Backhoe -- Build or Buy?

[Oak]

I'm needing to dig some trenches for water management around my property and it's too much to do by hand. Contacting it out is not an option because the housing market is still booming here and contractors charge way too much if they ever show up. Renting a machine is also too much in my opinion because this something that I will do as I get the time. I was looking at a few options and wanted y'alls thoughts.

Buy a used backhoe -- Looking at used full sized machines I can get 30+ year old machine for around $15k. Use it for my projects and then sell it. But, what if it's a worn out pos that's a money pit and I sink a lot of money in it and can't sell it. Most SCUT TLB's are $20k used and $23k+ new, again that's too much.

Harbor Freight has a towable backhoe for $3800 out the door that seems to have pretty good reviews on the web. I don't see any of these for sale used in my area but maybe they will run a sale on these soon.
https://www.harborfreight.com/power-...hoe-62365.html

Build one. I've looked at the Cad Plans & PF Engineering ones but I don't know if I could build one for what the hazard freight one costs with steel prices these days. Has anyone built either of these?

https://cadplans.com/
https://www.loaderplans.com/micro-hoe-plans

Thoughts on the above?
TIA

[darkminion_17]

Rent one, much cheaper in the long run. No money pit to worry about.

[Ambush]

How many feet of trench, how deep and how wide. Ditches or laying drain pipe? Do you already have a loader? What kind of equipment do you have for fabbing the hoe and how much time? And I'm guessing you have a tractor to put it on.

I know rental yards sell off mini excavators pretty reasonable.

[Oak]

Originally Posted by darkminion_17

Rent one, much cheaper in the long run. No money pit to worry about.

Not a $500 a weekend. This isn't a project I'm going to do all at once. It will be spread out over several weeks if not a few months.

Toll rental in my area for a small TLB is:

Home Depot is $319 a day/$957 week and Sunbelt is $425 a day/$1000 week. I'm pretty sure this is what most rental places will charge in my area.

[ironman]

You might check your local Craigslist in the Services/Farm & Garden category.
There are lawn care business's and guys with small equipment that are not contractors that might fit your need.

[Oak]

Originally Posted by Ambush

How many feet of trench, how deep and how wide. Ditches or laying drain pipe? Do you already have a loader? What kind of equipment do you have for fabbing the hoe and how much time? And I'm guessing you have a tractor to put it on.

I know rental yards sell off mini excavators pretty reasonable.

I will be laying drain pipe for my gutters, putting in a few drain basins and running a drain line for my wells back flush system. I'm sure that will be well over 100'.

I have a loader on my 1772 that will work fine for back filling and also a back blade on my Kubota B7500.

I have several welders TIG, Stick & MIG, Hypertherm XP45 plasma cutter, Rage 2 chop saw and all the other little stuff needed.

Someday I will get one of these but I need to sell off a few more Cubs first to spring for one.
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/pro

I have several Cubs I could put a hoe on I just don't know if they will be beefy enough.

[Ambush]

It would make sense to put the hoe on the loader tractor since it already has hydraulics and it's good counter weight

If you enjoy the building aspect, then I'd definitely go with home made. Not sure how much industry is in your area, but you can get decent prices on crop steel from suppliers and often on FB or Craigslist . You can make the bucket as narrow as you want. You can also modify plans to suit the steel you find. Wait until cylinders come on sale. Hoses you just got to pay what they want. But I think you could still have a better product for cheaper than a HF special. And you're obviously well equipped to do the job.

Definitely plan to put a thumb on the bucket. Handier than pockets in your underwear.

[Ambush]

I had much the same question a few years ago when I was going to remove sod, dig down several inches and back fill with better soil. I also wanted to put in some stone paver walkways. I could get a bobcat in and a dump truck and then have the bobcat back after the soil was delivered and then again for the walkways. I'm too old to dig that much.

I put an add on ******** offering free fill, loaded and I had the overburden gone in two weeks. Putting a wanted ad on FB is a great way to buy stuff like steel that people have laying around. It jogs people's memory and desire to get rid of things they don't need or inherited with a property.

So I built the loader over the winter and did all the landscaping at my leisure over the spring and summer. Did the neighbour's small yard at the same time and they covered some expenses. According to my hour meter, I have fifty hours on since the loader and I don't mow, so most of that is loader work and a bit of food plotting. So even if I have forty hours of loader time, at $50 an hour that's $2,000.

And if buying used or building, you can recoup most or all of the cost by selling it after the work is done.

[darkminion_17]

Originally Posted by Oak

I will be laying drain pipe for my gutters, putting in a few drain basins and running a drain line for my wells back flush system. I'm sure that will be well over 100'.

I have a loader on my 1772 that will work fine for back filling and also a back blade on my Kubota B7500.

I have several welders TIG, Stick & MIG, Hypertherm XP45 plasma cutter, Rage 2 chop saw and all the other little stuff needed.

Someday I will get one of these but I need to sell off a few more Cubs first to spring for one.
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/pro

I have several Cubs I could put a hoe on I just don't know if they will be beefy enough.

If your not going too deep rent a ditch witch, unless your laying 12" pipe.

[Sam Mac]

Originally Posted by darkminion_17

If your not going too deep rent a ditch witch, unless your laying 12" pipe.

I was going to say the same thing.

These are a few in my area on FB marketplace https://******************/marketpla...tch%20trencher

Buy one due the job and then re-sell it.