Backhoe’s again!

[Simon edwards]

I’ll take it Bri

 

[JD450A]

I mean compared to a towable machine plus the ability to run kit like patch planers, load lorries so do away with the grab.
The ability to put the material further away and not be double handling. Moving packs of kerbs and running kerb lifters. Doing away with a little 2t telehandlers on civils sites.

Thing is how often does a utility machine need to dig deeper than 1m or lift anything heavier than a couple hundred kg.
A grab lorry runs at 50mph and can go out with a two man team, a trench rammer and do the complete reinstatement. Mini diggers are the same.

 

[Left hooker]

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.

Much as it pains me to say it's a feature on our new Holland I like diff lock

 

[Simon edwards]

There is no way that a backhoe would ever be as cost effective on the majority of ‘hit and run’ utility type work.Those days are long gone.
I think some of the council type work would benefit from one but it would totally depend on the attitude and ‘energy’ of the gangs involved to get the most out of a backhoe and good op.
We are quite fortunate to work in the private sector and as long as the jobs are cost effective customers happy.

 

[Smiffy]

Thing is how often does a utility machine need to dig deeper than 1m or lift anything heavier than a couple hundred kg.
A grab lorry runs at 50mph and can go out with a two man team, a trench rammer and do the complete reinstatement. Mini diggers are the same.

I know they wouldn't replace all of them I'm just surprised their is none atall. Tbh rarely even see a track machine over 2.5t. everyone just struggles like hell instead. And if the work was properly organized travel speed wouldn't be a problem. Especially as a backhoe can be parked on the road side with less chance of disappearing over night.

The whole setup for all highway works is very inefficient. But then I suppose the people that implement the policy's have never had to struggle doing the actual job.

 

[Simon edwards]

Mate of mine works for council planning and running such work,I put more effort into planning a 2 day extension dig than he would into 2 year nonsense highways improvement scheme!drives a nice pickup,drinks a lot of coffee,seems pretty chilled,whose got it right?

 

[DaveDCB]

The thing is the once common bread and butter 3cx work like utilites and local council work was largely dominated at one time by owner ops (certainly round here) who got a decent rate and turned out decent standard and quantity of work. Then comes the change to putting more folk in offices than on the ground and the bean counters turn up. The local councils and utilities would also rather deal with one hire company than load of individuals so the big boys came in with crap ops but cheap rates and took over and the owner ops got out. The drive to mini diggers was probably done by the hire companies as they can put cheaper machines out for not much less rate so make more and the office bums don't know the difference.
A good mate of me old lads would be the last owner op doing council work round here with a 3cx and that was only because a couple of older lads on the council knew his worth compared to the cheaper rate drivers, as soon as those few older fellas retired he was gone as well.

Used to be 9 owner ops on derby city council - 1 for each gang and they were kept busy. New contract came in, job got passed onto local plant hire firm who used own 3cx, then job got undercut by another firm who ran 0 3cx and just hired in afew local owner ops, eventually it just went to nothing and the council got their own really old 3cx and dogged the heck out of it! Everything other than big footpath schemes was then done by hand with the 3cx running around like mad digging bits out here and there! Such a mess!
Glad to be away from that line of work nowadays!