I dont live on HUGE acreage but I do have property which justifies the usage of machinery beside a shovel and manual labor.  Over the years I haven't had to purchase any equipment since I have a friend with a full size Case 580 Super D which he's let me use whenever I need it.  Usually a week at a time or so.

 

Well the day has come where he wants a newer nicer backhoe so he's offered to sell me his.  Now the heat is on because I'm caught in a dilemma where I'm not sure if I want something that big since they are BIG (weighing in at 17,000 lbs) but I'm leery of its overall reliability given its age (early 80's).  Plus he wants $15k for it which is about the going rate "I think" but given its condition I'm thinking more around $10k - $11k would be more appropriate.

 

This all has me questioning a smaller farm tractor or whether I'd find out that anything smaller than this old Case would end up being too small.  Because I'm being honest when I say its nice to have a full size machine when messing with full size jobs.

 

Anyone with experience in this topic would be of great help.....  Thanks guys.

Edited January 2, 20187 yr by KATOOM

Not having three point and or PTO is also a downer with dedicated backhoes. If it was a utility tractor some have pto and three point but are rare. I would pass and find a tractor that one can use other attachments on. Nothing wrong with the older case backhoes they are really good units cheap and easy to repair but limited use is what would keep me from pulling the trigger plus the size if you have a smaller acreage.

The lack of a PTO and three point is a valid point.....  Not sure how many attachments I'd ever acquire but ya never know.

 

Again, my biggest concern is not only the size of the Case but the lack of size in most anything else out there for reasonable prices.  It would be nice to have something I can load on a regular flat bed.....but would be terrible if I found out that removing a tree stump took hours instead of minutes.

Never did I think this would be such a hard decision.

$15k will get you a really nice newer low hour 4x4 utility or subcompact tractor mfg of your choosing with a loader, then most have backhoe options for them that are quite impressive from what i have seen. If you are doubting it skip it better options than a dedicated backhoe unless you are going to do sideline work with it which could pay back quite quickly, if just for personal use pass.......

Unfortunately I haven't found any used tractor/backhoe's larger than around 25 - 30 hp for $15k in a compact farm tractor.....but you've definitely given me something to think about.

January 11th will be a year of having our 74' 580CK. My uncle and I paid $3k for it and put about $1k into it to bring it up to snuff. It has more than paid for itself prepping the first piece of property we didn't have to sub out all the excavation for a house. The only extra attachment that would be nice for our area is a jackhammer(they are named the Rockies for a reason!) I would like to get a 4x4 someday as well but a pair of chains out back goes a long way. 

Edited January 2, 20187 yr by BBHD
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If I could get this 580 Super D for $10k I'd feel a whole lot different since I dont know how much things cost to fix on these old machines.  I've been scouring the Internet and I think I just ran across something saying that Case no longer has parts for the transfer cases on these 580's.  If thats true then I'm not sure I want it.....

I stopped renting compact tractors when I found out how much work a larger Back hoe could do. I once rented a new JD 4X4 extend a hoe. Made a compact tractor feel like a toy.  Don't remember the size but it was big and really got things done by comparison.

 

Next I started renting Trac Hoes because of the reach and the power, I have stayed with those in most years since.

 

I like renting the equipment. For me its a lot better, esp. after seeing enough of the things that can

go wrong.

 

You didn't say how many hours are on it. At any rate the price is too high and I'm glad your looking well into it. I would look for one in Oregon or out of the Midwest.

 

 

Edited January 2, 20187 yr by JAG1

Yeah them full size toys are serious workers which is my fear for anything smaller.  Thats not to say a 50ish HP tractor/backhoe would be a slouch.  I do like that extendahoe though.....

 

But renting is never an option since I'm the kind of person who attacks things when I have time.  Renting means not stopping until the job is done.

If looking for a utility tractor with a hoe and expecting it to even come close to the 580, you would have to move up to the 45 plus horse power range, and even a decent used one is going to start at over 20k and 30k for a good condition used one is about the norm. the larger tractor back hoes usually have a sub frame mount for the hoe which is detectable but a little more involved than just a three point

 

I have a kubota 24 horse with a three point hoe, but pretty limited on what it can do, it is quickly changeable to other implements though. anything over 4' deep or any other big jobs I got to go rent or borrow.

 

As far as parts for a case, I have a neighbor that picked up an early 80's 580 2wd. from a town auction, it  had a miss in the engine and hard starting, it ended up being a bad injector and he replaced all them for a few hundred bucks and now runs as smooth as can be. drive train parts might be a different story and even if they were available probably cost an arm and leg, We had a cat 416, another 80's model backhoe in our shop at work that had trans. problems, tried to get a replacement trans and cat wanted 12k for new, if they could even find one, or a reman for about 6k. the mechanics and machinist got together and done some fabricating on the gear train and put it back in service.

If you truly can use it you already know what it is and who it's from if you can get it for a decent deal you can always sell it if you decide not to keep it