Harbor Freight Backhoe (AMAZING VALUE)
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2021
- Let's take a look at the Harbor Freight Towable Backhoe, this video is a basic overview of how it is stored, transported and used. This is the best value for a home owner backhoe period!!!
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Buy it here: www.harborfreight.com/9-hp-to... - Věda a technologie
I've had mine for 4 years and it's still going strong.
I have a similar towable and I found it works better if you don't disconnect from the tractor and don't use the outriggers. The machine is too light to really dig without dragging the machine at the same time. They are very nice however. Also,tie up those hoses. Then practice, practice, practice!
Good point on leaving it hooked to the tractor
I was thinking along the same lines. Basically remove the ball coupler and connect directly to the three-point hitch adapter. Basically a poor man's three-point backhoe without all the weight. Do you think that would work?
When your digging, keep the bucket teeth pointing towards you. It will cut the dirt so much better & reduce dragging the machine around
Make a few passes with the teeth down to loosen dirt and control the path and then, yes, point the teeth back at you to scoop up spoils. Keep the teeth as level to the ground as you can when close to your target elevation. I have about 10,000 hours on an excavator as a retired general contractor. I'm actually considering a little machine like this since anything bigger is just not practical for home use. I usually rent but it only takes 2 or 3 rentals to cover the price of this machine. It might be slow but it can afford to be when it's not on the clock. lol
Great demonstration and suggestions, thank you for sharing.
Good video, I plan on picking one of these up myself.
Thanks for the review!
Definitely interested in purchasing one.
Better be putting your hydraulic lines inside. Having them hanging out will catch something and tear them off. Just FYI. I have one going on 2 yrs now. Love mine!!!
I use the same music in my videos-Great choice. Very interesting and well done. Thank You
My son and I have had ours about 2 months now and still learning how the best way to use it is. The way it started is we wanted to add more room to our garage as we enclosed our carport to make it. We don't need a concrete floor but to add a 10x20 room we would have to dig it down at least 10" for it to be level with the floor now. We started digging by hand that didn't last long in 98 degree temp. So we thought rent a small backhoe after checking the prices and waiting time out of the question, for a 1000.00 more and time needed to keep it, we ordered as we call it (Little Big Red) it came in about 10 days we have found so much else we needed it for we haven't had time to dig out for our floor. We have ran much needed drain lines, we are now going to run a water line to our garage and back work shed. I had my yard checked years back for power, phone, cable so we are good to go. My x wife's widower asked if we would dig him a burn pit on his farm. It will be good training for my son I told him yes but it will cost him gas and lunch, he agreed.
Good deal! It is an awesome machine and great value!!!
Take it back
Honest review from an honest person thank you sir
I think this is the setup I will probably go for. Backhoe definitely a tool I need for many jobs, but not a tool used every weekend... or even every year, so for half the price it seems the best choice.
Just get a mini excavator. That’s what I did.
@@ZR1Terror yes but you got lots of money. Every one don't have the dollors
Just rent one then
Found a couple of local (aka, not 35km away) renters. Rented a 17g excavator and Ditchwitch with loader to make an RV pad, likely the most economical way to go for bigger jobs. But unlike having your own machine that you can just hop on and do the occasional jobs here and there, it takes planning and couldn't be relaxed in getting done all I needed to do in the time (both machine hours & availability) allowed.
@@robertlane3513you can get a mini excavator for less than 2x the price
To add to the life of your machine, replace those "Bent Rod" pins that came with the machine. I have had mine for about 5 years now, and those bent rod pins have a way of making the round holes oblong and sloppy. I replaced mine with true hitch pins with a ring or handle. I also replaced all the cotter pins with the appropriate sized linchpins. They are easier to remove for maintenance and you are less likely to get cut up or scratched working around them.
Great video with the tips on getting the price down are great. I would love to have one, but one issue I see is the cylinder placement could be better for storage...to keep all the chrome within the pipers for you cannot have it all curled up so the foot print for storage if you have space issues...hope you have fun with it
The man has the tunes!
Nice video! I have wondered about these for years....Suggestion when you park the backhoe inside set the tongue on a block of wood or something then you can just back up and pick it up with the 3pt. No bending over and lifting.
when storing you should lower the bucket to sit on the ground, I suppose you could set the tongue on wood however the center of balance is about a foot and half off of the ground so you will need to adjust the bucket to be safe. i hope this helps
Listen to this guy. I bought a new 2019Branson 3520 with the added Backhoe attachment . The problem I had is once the backhoe was attached which, is the factory one it attaches to the frame and takes an hour to get the thing off which makes it a pain to put on any other 3point accessories, such as mower, tiller, brush hog, etc. I ended up selling the attachment the first year at a loss.
