Back hoe Vs mini excavator.

[TheBrick]

Hi all,

After your thoughts. I have some work to do (at home) and wondering which machine to get. (Either will be old)

I need to remove top soil for a small car parking area, ~50m of track and 20mx20m yard area. Then grade out with crushed concrete/ MOT / whatever I can get cheap.

Points I can see
Back hoe gives me a good loader as well, I have a vintage tractor and a loader ready to install but it's only a b275 so small and requires the work to get it up together. Having a strong loader is also be useful for loading unloading heavy stuff.

Mini excavator. I don't know if it will be better or worse for grading and removing top soil but gives me another string to my bow and the option of doing some jobs for other where as the back hoe is somewhat limited and I couldn't transport but a min excavator I could tow.

Mini excavator more £ than back hoe.

Any thoughts to add to my own?

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Hire a mini/midi 360 and a dumper for a week or 2

 

[doobin]

Hire a mini/midi 360 and a dumper for a week or 2

Agree, just hire the right tool for the job.

Buying old shite only makes sense for a long self build project where having the machine available for ten minutes work all the time is useful.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Agree, just hire the right tool for the job.

Buying old shite only makes sense for a long self build project where having the machine available for ten minutes work all the time is useful.

That's my excuse for wanting a backhoe I know I'll spend more time fixing it than using it.

 

[V8Druid]

That's my excuse for wanting a backhoe I know I'll spend more time fixing it than using it.

what's the budget for a back hoe ... had my '87 black cab jake over ten years -- shifted a lot more than you're proposing with it and aside from a few pipes and a fan belt (plus servicing) never had to put a spanner to it .. made a couple of hundred quid on it when it went, but was reasonably tidy

 

[topkit]

A backhoe loader is more versitile providing you have the space! A half decent 4wd one is still going to cost you at least 8k or more depending on age and what needs doing to it, I would not be without one here now.

 

[V8Druid]

A backhoe loader is more versitile providing you have the space! A half decent 4wd one is still going to cost you at least 8k or more depending on age and what needs doing to it, I would not be without one here now.

must confess there are times I regret outing the Jake

 

[Stroppymonkey]

what's the budget for a back hoe ... had my '87 black cab jake over ten years -- shifted a lot more than you're proposing with it and aside from a few pipes and a fan belt (plus servicing) never had to put a spanner to it .. made a couple of hundred quid on it when it went, but was reasonably tidy

Chap near me is selling a 580 1993. He’s asking 8k but it’s not sold on a month. I’ve pitched a lower price but we are yet to get anywhere. He’s countered my 5k offer with a 6.5K.

 

[fred]

gap doing 3 tonner for 130+vat a week.

pointless buying anything at them prices.

 

[doobin]

gap doing 3 tonner for 130+vat a week.

pointless buying anything at them prices.

Don't really agree. That's still £559 per month, and you can have your own, ready when you need it, on finance over five years for that amount easily. Less if you go for Sany or Sunward etc.

Once I'd done the first five years my next premium 2.7t machine only costs me £220 per month, brand new in the yard (old one sold for deposit)

So if you've a long term need and work for one then owning makes a lot more sense. You still have to insure it, hired or not. Maintenance costs are negligeable, and a five year warranty means no major worries there either. Even if it took them three weeks to fix a problem you've saved enough to hire one in to cover.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Don't really agree. That's still £559 per month, and you can have your own, ready when you need it, on finance over five years for that amount easily. Less if you go for Sany or Sunward etc.

Once I'd done the first five years my next premium 2.7t machine only costs me £220 per month, brand new in the yard (old one sold for deposit)

So if you've a long term need and work for one then owning makes a lot more sense. You still have to insure it, hired or not. Maintenance costs are negligeable, and a five year warranty means no major worries there either. Even if it took them three weeks to fix a problem you've saved enough to hire one in to cover.

My E10 costs me £225 a month. Will still be worth something at the end of the 5 years and doesn’t need to do much work to cover its costs

 

[Storrsy]

Hiring is all well and good for something you only need very occasionally but it's never there when you need it and a painful trying to organise everything with hire co.
Personally if I was the OP Id look for an older 2.8 tonner. Take someone who knows what they're looking at and generally minis are reliable if they haven't been abused to much.
I bought my old 2007 TB125 in 2017 for £14500. I've put 4000 hrs on it and it's still worth around £11k now. When I think of the amount of jobs I've done with it £3500 to own it over 7 years seems a bargain.

 

[TheBrick]

If I was just doing one job yes I would hire. The reason I am looking to buy is this is a weekend / evening job. Grabbing half a day here and there. Nature of a the job I am afraid!

 

[TheBrick]

Hiring is all well and good for something you only need very occasionally but it's never there when you need it and a painful trying to organise everything with hire co.
Personally if I was the OP Id look for an older 2.8 tonner. Take someone who knows what they're looking at and generally minis are reliable if they haven't been abused to much.
I bought my old 2007 TB125 in 2017 for £14500. I've put 4000 hrs on it and it's still worth around £11k now. When I think of the amount of jobs I've done with it £3500 to own it over 7 years seems a bargain.

What's your reasoning of mini ex over backhoe?

 

[TheBrick]

A backhoe loader is more versitile providing you have the space! A half decent 4wd one is still going to cost you at least 8k or more depending on age and what needs doing to it, I would not be without one here now.

That's my thought, it's the possibility of some future work that temps me to a min ex

 

[Storrsy]

What's your reasoning of mini ex over backhoe?

Depends how good you are at fixing things. I think you'll get something far more reliable for your money with a mini Vs a backhoe. Also usability especially at the budget end of the pricerange.

 

[DaveDCB]

gap doing 3 tonner for 130+vat a week.

pointless buying anything at them prices.

It’s a cheap hire machine for sure, but like Doobin says long term buying is always going the better option. But if your line of work uses various sized machines on different jobs etc hiring them in as and when you need them isn’t a bad shout!
I have cut back to just having a 6ton excavator and hire everything else I need, what it does do is act as a smaller machine when I need it to(width is really the only thing that limits it) and it can easily shift 400ton+ in a day for very little fuel useage - I’d need to be digging a very big hole to bother getting a 13/22ton in!

On topic - loved my backhoes, easily outdig a 8tonner and load muck away faster than a 13ton, but they cost a lot to buy, sink easily , cost a lot to maintain and take a lot more space up on site than a more compact 6tonner which I replaced it with.

maybe oneday I’ll sell up all my kit and get another backhoe , but that’s a long way off.

 

[doobin]

If I was just doing one job yes I would hire. The reason I am looking to buy is this is a weekend / evening job. Grabbing half a day here and there. Nature of a the job I am afraid!

Absoloutely fair enough then! What’s your budget?

 

[TheBrick]

Well I manage to fix everything I need to, but not always when I want to...
Thanks for the thoughts.