Actually been mulling over picking up a used backhoe... but after further consideration and consultation with a farmer friend... a tractor (and its many attachments) just seems much more useful.
Shouldn't have any trouble picking up a used 3ph backhoe somewhere down the road. And an auger and a bush-hog and... well, you get the idea.
Anyway... things will be a little slow around 'The Halls today'. Funny, though... hasn't stopped the usual suspect from leaving a half-dozen silly-ass internet threats.
Ah, well... the price of popularity. Later.
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UPDATE: Good news... bad news...
Okay... I'm back. Had my tractor expert buddy along for the ride and we looked at a 60 horse with a loader and a cab. Not bad shape but 9000 hours on the meter.
That's the bad news. I know I can pick up the same tractor with half the hours (but no cab)... for $1300 cheaper. My resident expert sees the cab as a bug... not a feature... so that would be the way I'd lean for this particular model.
The good news is the guy also had an old backhoe... which, upon enquiry, he's willing to unload. It's a little sloppy in places, ball joints, pins & bushings in the hoe itself... but the motor was completely rebuilt last year... and it has a new hydraulic pump. Comes in at $3000 more than the tractor and I'm probably shelling out another $3000 in repairs to bring it up to spec... but it oughta be in really nice shape after that.
Anyway... I get the backhoe and I need to use implements, I'll either buy a cheaper tractor without a loader... or swap backhoe time for tractor time with a farmer friend.So... thought about it some... and when I got home left a message for the guy. I'm just waiting to hear back.
Oh yeah... seems my very "special" friend Nonny left another nonsensical slew of netgoober while I was gone. It's all about how inconsequential, and indeed... how fucked up I am.
Seems I still have a more or less permanent lease on that big irony-deprived airspace between Nonny's ears. He apparently doesn't get that if I'm simply dogshit... and his entire waking life revolves around yipping & nipping at my heels... well, you do the math.
Sad.