You're 100% correct
I agreee- this things take more time to set up daily than work. What a PIA ,,, hydraulics, jacks, lifts, tire changes, outrigger changes, pins.. terrible
Counter weights are your best friend with this ol girl. I put about 300 pounds on the back and it made a world of difference. Watching you go back and forth reminded me of my wife learning it. Who needs to look at the stickers just pull and push every lever til it does what you want 😂😂
This option probably makes more financial sense for more subcompact owners because in my area, the price of a new JD hoe is equal to a 10-week mini-ex rental. Sure you'll need a stout towing solution for renting the mini-ex but if you go strapping an OEM hoe on your subcompact, you're gonna need the same to maximize the value of your tractor/hoe. Looks like your tractor may be light enough to transport without needing to buy a $10K car hauler or pay a towing service $70 one-way to move it with their rollback.
You can also find plans to build an attachment for the back of a lawn tractor. Its about the same size as this and cheaper. I'm assuming if you have a need for something like this you have the tools and know how to build it. Its just cutting and welding metal and the schematics you buy are pretty detailed on the building and setting up the hydraulics.
EDIT:
After seeing how horribly the HF option digs I'd opt for the build it yourself every time.
Kinda funny. May 2021 was also when my father and I received our harbor freight backhoe too! We bought so that we could dig shallow trenches along 3 sides of my property to plant lilac bushes to hopefully act as a natural fence. After the first day of usage we noticed we were losing hydraulic fluid from the pistons...so we had a shop replace the seals...400 buck job there...went back about a week later and dug a 2nd trench for the lilacs and the backhoe seemed to work just fine and no leaks.
We at some point forgot about the safety latch near the bottom of the main boom and that bent the heck out of that solid peg where you put the pin in after the swivel latch or whatever you want to call it...don't know how we're gonna fix it...so far we have a large washer on that peg with a gold-ish colored pin being used (forgot what hardware grade that is).
Used the backhoe again this year to dig another trench for more lilacs and we looked over the machine and the piston that actuates the bucket itself the seal nearest the bucket is now leaking...
I mean the machine is pretty awesome all in all for the price! Makes planting trees or trenching for bushes a heck of a lot easier! I can also scoot around the property pretty well with the backhoe but the downside to that is the outriggers tend to tear up the grass a good bit...
Anyways thought I'd leave a comment! Sorry it turned out to be an essay!
If you want to make it a bit less work to get the backhoe where you want it see if Harbor Freight has a boat dolly. The look similar to a two wheel hand truck. They have two wheels on a frame with a handle and a place for a hitch ball. Marinas and storage places have used them for years to get as many boats on trailers into a storage building as possible.
Went ahead and added a backhoe to my JD going on 6 yrs ago was $6,500 dealer charged along with assembly and taxes. Twice as much but I enjoy having it on one machine and great rear weight for loader work.
The amount of room for storage in my shed it looks like my JD and its backhoe would take up less room even with it off and stored on its storage cart. The cart was something I bought through bxpanded and worth it.
From what I seen the harbor freight has 4 lever controls thought someone in their video mention as an option could upgrade it to two lever. That’s going to be something I’ll like about the backhoe I got being two lever control just easier, faster, and more comfortable to dig with.
Do see what you guys mean great to get jobs done faster providing you have 2nd person to work with. In cases like mine I could dig with my backhoe and friends that have their tractor could do loader work at the same time. Done that a few times and had plenty of fun
pretty cool
Awesome!
Love mine!
I always wondered what happened to Dom DeLuise.
Yeah as has already been mentioned, best to keep this hitched up to whatever you are pulling it with while digging/using it because it is too light to do the job efficiently without moving all the time.
You get an extra set of wheels for the front of it you can get it moved around a lot easier and then put your other wheels on there other stabilizers on it Later
That D hook is dangerous and way too high above the axle centerline to be effective. Good way to flip the tractor over backwards. Any tow ring like that should be a plug in for your receiver, well below the axle centerline.
I attach an implement behind tractor to prevent flip over.
I was introduced to kitty cornered by a neighbor from North Dakota in the 90’s. We say caddy cornered here. 😂
Same for me
I'm from North Dakota. Yes we do say kitty corner when we mean diagonal across the street.
By the time you got that machine set up I could have half the job done with a shovel.
I know right
The light weight is it's down fall.I'd look at adding tractor weights to it(or something).It was struggle'n with loose fill.Imagine with virgin hard packed soil!
