I have a small piece of recreational land up in the hills of rural Western New York, and may eventually want some backhoe work done for septic, driveway, building pad, etc. Naturally this got me thinking about buying my own backhoe, which I've always daydreamed about. If I did that, I would be interested in picking up some little side jobs near my property, for others needing the same type of work. I have zero experience with heavy equipment except farm tractors, and watching and chatting with operators from time to time. I figure digging on my own property would be a good way to learn. I am leaning toward an older Case 580, or maybe similar Deere or Cat if I can find one. I am hoping to find something under $10k. I like the backhoe because it seems like it can do a lot of different little jobs, and I can drive it where I need to go. I know a guy who is really into vintage equipment who is always trying to convince me to get a really old machine, but I will probably avoid that, as tempting as it sounds. I don't mind tinkering with machines, and am very mechanical. Diesels and hydraulics are pretty foreign to me though. My big concern is liability insurance cost. I won't ever go anywhere near utilities or existing structures, and would limit jobs to real simple ones. My main worry is just driving the thing down the road and clipping a car or something. My instincts are to skip insurance and just keep it real casual, but common sense tells me that could be really dumb. I just worry that insurance cost could kill any hope of making a little money at this. Any idea of the lowest I might pay for liability insurance for this? Any other ideas or suggestions are really appreciated. David
I don't think anyone can pay for libility insurance for digging planning on doing casual work. Just to get digging insurance in Minnesota you have to prove your experiance to even qualify. A two million dollar policy for me in this state just for my road grader used for grading ATV trails with only me as the operator runs $1,400 a year. I am not allowed to grade a public road on this policy. Digging liability policy is over $10,000 for one certified operator if you do not go deeper than 4 ft and it skyrockets after that to dig deeper. My hoe stays home. Your state may be different but the carriers are all national companies so I would not expect to much difference.
Thanks for the reply, Old Iron Habit I called a local insurance guy who handles policies for construction, excavating, and landscaping. He thought the landscaping policy would cover me for light digging in remote areas. It would be about $800/year. David
How about equipment? I would appreciate ideas of machines to consider. What should I avoid? I don't mind older machines, but probably need something that at least has ROPS. I would like to stay under $10k, but if I could find an older solid machine for $4k that would obviously be better. Since this is just a casual venture, if I miss a few days work because the machine is down for repair it's OK. Speaking of ROPS, is there a safety difference between a machine with a roll bar and one with a cab? Is that the main purpose of the cab, or is it mostly comfort? What regular hydraulic maintenance issues will I need to deal with? How expensive are hoses? I often see machines listed for sale that leak some fluid. Is this usually from the cylinders? What's involved with rebuilding them? Thanks for any suggestions. David
That sounds suspiciously like to good of a deal. Look closely nat what it covers before you sign.