The "Backhoe Thread" for backhoes and work done with them.

Gunners

Gunners

Well-known member
Think he goes by coldiggy on Instagram, didn't realise he killed someone. Hard call to make, should he operate again? Personally I think everyone should be given a chance to learn from their mistakes and maybe he's now a better person and operator for it?
I don't think there's any fine or sentence that can really be enough for killing another person, although no doubt that it plays on his mind daily and that will be a hard thing to live with no doubt.
 
BillybobLockwood

BillybobLockwood

Well-known member
Y
DaveDCB said:
That’s pretty much what I used to charge when I ran mine, sold the last one 5 years ago. I did alright out of it. Some days I’d pull in 4 jobs 😉
Click to expand...
You run your backhoes for 250 a day??? Heck no! You’d make better money as a laborer here!!
 
O

Old Operator

Well-known member
I get the point that a £40K machine earning say £300 a day vs. a much smaller / cheaper / less thirsty machine earning almost as much is a no brainer. Elsewhere on here a man is trying his 0.8 tonne mini @ £300/ day. At one time there were small TBL's (Allmand, Thwaites, Terramite come to mind. Also I once remember a local guy running a couple of Bobcat skid steers, & having a pick up backhoe that replaced the front bucket?? Once you go small though the travel speed is nothing so it needs to be transported. Only saving is all is done by one man - otherwise you could buy mini & small dumper etc & still have much change from £40K. Another bugbear is that if the machine is taken to a job for longer than a day how do you get home first night- I have a non driving wife, & nobody else.
There are a couple of big 360's picking & carrying just behind me -(worn) tracks running on dry MOT - nothing to lube them - sounds horrendous. These things originally were cheaper to run than a drott because there was no track wear in the digging cycle. But using them like this makes little sense. I guess the floatation/ rutting problem is why small 'ducks' never took off
 
D

DaveDCB

Well-known member
BillybobLockwood said:
Y

You run your backhoes for 250 a day??? Heck no! You’d make better money as a laborer here!!
Click to expand...
Ran - once upon a time. Figures stacked up for me, mortgage back then was only £430 a month, bills half that.. it was a simple life. I was steady away busy doing the jobs I liked and that was that. You always look back and go bugger me I wish I charged more but i was still the most expensive in the area at that!!
 
F

fred

Well-known member
The hire market hasn't helped owner ops either, the silly cheap rates for machines for a week, we have an 8 tonner at £290 a week. only £50 more than a 3 tonner. Crazy.

The hire firms realise they are sat on non-depreciating assets and any dollar at all they get in on top for hire is icing on the cake so they are all undercutting.
 
O

Old Operator

Well-known member
I make that £260 per 8 hr day, it would use not less than 50 ltrs of fuel so it is already down to £210. I cannot see how it would even be worth keeping the thing in tyres for that. I guess they already own it, so carry on. I was thinking rather smaller than this as not practical for the lanes round here. If 'Joe Bloggs' has to handball his bricks into a dumper well so what (or more likely order his doleboy sidekick to do it!!!)
I see on same page 1 tonners coming up for £80 per day. Guess this is a tempter & they make up on collection & delivery. There is not one locally for less than £130 for one day, no fuel no driver included.
 
pettsy

pettsy

Well-known member
DaveDCB said:
Ran - once upon a time. Figures stacked up for me, mortgage back then was only £430 a month, bills half that.. it was a simple life. I was steady away busy doing the jobs I liked and that was that. You always look back and go bugger me I wish I charged more but i was still the most expensive in the area at that!!
Click to expand...

Seem to remember seeing your name on 3cx’s doing council work, were you nearer to Derbyshire previously?
 
Nick...

Nick...

Well-known member
My first new to me backhoe,my avatar, used to cost a pound a clock hour for tyre rubber excluding punctures.could normally do a day on 20 litres but on front end work a tankful would just about last till dinner time.if I ran one now I’d want at least £45 an hour home to home.im guessing a new one owner operator spec must be in region of £70k or more.allways too many people working too cheap.see it all the while on fb,running worn out machines and most likely no insurance either.
nick...
 
BillybobLockwood

BillybobLockwood

Well-known member
Old Operator said:
I get the point that a £40K machine earning say £300 a day vs. a much smaller / cheaper / less thirsty machine earning almost as much is a no brainer. Elsewhere on here a man is trying his 0.8 tonne mini @ £300/ day. At one time there were small TBL's (Allmand, Thwaites, Terramite come to mind. Also I once remember a local guy running a couple of Bobcat skid steers, & having a pick up backhoe that replaced the front bucket?? Once you go small though the travel speed is nothing so it needs to be transported. Only saving is all is done by one man - otherwise you could buy mini & small dumper etc & still have much change from £40K. Another bugbear is that if the machine is taken to a job for longer than a day how do you get home first night- I have a non driving wife, & nobody else.
There are a couple of big 360's picking & carrying just behind me -(worn) tracks running on dry MOT - nothing to lube them - sounds horrendous. These things originally were cheaper to run than a drott because there was no track wear in the digging cycle. But using them like this makes little sense. I guess the floatation/ rutting problem is why small 'ducks' never took off
Click to expand...
A backhoe in the UK only costs 40k? My cat 420 was 115k used!
 
D

DaveDCB

Well-known member
BillybobLockwood said:
A backhoe in the UK only costs 40k? My cat 420 was 115k used!
Click to expand...
3cx contractor is roughly 70k new now, but you can soon add 15k of options onto any machine these days! Would I ever buy a new one again? I very much doubt it! I need far to much other specific kit to do the work I do these days, adding a 3cx into the mix simply put wouldn’t make me any more money or save time - and that’s coming from someone who is backhoe through and through!
 
O

Old Operator

Well-known member
I wanted to offer something different from just being another mini - so only able to compete on price with that. Looked at Italian stuff - centre pivot artic backhoe, also small stuff e.g. Power Trac & even Struck as well as the small Italian. In the UK anything on a trailer is limited to about 2.6 metric tons + the weight of the trailer itself. Otherwise a wall of red tape kicks in, driver CPC, Operators Licence inc an approved place to park overnight, regular services by an outside body even if the vehicle only does low mileage unless your maintenance facilities & skills approved by 'them' . This can be increased to about 3.25t if the 4WD tow vehicle & trailer has air brakes - very rare - have never seen one.
So the owner op is left with a 2.6t max machine if not a self moving backhoe or 'rubber duck' 360. Otherwise he is totally in the hands of others to move his machine. I think this is correct?? I know farmers move big machines behind a fast trac but they have other use for the tractor.
So now basically it is a mini digger only for the owner op if the backhoe has gone out? I remember the CITB doing a 'long course' for earthmoving years ago. This would now consist of 360, Dozer & ADT, as scrapers drotts dragline navvies all gone & the '3Cx' pretty well joining them. Only other 'special' area that interests me is a slopes capable long & wide expanding track mini or 'true spider' like Graham runs. Doubt it would be the latter as work few & far between
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Footer block 1

Footer Block 2

Plant Construction Forum

Footer block 3

Our Partners

Top