Digging with the Harbor Freight towable backhoe

[@DoubleMFarmHomestead]

" No music, No special effects. Just a real-time demonstration." That's the best kind. Well done.

[@shawnebaines8276]

Thanks. It seems like on a lot of YT videos I have to sit through a lot of fluff and BS. I like it simple. So how’s that little pond of yours doing? I enjoyed your posts.

[@DoubleMFarmHomestead]

@@shawnebaines8276 Thanks Shawne. The pond is doing good. I had a hole open up in the dam and lost the fish but I've fixed it and it's holding water great. Will be digging it out some more. Hope to have videos on that soon.

[@shawnebaines8276]

I have a place picked out for a pond on my farm but won’t get around to it this year. My yard is an open wound and I’m in a holding pattern until my piston fittings arrive for the trencher. Sorry you lost the fish, hoping you can get it restocked in the near future.

[@albertzuger3178]

Slower thank a Cat 395, faster than me with a shovel. Looking forward to getting mine. $3000 is a good chunk of change but I can only shovel so many tons in a day

[@shawnebaines8276]

It gets the job done! Running it has become a favorite pastime.

[@markman7]

While this may take a little longer to dig a nice sized pond than a Cat 320, it is much more affordable. Just be prepared that after digging 50 or 60 ponds, this piece of equipment may be near the end of its service life.

[@bernardwilliams402]

You seriously need to straighten and weld some reinforcement pieces to the outriggers to hold the machine in place while you are digging. They are bent backwards and are holding almost nothing. You will see a big improvement while digging.

[@shawnebaines8276]

Yes - that’s one of the tasks on my winter list. There are more repairs and mods I intend to do but the days are shortening and I need to dig while I can.

[@alphonsotate2982]

FOR MORE PULL STABILITY HOOK THE MACHINE TO A TRUCK OR TRACTOR WHILE YOU DIG BUT USE THE PARKING BRAKE AND LEAVE THE TRANSMISSION OUT OF GEAR in neutral with automatics

[@shawnebaines8276]

Straightening my outrigger feet would help, too. A lot of folks on KZbin move their trenchers around by resting the bucket on a box blade or other implement and raising it off the ground to tow around. Haven’t tried that either, yet, but it’s gotta relieve some of the frame stress I cause crabwalking it around.

[@jtsokiehobbyandadventures6666]

Is there some reason why it moves so slow.

[@shawnebaines8276]

Sorry- I missed this message. The trencher comes standard with a 9hp predator engine with attached hydraulic pump. It does move slowly, but gets the job done. A lot of owners online have upgraded the hydraulic pump or even the motor to speed it up a bit. Still, for the price and reliability, it beats the heck out of a shovel.

[@jtsokiehobbyandadventures6666]

@@shawnebaines8276 lol when it comes to digging a hole. Most all equipment is better then a shovel. The best way to describe equipment is. The higher the price is cost the quicker the job gets done. But all of us don't have deep pockets. So the other rule is the smaller the equipment is the cheaper it will cost. But the trade off is it will take more time todo a job. I have time but not much on money.

[@n1ksf]

@@jtsokiehobbyandadventures6666 I have some heavy-duty construction equipment here, a loader, loader/backhoes, just bought a Mahindra 2638 and have a 5 ton Komatsu PC-40 escavator. People have changed the hydraulic pump out for a little faster speed on these, But the one thing that this is the best at is having the lowest center of gravity.. In my case since I'm doing a lot of work on my property on a steep incline, I have very little chance of flipping this over instead of one of my tractors.. I'll take the slower speed for safety any day of the week.

[@alphonsotate2982]

Small flow pump keeping cost low in manufacturing of the back hoe.

[@martinjoseayala8643]

Yo nesecito una máquina como esa

[@shawnebaines8276]

It’s a handy little machine!

[@ranjanty]

What is the reach of the boom? Can I dig 10 ft across without having to move the machine? I already dug out a small pond with my tractor front end loader but I need to finish it and make the back go straight down and deeper.

[@shawnebaines8276]

I don’t have the specs, but I would guess the effective digging reach is 6-7 feet, which might not be what you need for a 10ft deep pond edge.

[@mylifethaidiy7045]

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.

[@shawnebaines8276]

While not an industrial grade machine, I’ve found it more that adequate cracking through hard packed red clay and doing everything I need on my projects. I would not be able no hire a contractor for what I need for anywhere near the price of this machine. Again, I’m not building highways or skyscrapers. Just general excavating for footers, foundations, and underground water and other utilities.

[@n1ksf]

@@shawnebaines8276 if I remember correctly, HF advertised 4400lbs ripping force on these.

[@n1ksf]

This machine is capable of much more than you can imagine. There's videos out there on KZbin of it digging out huge stumps, pulling out 1000-1200lb rocks. Personally with mine I have moved rocks 15-1800 lbs and lifted over 800lbs with it. If you want to keep the back end attached to a 1ton dually as an anchor weight, have at it. Hardly a waste of money.

[@jakerandall6960]

@@n1ksfyou aren’t digging a “huge” stump with that thing. Our jd back hoe which is the biggest size they make gets pulled forward on stumps from trees that aren’t very big and that things got thousands of pounds on this thing

[@n1ksf]

@Jake Randall Listen, I have industrial tractors, loaders and a nice escavator. Telling YOU what this thing is capable of...I'd say a 2 foot Oak stump is pretty good size, and have done quite a few. Not blazing fast by any means, many hours, but yeah..and trust me, I've moved many, many rocks well over 2000 lbs with it, it has the power. And if you hook the ball on the other end into a hitch on a pickup or SUV, you increase your force dramatically...been there, done that.