a tractor and a bobcat all you need is a mini-ex and you're set. You're going to be pushing your truck awfully hard moving a backhoe. Thanks for your service.
thanks Rowdy The picture of the truck loaded up with the Bobcat, safe, dirtbikes and Pathfinder on the wheel lift weighed in just under 30,000#. I had just over 20,000# on the rear axle. I had my fingers crossed going through Virginia. I got the red light from the sensors at every weigh station meaning I had to stop for the scales. Made it to NY unscathed. I'm going to start researching mini excavators again. Thanks for your help! Bob
If anyone is foolish enough to think a 10000 lb mini-ex will out dig a 20000 lb backhoe I suggest they dig a couple of 24" sweet gum stumps and see which machine gets through first! The backhoe will finish in half the time or less. The backhoe will always prevail over a mini-ex in a situation requiring brute force.
Great pictures.... Look after our Aussie lads over there:drinkup
hi there we i england support you all the way and look after your self over there as for the jcb it will do the jobs you want reliable machines but hey they are made over here so perhaps i have a soft spot for them but if you need advise on a jcb drop me a mail i will help you out good luck mate
Yes I'd have to agree with the little experience I have with backhoes. After using Case crawlers for thirty years I more or less know what they can do but have to admit the 580SK TLB I have just bought is something I am in awe of. The soil has softened here with recent excellent rain and I just made a few bucket digs to fix some urgent problems, was amazed at what I could move about the place, sure makes the $40k AUD outlay feel like value.
a back hoewould spank a mini ex and a bobcat at the same time ,,just no match at all...