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John Deere 4300 tractor loader backhoe
QUESTION:Depends on how much the backhoe got used. A lot of people buy a backhoe and
then almost never use it. I bought a backhoe attachment last year. It's still
sitting right where I put it when I unloaded it from the trailer.
My tractor has over 3,000 hours on it and still runs and works like new. It's
somewhere over 20 years old as far as I can tell. (Yanmar FX28D) Many
construction machines have twice that many hours and are still going strong. The
key is good maintenance.
On a car, 1700 hours at 55mph is not quite 100,000 miles. A good diesel engine
(like the Yanmar engine in that JD tractor) should be good for 300,000 or more
if you're measuring it in miles.
The price is about right for a machine of that age and size. 1700 hours in 8
years comes out to a little over 4 hours a week. A toilet gets used more than
that.
ANSWER: You've proved my point. Sounds great in theory but in practical use a
tractor like that makes for a lousy backhoe... it's okay for very
occasional very light use but that thing wouldn't last a week used
commercially. In fact just carrying around the weight of the back hoe
and front loader with bucket on a steady basis without even using them
would cut the life of that machine in half. And I agree with you,
often people have a back hoe job on their property and think they'll
save money doing it themself and still have the back hoe...
nonsence... it's far less expensive in the long run to hire someone
with a real back hoe... look at you, your back hoe is just sitting
there.
A lot of folks buy back hoe attachments for light duty tractors and do
just like you, they never use them, or try using them once and realize
the thing is a joke. Were I in the market for a used light duty
tractor I wouldn't even look at one with a front loader and back hoe
attached... and I'd certainly not consider a tractor like that with
1700 hrs anymore than I'd consider a 8 year old pick up truck with
100,000 miles on the clock. Putting a 100 hours on that kind of
tractor is a lot of tractoring... and you really can't compare tractor
hours to driving miles... anyone who uses that argument doesn't own a
tractor or doesn't actually sit their own butt on one. People buy
those light duty utility tractors for general yard work, hauling a
garden cart now and again and mostly mowing, if they put on 100 hours
a year it's a lot... the average person couldn't sit that seat a 40
hour week, not even a 20 hour week.... those small tractors bounce
your guts into a knot, a lot of people don't realize that tractors
don't have a suspension, and the lighter the tractor the rougher the
ride.
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