Backhoe’s again!

[Simon edwards]

Afternoon all! Sorry to bore anyone with another backhoe thread but having had a few days away in pasty country and a bit of time for clear(ish) thinking I’ve decided to sell the two older backhoes and rightly or wrongly buy one shiny new one.
I am looking at the New Holland 110d, Cat 432f and JCB plus.
I won’t divulge prices yet as discussions are ongoing! But will say they are a fair whack higher than expected.
I have had a short play on the NH and quite liked it,a try out on the Cat can be arranged at Detsford.
Have any of you on here had much to do with any of the above machines?
I am currently leaning toward the NH but only as the dealer is very close to home.
Any informed opinions much appreciated .Cheers.

 

[doobin]

You're a braver man than me!

 

[Jimbo69]

Afternoon all! Sorry to bore anyone with another backhoe thread but having had a few days away in pasty country and a bit of time for clear(ish) thinking I’ve decided to sell the two older backhoes and rightly or wrongly buy one shiny new one.
I am looking at the New Holland 110d, Cat 432f and JCB plus.
I won’t divulge prices yet as discussions are ongoing! But will say they are a fair whack higher than expected.
I have had a short play on the NH and quite liked it,a try out on the Cat can be arranged at Detsford.
Have any of you on here had much to do with any of the above machines?
I am currently leaning toward the NH but only as the dealer is very close to home.
Any informed opinions much appreciated .Cheers.

I hired a Cat for a few months last year with the servo controls on the seat. The build quality was far ahead of JCB, little things like the back window not rattling It was very good on the front end, it had forward/reverse, diff lock and a kick down button all on the joystick. Another benefit over the JCB servos is you can use the front bucket and the dipper at the same time to walk yourself out of a sticky situation.
Downsides for me were it wasn’t as smooth on the back end for fine grading and the backactor was very heavy. The type of work I do on sites I very rarely have my jack legs down. Where the JCB will almost stretch all the way out with a full bucket I found the Cat would barely stretch halfway before needing the jacks down.

 

[Simon edwards]

Brave or stupid,time will tell!
Thanks Jimbo,that is interesting as the back does look hefty and I often work in fairly soft ground,always been confident of being able to get myself in and out with the Jake,the NH looks similarly proportioned and maybe a bit more nimble than the Cat and the thought of any grading issues after my recent experience is not appealing.

 

[hiluxman]

I've had many hours on cat 432 and they are alot better than the 3cx's I've driven.

The only downside is that a 432 is alot heavier so you notice the difference when in the soft stuff but I think that's the only drawback

 

[Simon edwards]

The weight may be an issue for me,how do you find them for fine grading?

 

[Regy53]

Residual jcb or cat

The rest are not even close .

 

[Simon edwards]

That’s the crazy thing as new appears so far to be very similar.To be honest I am buying new for the warranty and backup as much as anything.There are some nice late used jcb’s about but with such a modern bit of kit I feel you need dealer support and my logic is that the only way to(hopefully) ensure this is a new machine with extended warranty.

 

[Bri963]

Can only speak to the 432, but personally I’ve never had any issue fine grading. You can set the modulation of the hydraulics to get much more feel, the downside is it slows the hydraulics down quite a bit. I think when you’ve had a couple of days and got into the swing, you’ll find it’s Quite capable of fine grading. There’s probably half a tonne weight penalty over a JCB but the metal is where you need it. Also, to Jimbo’s point about balance, if you’re speccing it yourself there is an option for an extra counterweight on the front of the chassis, which also helps if you’re grading with the 4 in 1 as well as for balance when using the arse end. I’ve used them with and without the weights, night and day. Are you going for the powered kingpost offset? That’s another thing I thought was a gimmick until I used one with it fitted.

 

[Simon edwards]

The quote I have includes the counterweight.I also thought the powered sideshift was a gimmick until I had it by chance on my current machine,cracking thing really as is the hydraulic hitch.I last had one on my 95 p8 but that peeled open open like a can one day so went back to pins!

 

[hiluxman]

The quote I have includes the counterweight.I also thought the powered sideshift was a gimmick until I had it by chance on my current machine,cracking thing really as is the hydraulic hitch.I last had one on my 95 p8 but that peeled open open like a can one day so went back to pins!

Hyd hitch is definitely a good shout, it saves the I'll just give it abit extra with bucket I've got on vs putting right bucket on or hammer.

Maybe only saves seconds but knowing you've not got to get in and out a few times with spring lock then your more inclined to swap buckets according

 

[GazCro]

Hyd hitch is definitely a good shout, it saves the I'll just give it abit extra with bucket I've got on vs putting right bucket on or hammer.

Maybe only saves seconds but knowing you've not got to get in and out a few times with spring lock then your more inclined to swap buckets according

He must be the only man to ever go from a hyd hitch back to pins.

 

[Simon edwards]

Fair point...at the time it was necessity,the jcb masterhitch had unique dedicated buckets and I was in the middle of a job,managed to find a couple of buckets via autotrader,picked them up that night,added to some old ones we had,fully kitted by next morning,business as usual.I was real enthuastic back then!

 

[DaveDCB]

Kinda known by now that I’m a 3CX guy, personally they are overall the better machine.

Had a lot of seat time in cat 432D & F, great machine you can’t deny it, but they are heavy, I’d argue well over a ton heavier & on smaller tires really shows on anything but roads/hardcore - they do not take kindly to wet ground at all! Also the pull back type rear levers are a pain, such a slog moving position in them!

Back to the JCB , I’d really like some seat time in the new advance easy control (joystick) machines as they have tweeked the seat and joystick positions on the latest version.
Make sure you spec powerslide and a hydraulic rear hitch, don’t waste money on a front hitch. Heated air seat is a nice feature to have

 

[DaveDCB]

The weight may be an issue for me,how do you find them for fine grading?

One thing I’d say to any dealer/rep is demand you try the exact same machine on demo before you commit to buy, and if your new one operates differently to what you tried you can reject it a lot easier

 

[Simon edwards]

Thanks Dave,The new Cats have seat mounted levers but the NH is on those pods.The general opinion definitely seems to be the Cat is’nt going to suit a lot of my work,often pretty soft ,sticky conditions.
I agree on the demo,the NH is the actual machine I could purchase,Meeting the JCB rep next week as I intend to use an alternative dealer to the one I’ve been with for 30 years (due to a local depot opening up)and I definately want to try the same machine.I’m in two minds as to easy control or good old sticks .

 

[DaveDCB]

Didn’t realise the cat made the switch to seat mounted - finally! But I’d say if you ever venture near anything soft stay away from the Cats, everything is low slung on them, really doesn’t take a lot to get them down and out!

I’ve had two 3cx on sticks and two on servos, for pure comfort and cab space id go servos - but try them both. I’m sure they will send you up to the demo ground at the JCB quarry to try them both

 

[doobin]

For often soft and sticky conditions, why are you not considering an equal wheel machine?

 

[Simon edwards]

Thanks Dave,it’s starting to look like a choice of Jake and NH I reckon and I have to admit to quitefancying a change after my latest 3cx experience.
I have considered equal wheel machines,but for one I do’nt like the lack of visibilty at the bucket for fork work and grading,plus deciding to go new I do’nt even want to start looking at prices,standard machines are silly enough at the minute!I’ve never yet not been able to get out of the soft stuff including having to pull myself in as well on occasion,just takes a considered approach when really wet.

 

[JD450A]

Equal wheel machines are over rated. Look posey but the reality is in the soft, lightweight and fiddle brakes win hands down along with the elusive diff lock.