QUESTION:Going to do some building in a fairly remote area. Toying with the idea of
buying a mid sized backhoe/loader. Something smaller than a Case 580 but
bigger than the little toys about 5000lbs? I know some of you have some
experience with this so I thought I'd ask. Budget is less than $5k for
something like this. Older is ok as long as its repairable or useable, can
do some fixing up myself but don't have the time to rebuild a complete
machine. Am I dreaming?
What sort of machines would fit the criteria, at least I could be on the
look out.
ANSWER:
I recently bought a 1964 Ford 4000-Industrial backhoe loader for $2500.
It looks terrible (needs paint badly), but everything that is
important works, and no hydraulic leaks. This model came with a 12 foot (model 713)backhoe, a 7 foot front loader, and the whole outfit wieghs
8120 pounds. This means that you need a 6 ton trailer to haul it
around legally. And, a 3/4 ton pickup has to work pretty hard to pull
it around. But this machine fits your description of "medium" and it
is a real workhorse for me. It came with a 45 hp (net) gas engine, but
also is available with a 3 cylinder diesel. Pretty old, but parts seem
to be quit easily available.
It loads our dump truck.
