What's The Warranty On The Harbor Freight Backhoe & How Does It Compare To Tractor Supply's?

A functional backhoe is hardly one of those tools that qualifies as a must-have for your average home owner. To that end, some big box home improvement outfits like The Home Depot instead offer the devices on a rental basis to those who need one for a particular project. If, however, you feel like a backhoe is just the thing you need in your own yard care regimen, you can actually purchase one through several consumer retailers these days. 

Harbor Freight Tools is selling an 8-horsepower towable backhoe from Central Machinery, one of several notable in-house brands owned by Harbor Freight Tools. The device, sold for $2,999.99, is powered by a 301cc Predator engine and boasts a 660-pound lifting capacity. Apart from that, the backhoe has a 4-foot boom travel, as well as an arm that can extend up to 8 feet, swing 60 degrees in either direction, and dig up to 6 feet deep. 

Users have also rated the Central Machinery backhoe at 4.7 stars, signaling it may be worth the $3,000. Making the device more intriguing to potential buyers is the two-year warranty Harbor Freight is backing the product with, which ensures the product will be "free from defects in material and workmanship" for the entirety of that span. That's assuming, of course, that the machine has been properly cared for and has not been misused. 

According to Harbor Freight's website, there may be another subtle catch or two with that warranty coverage, so you'll want to be be sure to read up on the fine print if you're looking to buy one. While you're reading up, you should, perhaps, also consider shopping around for options, as Tractor Supply Co. also offers a towable backhoe in its lineup of online offerings. 

Tractor Supply's model is from NorTrac and is advertised as a Towable Trencher. The device is also considerably more expensive, with the publicly traded retailer pricing it at $3,999.99. Part of the price difference stems from the fact that the NorTrac trencher boasts considerably more power via a 420cc, 15-horsepower motor from Ducar engine. Like the Central Machinery backhoe, this one also swivels 60 degrees and boasts an arm length of 8 feet, though it can reportedly dig slightly deeper to 6.7 feet. Interestingly enough, the engine upgrade doesn't come with additional lifting power. In fact, the NorTrac's lifting capability is far lower than its Harbor Freight competitor at 340 pounds. 

The warranty for the NorTrac backhoe is also considerably less extensive than the Central Machinery device, with Tractor Supply Co. listing one-year of limited coverage for the machine on its website. You can, however, add additional coverage to the machine at the point of purchase, with Tractor Supply offering one and two-year protection plans for $349.99 and $449.99, respectively. The brand promises to "fix it, replace it, or reimburse you for it" should the device malfunction during that period.