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Read articles →This is real-world hands-on footage of a John Deere 1025R backhoe mucking out an overgrown drainage ditch over multiple sessions, with Tim narrating the subcompact backhoe's actual limitations: limited swing radius (under 180 degrees vs. a mini excavator's 360), boom length/reach issues, and seat-mechanism wear, while noting the backhoe has no trouble with digging strength or mud. Good for buyers weighing a subcompact backhoe against a mini excavator for real ditch or drainage work.
An owner-operator sharing candid, unpolished hands-on impressions from an actual project on his own property, not a dealer pitch.
Limited swing radius under 180 degrees versus a mini excavator's 360, plus boom length and reach issues make it hard to move piles far enough away before digging again.
Yes, even with a wider bucket the backhoe has no problem with the mud on this ditch project, unlike other projects where strength is the limiting factor.
The video states that for a ditch like this the tractor will get the job done, but if doing this commercially it is probably not the right rig.
The narrator says the seat mechanism on this series is notoriously weak and prone to break, noting his own had broken again.