I toke my main feed an return hose an increase size also increase size of feed
On cylinders by drilling them out to larger size this was not for speed but for most fluid efficiency thats all an its helps a lot was not trying to make it faster just more efficient an it works
Have better responds from machine
Without changing everything like some have
Hope you demonstrate it.
6 kids dang you got a whole construction crew
It takes strong individuals to raise 6 kids in today's time lol but itx actually not... It makes your hustle game so much stronger... everybody can't do it but to all of us that's doing it everyday, hats off to ya... n yes I do have 6 kids as well...
I've found it works ok in early spring only, when the dirt is soft.
Wow, it really digs topsoil nicely 😂😂
Belive that money spent would be to rent the real deal mini excavator then not have worry about storage or maintenance
As is unless you soft soil like sand as is its too light for real work
Well it beats a shovel for sure, but seems like a lot of back work to get set up and started… I think I would have rather just bought a backhoe attachment after a while of savings. But each to their own! Great video though
Thanks for making this video! Im considering one but dont have a tractor. Im a pretty decently strong guy, do you think a single person can possibly move or pull it around?
You can haul it with anything, car, truck, 4 wheeler etc. yes you can move it by hand but it is 1500 ibs snd it can take off or run you over so i do not suggest it.
Just my .02, maybe look on Craigslist for a homeowner grade lawn tractor for a couple hundred dollars and install a ball mount and ball. While you are at it get a dump cart so you can use the tractor to move material around.
I so wanted to get this model or one like it but my property is tiered and I won't be able to get it up to the levels...
Simple piece of advice My Friend.
NEVER operate the controls standing outside of a hydraulic machine.....or any machine for that matter.
I've owned excavators, loaders, bulldozers etc. and been in the industry for most of my life.
You won't like to see the horrific accidents results from those actions.
Correct my friend bad practise always sit in the seat
I considered buying one of these before I bought my John Deere tractor. I'm glad I passed on it. Not practical at all for what I required, and from all the negative reviews I've read about it, wasn't about to take the chance.
You missed out, it’s amazing and you can use both the backho and the front loader together and it was less than half the price
I ve seen almost nothing but positive reviews on them
There's enough bad reviews out there to sway people away. Again, I'm glad I didn't buy one. I can do so much more with my tractor with its bucket and backhoe. I don't need to hitch it to something just move it around. Plus it's orders of magnitude faster than the harbor freight backhoe
@@nicholasproietto2500 I m sure you can do orders of magnitude more with a tractor and backhoe thats what they are designed for, and cost 10 times more as well. Once again I m curious where you've seen so many negatives on this one ?? So far I ve seen 90% positive everywhere I look, provided someone buys it understanding its limitations
@@nicholasproietto2500 If you have a tractor with a backhoe why would you even consider a towable backhoe ? Of course it would be lightyears more useful. Youre also going to pay 25k and up for such a thing, ten times as much
HeyBro! great video..... hey, I have a 12 hp craftsman lawn tractor..... I wonder if THAT would tow THIS?????? Thanks !!!!!!!
I guess I have a couple questions.
1) why wouldn't you use your truck as an anchor?
2) you used a pile of sand as your example. How does it dig in native soil, how well does it deal with rocks, basically how well will it dig in real situations?
Will it dig in Hard ground? I see it digs in soft dirt. Thanks.
Do you think that you can lift the dirt high enough to dump in a side by side?
Are you Don DeLuise.. lol. Sorry the resemblance is stunning especially with the hat. Thanks for sharing.. wish you had shown a close up of each control lever.
I have been looking at mini backhoes, but I think I I will go with the self propelled ones with the rubber tracks. They may cost 1 or 2 thousand more but the convenience of a self propelled unit and the blade in front makes the difference well worth it.
By the way, next leave that annoying background music at home where it belongs.
Just wondering why do you disconnect the tractor?
Kool
Your 3pt hitch trailer hitch attachment is installed backwards.
I would be looking to put a pump on the pto of the tractor. You could get more speed
Bos who lager slewing bearing turn table
How is it holding up after a year? I wouldn't trust anything with that many moving parts, cylinders, valves, pivot points, O-rings, etc from Harbor Freight. My main concern is maintenance because they don't offer spares for wear/consumable parts like O-rings and everything seems to be unique to them so you can't use off the shelf parts from other companies to fix or maintain. That, and the general lack of quality welds and paint and situations where they could make something work better for almost no more money, but they cut corners in ways that mean the end user has to make modifications that should have been included from the start. The laughably short warranties show they know they are selling junk that won't last.
