I have read alot about Case , John Deere , Cat , etc etc on this forum But I have not heard of any members talk about the 715 Allis Chalmers backhoe I thought this machine in its day was a true built backhoe It was not a tractor built up to a hoe but a true backhoe. Had the wobble sticks , swing around seat , auto forward and reverse . I thought this machine was a head of its time in its day . I don,t think the 580 c or the John Deere 310 could compete as far as modern goes . Your Thoughts?
Old iron is awesome in many ways, yet the cushioned spools on a 420 cat xhoe are sweet. I want one too, waaaaaaaaa.lol. Jcb aren't bad today, yet that's mho. Cat is the king in my book, bobcat get er done with a minihoe but a true blooded hoe you can't beat. It's whatever your pocket book can withstand imho. I don't have enough experience with others to make much input,,, Run what ya got n can afford. It'll be interesting to see what real operators say on this issue. As I am not, just a wornout cowhand. Later
Allis was ahead of the pack in many instances, first with shuttle shift in a crawler, first as to many of the innovations on New machines we see still out there as the wobble sticks, swing seat, etc. Allis had issues though, they did utilize many component parts with farm tractors(Deere does too) they had issues with one of a kind machines forever with oddball transmissions, oddball differentials, odd combinations of truck/tractor/custom engineering, part of the reason they went out. 715 was a bigger, heavier but good machine, 800 series was a tank, could dig alongside a trackhoe today all day for the extra weight they had but were still fairly crude. They had their day, still work well as for farm or light duty work but no longer production quality due to age, parts unavailabilities and lack of service dealers. Allis had great engineering staff, did well with what technology was available or they could design into, they are gone now with only their old machines still working some 40-60 years later.
I realize that this post is pushing beyond a decade old but thought I would add in what I can offer. The Allis Chalmers 715 design originated in late 1973 and finished under the Allis name in 1985 when the Industrial Tractor Division which built the backhoe was sold off to a company that went by the acronym CDS. Even some of the very late advertising of the 85-89 time frame shows the label CDS overlain on the Allis Chalmers promotional literature. There is very little information available about the Allis 715D series backhoe, but plenty of information about the 715 backhoe which saw very minor upgrades over its production period which resulted in the Allis Chalmers 715B and 715C backhoes. That said, the 715 and 715B series machines were equipped with a Perkins 4-236 engine, while the 715 C evicted the Perkins in favor of the Allis Diesel 2200 engine. Later after the Allis line was sold to CDS a few CDS 715 backhoes popped up with a Cummins 4BT engine as the source for the powertrain. Further, research into the 715 D suggests that a company by the name of Minn Par actually owned CDS. True or not maybe someone from Minn Parr or a dealer for the CDS Industrial line could chime in and confirm. From experience the 715 was an exceptionally well designed machine which used components from non Allis sources to build a great machine. It would be of particular interest to know when the 715 backhoe built by CDS ceased production and if there was any engineering technical support that was offered or put into print during the years of the 715 that was badged as a CDS machine. ~ Orangeman
As an amendment to the above, and to clarify the CDS 715D Series loader backhoe otherwise known as Continental Diversified Sales, Inc. - Minneapolis, Minnesota machine has a Cummins 4B 3.9 liter engine - no turbo - so no T acronym. From trademark registration listings it appears that CDS organized in 1985 and ceased the trademark in 1992, so there should be close to 8 years of CDS 715D backhoe production. Having looked over one today, it's serial number or as the tag says Product Identification Number shows # 7229 so am wondering now about how many CDS managed to build. Would any CDS 715 Loader - Backhoe owners be willing to chime in here with the Serial or Product Information number on their machine?
Have a 715B-D machine I bought from John Deer dealer here in MN , it was traded in by local municipality as a update . Had 2,000 hours on machine (now at 6,000+)when I bought it . Got the name of the shop foreman at municipality and he said come out to their shop . Got service records from new to the day they traded , along with cleaning out their supply of parts in their storeroom . They had rebuilt the Fwd/Rev clutch pack once and gave me the spare unit they had in stock. I used the machine for septic work and footing trenching for 15 years with only a problem in last year with clutch slip . One problem was the front timing cover on the Perkins engine cracked due to hydraulic pump mounting being not strong enough . In parts I got was a new front cover which I installed then made a support bar to attach to pump and to bell housing . No problem since . I have a Digmore Extendahoe which gives me 17 1/2 ft digging depth and a 34" bucket on machine . The 1 yard loader bucket fills easy and the self leveling linkage keeps bucket filled . View to bucket is somewhat restricted from view from position of towers but it's not something that is easily overcome after operating machine for short time . Machine was rated at 70/75 HP and has power both in loading , hoe work or in using backfill and grading use . Talking to one dealer who sold the later version he mentioned a customer traded in his 715B for later 715-D with the Cummins engine and whished he had kept the Perkins MinnPar obtained the rights and sold machine under the CDS brand alog with smaller loaders and forklifts that AC had sold - Then then sold the rights to Ingersal Rand - who dropped the backhoe line but kept the loader and forklift . After looking for a backhoe for a few years to replace the detachable hoe (AC 650) hoe i had on my HD4 crawler the 715B fit in and as I still have the 650 hoe from HD4 I found the cylinders all interchange , as hoe was updated to do away with Cessna rotary piston for swing to the 2 trunnion mount cylinders . My 715B has the late style cab and ROPS made in Mpls MN - so swing out 1/2 door rather than early type with sliding door on cab . The 2 stick control for hoe works good as does the single stick for loader operation . Overall it is a good machine and will out dig a 555 Ford in speed , reach and ease of operation.