http://forkliftcatalog.mastercraftf...ain-forklifts/truck-mounted-backhoe/item-1224 They only built a couple hundred of these, and it seems like they didn't catch on. Are they too light to work ?
I have one near me here in Jersey that sign company uses
I have one here, an Ottowa from the 1960s on an IH 4x4 chassis. It is in pretty neglected condition but it works, it digs real good but the truck chassis is very unwieldy compared to a tractor. No way to spin on or off a ditch is a big minus.
Local power company had a few, didn't last long. Easy & fast to move between jobsites is about the only plus I can think of. Truck would be helpless in adverse conditions off road, hard to manuver when digging a trench and zero backfill ability other than swinging the spoils in with the side of the bucket. A friends govco employer has a military surplus Unimog with the backhoe & front loader, said it's a topheavy scary pig to drive and worthless to do anything with. But it was free! Ed
Easy and fast to move between job sites. Well maybe. Mine would be scary much over 25 mph. But I wouldn't know, it has no brakes. I move it as slowly as possible. A rubber tire backhoe is not all that slow to move on the road if necessary and when you get it there, it can do much more for you. Plus you don't have to climb all over it to operate it.
Thanks for the replies. After thinking about it, I suspect cost of a new truck combined with the cost of a new hoe attachment wasn't competitive with the cost of a 580 or equivalent machine. Money talks! Now it seems mini's are more popular than TLB's but do they dig better ?
Sounds a lot like the concept of the Gradall. Truck mounted excavator. Those work OK in farm country working the irrigation ditches but haven't seen any use for them outside of that. The prices on loader backhoes have shot up over the years so I think there are still plenty of people believing they do a job better than the mini exes.
Installing underground utilities (sewer/ water), we've wandered away from backhoes for the same reason the truck mounted excavator isn't favored. A mini excavator can 180° load a truck, requiring only a single lane closure. As for mobility, the mini can load the truck that trailered it in on.
minis are awesome and if your not digging past 3 to 4 foot deep you can dig fast enough and nimble enough that they are just as fast as a backhoe but they will never be a backhoe versatilty on a hoe is unmatched. what really pushed the minis is price a new hoe runs 100 grand plus you can get into a 10000 lbs mini for 75 or less it really depends what kind of work your doing.