It’s been great, I’ve dug trenches pull logs out of culverts and just banged it up. Still going. Anything can have issues so it’s a calculated risk
I skipped the tractor with backhoe attachment, I can rent a mini excavator several dozen times for what that backhoe attachment cost for the tractor, and don't have the terrible wear on the tractor that a backhoe will put on a tractor's frame, even with a subframe. I don't need a backhoe very often at all, so the once or twice a decade I need to dig a trench I would rather rent a trencher or mini excavator.
This towable backhoe seems ok for some, but looks to be pretty light weight so it probably wouldn't work so well in the hardpan type soil we have a couple feet in the ground where I live.
can you tow it on the street legally without a tag on it and at high speeds?
No
It seemed to struggle with digging into that pile of soft dirt, will it dig into the actual ground? It also seems like you wouldn’t be able to grade very well by smoothing the dirt side to side if you were doing finishing work. It seems like the savings isn’t enough to justify all the loss of usefulness and maneuverability compared to the backhoe attachment for the tractor. I suspect harbor freight may have contributed somehow to this video. The bucket paint wasn’t even scratched before you got started so it seems like this was the very first use
I've read a bunch of reviews on the product off the habour freight website... and a bunch of the reviews where really negative... I'm hoping for a yr review from this guy...
Gross weight plays an important role in digging force with any machine. Imagine how much this unit weighs, and then imagine how well it will dig in actual ground as opposed to a loam pile.
@@kmcwhq yea, I saw someone who lives near me try to use one of these for a shallow drainage pipe trench. They eventually did it but it took forever (months of broken attempts) and the backfill was really sloppy. I imagine trying to smooth with it and work the dirt back and forth must be almost impossible. The unit has been sitting in their weeds ever since
I’d like to see him dig with it or can it only move pre dug dirt?
It can dig in virgin ground just fine
@@livefreeandtoolon I dug a 12' by 15' gold fish pond with mine, about 3' on the shallow end, and 4' on the deep end. The only problem I had was getting the dirt away from the hole. Built a ripper for it, to try to stop the wife's bamboo from taking over the back yard. One word of advice, if you are digging out a stump, and it doesn't break a root, if it starts dragging you in. Stop pulling because when your outrigger hits something solid, you can destroy an outrigger, don't ask how I know! But they can be made pretty easy.
I've installed a septic system and dug out a few stumps. Works like a champ if your not in a hurry.
Seems like those outriggers need the forks to be at a 45 degree so they actually hold.
Do you know the width of the machine? Will it fit in a shipping container? Looking to buy one soon. Thanks
As delivered, the crated backhoe is roughly 4' x 4' x 8' and weights 1300 lbs. Considerably larger once assembled, but it will definitely fit in a connex.
interesting
I would love to have one of these backhoes, but I don't pull cords to start engines of any size. Harbor freight has an electric start 13hp engine that would be great on these machines.
Have you used it while it's still hooked up to the tractor???
Not on the tractor
If you wount to take stump and small tree. Put a thum on it. Ebay or Amazon for about 169.00. It worth the money. I weld it on my backhoe
Check out this video czcams.com/video/GaO6VcH63dc/video.html
It's funny watching a beginner. I was one 35 year's ago.
It's funny watching someone insert apostrophes incorrectly.
@@TN-ez6lz Who cares. Got your panties in a bunch. And by the way, you don't have to be book smart to operate a back ho or a stupid fork lift. You went to college and now work a MC Donald's. 😂🤣😂😂🤣
hold on a second...if i wait for a 20% sale ,,,,,then get there credit card i can apply for an additional 10% so a total of 30% ???
please please please respond
Call harbor freight to confirm your question. I am not harbor freight
@@livefreeandtoolon thank you
It's hilarious everyone in the comments section is a know-it-all. No one that is thanking him for the video everyone is giving him advice that he never asked for😅
I'm just commenting to see how long it took you to realize that it works WAY better if you leave it hooked to the tractor. You can never get those front legs to dig in worth a crap.
Where did you find your coupons for it?
It’s the typical coupons that come out however the memorial day coupons have no limit to what you can buy and get a discount on
How did you get a 20% off coupon?
Once a Year harbor freight puts one out join the inside track club
KEEP YOUR BUCKET FLAT ON THE GROUND
Value doesn't add up when you add all the set up getting it ready. What can it really dig into other than soft sand. Plus side it's cheap.
