Brent in IA
Member
Hi everyone. About every other year or so I find some "project" on the farm that I can"t do with my backhoe and I end up renting a 40,000# track hoe for a week or two...which runs about $4k for 2 weeks including trucking, fuel, damage waiver, etc.... I have priced used track hoes and just can"t justify the purchase expense as well as the maintenance costs when I already have a wheeled backhoe. However - I keep finding wheeled 4x4 Gradall G3WD units that look (and are advertised as) to be in good shape for under $10,000. I am mainly digging surface drainage ditches, an occasional footing/foundation for a building, and then cleaning out silt buildup in our farm ponds. I usually see these Gradall machines used by county road crews cleaning ditches, etc.. - but I was wondering if anyone had any experience actually digging a hole with one? I know it would be more cumbersome than a tracked machine but is it even a thought to dig a hole with one given the straight boom, etc? I can deal with the inconvenience of the wheels vs tracks but if it won"t dig that is a deal breaker. I found a machine 30 miles from me with a 36 inch toothed excavating bucket and a 60 inch ditching bucket, and the owner claims it will dig a hole fine, but before I spend time looking at it I wanted so of the great wisdom here on YTmag to weigh in. Thanks in advance! (The picture I posted is just a sample of the model I am looking at, the actual one I am considering has much more aggressive tires - these look like street tires to me...)