Harbor Freight lists the Central Machinery 9HP Trailed Backhoe on its website for $2,999.99, although it is not currently available for purchase. As a Harbor Freight store brand, Central Machinery makes a range of equipment for serious contractors and DIYers, including portable cement mixers and even Harbor Freight band saws for making your own lumber.
A 9-horsepower 301cc Predator engine powers the 2.7-gallon-per-minute (GPM) hydraulic pump on board Central Machinery’s towable backhoe. The backhoe sits on two 12-inch tires and is attached to the tow vehicle via a 1.875-inch ball coupler. The machine weighs 1,234 pounds according to Harbor Freight’s spec sheet, making it towable by almost any vehicle (check your owner’s manual for specifics on your car).
When not being towed, the backhoe has four points of contact with the ground: two tires and two outriggers. Switching between trailer and operational configurations requires using the backhoe bucket to tilt the unit to one side, moving the tire and axle assembly away from the end of the boom toward the coupler and installing the outrigger . This operation is repeated for the other side. Once the engine starts, the unit is ready to crawl around the job site.
Central Machinery’s trailed backhoe features a 13-inch-wide digging bucket with three tines to tear up compacted soil. Combined with a two-section boom, the backhoe has an eight-foot reach, capable of digging to a maximum depth of seven feet and allowing 60 degrees of left and right boom travel.