Just a few comments, never lift the hitch end by grabbing the engine fuel tank, keep the short and long stabilizer components pinned together and the wheel/stabilizer change-over goes faster, replace all the pins with TSC D-Ring 3/4" X 4" Pins, when using the bucket/crowd to lift the machine keep the crowd as vertical as possible, install a taller tank vent to reduce fluid leakage from the tank, when backing the machine into position or parking in garage, having a 2" ball on the FRONT of the towing machine gives precise control and ease of positioning, and the wheel pins can be removed and the axels moved inward to narrow the wheel track 8" narrower for parking. And by the way, it's NOT, repeat, NOT the "AMAZING VALUE" you say it is. For $200.00 more, the Northern Tool NorTrac Backhoe/Trencher is a far more powerful and versatile machine, 15hp electric start engine (9hp for HF), 3.8gpm pump (2.7gpm for HF), much more usable 2-handle control (4 handles on HF), far superior user features, good accessories availability (9 items including thumb, ripper, and trenching bucket vs HF has only a 13" bucket), and warranty support, parts, and customer support are readily available where HF is universally known for not answering the phone. Nice attempt at a brief overview video, but on value, you missed the mark completely.
Thank you. Didn't even know Northern Tool existed. You seem to really know your equipment.
We found it. $3500. Thanks for mentioning an alternative. A review at Northern Tool says it's not ergonomic, you have to lean forward... What do you think?
That ones pretty nice but other than power they are extremely similar, plus its never in stock. To be honest I find HF customer service to be perfectly good, Northern tool not so much and I deal with them at work frequently. You can also get a trencher bucket and weld on thumb for the HF, probably other attachments you could make fit as well. As long as you are using their coupons the HF is a good 700 less than the Northern, I d call that a good value.
@@ST19859 I could have sworn I saw the backhoe at HF on a coupon, again reduced to $2999, for this weekend or the upcoming Memorial Day sale. Now I can't find it. (That happens to me with H Frt coupons, I notice something in passing and then it disappears amongst multiple coupons. I know I saw it yesterday because I was surprised to see it back on sale after the sale 2 wks ago ended.)
There's a 25% off one item on Memorial Day only -- wonder if they'll let you use it for the backhoe, an online order? The coupon says, one single item, and does not exclude this. That would bring it down from $3499 to $2624 plus tax/shipping and any accessories, and it seems people recommend a second bucket.
@@rwind656 I think there was one of those inside track coupons for that but it already expired. Better deal though this weekend, they have a 20% coupon through sunday and 25% for monday and they seem to work on it online, already tested the 20% one. 25 would make it $2,625 before tax and delivery
Can it dig up a stump?
Oh yes
Might be ok for digging holes or trenches in the middle of a field but it looks like a whole lot of messing about to set up . You could never use it to dig footings or in any small space and the controls are 4 single levers, ok for quick jobs but they make your fingers ache after a while and the are slow and uncomfortable compared to a normal machine. A second hand mini digger is a far better option .
I think if you spend $300-$400 you could leave everything on it and move it around the yard.
Try to use two or three actions together. I know it sounds hard, but you need to at least move the boom at the same time as moving the dipper in and out. Try not to use the the bucket in the fully loaded position ever.
I don't think the engine/pump can handle more than one action at a time.
How deep will this dig?
I believe 9ft and 7 they’re two pin settings
So I could use my fourwheeler?
yup
As a former track hoe excavator operator, I have to say that the heavier machine you have, the more ripping force you have. This machine has no weight to it. My neighbor bought one of the harbor freight backhoes to dig up his water line at his gas station. It does not have enough weight and ripping force to dig through the hard dirt. He ended up having to hire a contractor instead. What a waste of $3200.
That there is a toy
Seems like too much work to set up. I've got a place nearby I can rent a mini excavator for $250 a day and they deliver it for free within 10miles or I can pick it up.
Another route would be an equipment auction
That sounds right. My buddy just rented out his 12,000 lb. John Deere mini excavator for $300/day.
Does not strong enough to dig a hole in the ground ,,not sand that was dumped
I think isn't worth the money,as I see is very light,the hidraulics hose hanging off,I wouldn't pay a penny for it
Hydraulic hoses CAN be tied out of the way!
Please don't tow with the D link on you rear attachment hitch. It is above the center line of the axle, so pulling anything could cause the tractor to tip over backwards
you can buy chinese mini excavator for 6k. this in comparison at 3.5k is too much.
For the same money you could have bought a cheap old excavator, money much better spent as its a much more usuable machine
Too many levers they should have stuck with 2. 4 is too many and it moves around too easy.
Lol its struggling in sand
Not that good
Dig in hard dirt see what it will do
God, this was painful to watch.
You say "great value"? Theres still paint on the teeth on this thing.
Junk ! Pure Junk !
LOL!🤣
It has no swing.. so you can move dirt what, 1ft to the side? Also it struggled on compacted sand... this is a joke, not a backhoe.