Towable Backhoe MB-300 - Jansen USA (2024)

15 reviews for Towable Backhoe MB-300

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   bruce knight – August 24, 2021

   I have an older mb300 and have used it for many years. If you want easy digging wait till after a big rain. They dig fast that way. Even backhoes have trouble in dry ground. Over all they are pretty good. I added 4 trailer hitch jacks to the frame for more stability when getting ready to dig. The towable part, If you are towing very far secure the boom with come alongs for extra safety.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Samuel Capers – October 12, 2021

   Got one 3 years ago and ordered another last week. friendly people and very satisfied with this backhoe as I dig graves with it.

3. 

   Henry Bruns – November 29, 2021

   “FROM CANADA
   This has been one of my best purchases. It is an efficient and well-made machine.
   PURCHASE
   I live in southern Alberta, Canada. I had Jansen USA ship the purchased backhoe to a Montana shipping warehouse. It was stored there until I drove down with a trailer to pick it up. Three warehouse lads and a dollie helped me lift the large wooden box it comes in into the trailer. At the Canadian customs crossing the officers charged me GST on the purchase price (remember to take your payment receipt with you). Other Canadian provinces will charge PST as well. There was no foreign duty.
   ASSEMBLY
   I am a mechanical engineer, and did not have a problem assembling the unit.
   FUNCTIONALITY
   This machine is a workhorse. I bought it to renovate an old road on my property; however, once the backhoe was operational I found all sorts of other jobs for it to do including crudely leveling my back yard for a brick patio, creating a ramp to the front door, and digging out a compost pit. It has also been towed to a friend’s garden to do work there. I bought the unit in March 2020 (just before the border closed) and it has been heavily used during the months the ground wasn’t frozen. It is now November 2021 and I am finishing up the old road. When working in the hot sun, I attached a flexible camp chair umbrella to the backhoe seat for shade. I made wooden shoes for the foot spikes when walking the machine across my asphalt driveway.
   PARTS
   The machine has been used a lot and I have had to replace a few nuts and an hydraulic hose as they wore out. They were a standard size and easy to find at the local hardware store. Important points to remember are to replace the hydraulic fluid periodically and lubricate moving parts, as suggested in the manual.
   SERVICE
   Jansen Customer Service is good. There is someone in their office who responds to emails (1-2 days) and is knowledgeable. They carry parts for their machines and will ship the items to you.
   CONCLUSION
   This little machine has saved me thousands of dollars in landscaping and equipment rental fees. It paid for itself within a couple of months. The jobs take longer because the machine is smaller but you can do it when you want, when the weather is suitable, and when you feel like it. You don’t have to book a contractor.”

4. 

   Mike Vanhooser – January 1, 2022

   i own very rocky ground and there is no way i could excavate or trench without it –

5. 

   John – February 22, 2022

   The mb300 has saved me tons of money in rental fees but not in expense , as now I find more to do with it. I’ve built ponds, dug out for a small foundation, and dug trenches for electric and water on my property. Well worth the money and the customer service is great!

6. 

   Dave – May 7, 2023

   I’ve had this machine for a year now and I can’t overstate the quality, power, or reliability of this little monster. I’ve seen people write on other forums and reviews that towable backhoes are “good for digging in grass” or “in soft dirt.” Let me tell you – I’ve moved giant boulders with this thing, pulled 4 x 3 x 3 foot boulders out of holes in the ground, dug through rocky soil, etc. It is an absolute monster. After the winter this year the engine started on the first pull, as it always does, every time. Just wear your seatbelt when you use it. The machine is light but its power isn’t. The machine can easily lift its own weight. Not in a dangerous way, but in a way that if whatever you’re trying to move is going to give you a fight, the machine might lift itself a little. So the seatbelt keeps you firmly in the seat. I can’t imagine most people will use it for the obscene workloads I threw at it, but just an FYI. 10 thumb up – exceptional quality machine.

7. 

   Seve Smith – July 7, 2023

   Knowledgeable and friendly service ; Lee is the best! I purchased the MB-300 and WOW what a beast! It’s the help I have desperately needed. Thanks Jansen for offering this quality machine!

8. 

   Rick Reed – November 1, 2023

   bought this the summer of 2023, pretty impressed with it so far. have a lot of projects around the house that I’m going to use this for, just toying around with it has been fun , The staff at Jansen were great to work with , Assembly by myself was a bit interesting. but got it done.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Russell Granger – December 25, 2023

   I purchased this Back Hoe about a year ago to help out on my small horse ranch. I have used it on numerous projects. I also purchased the thumb to help remove larger rocks and the thumb works okay but not great. In soft to moderate soil, the back hoe is great. I have also dug a 5 foot deep hole in hard rocky ground. I had to chain the back hoe to my truck to keep it from pulling forward. I think I maxed out the capacity of this little back hoe but it performed well. The engine works fine but the carburetor jets tend to get dust in them but it is not hard to clean them.

10. 

    Andrew Garth – February 12, 2024

    This is a great little machine, it works its ass off and does everything and more I could expect of it.

11. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Joel Howell – February 17, 2024

    I bought this backhoe about three years ago after doing a ton of research on towable backhoes. After many hours of research I came to the conclusion that this was the best one on the market and over the years this has proven to be the case. I own 10 fairly rocky acres in Southern Arizona and between digging waterlines and the foundations for my house, shed and greenhouse this backhoe has served me very well. Of course there have been other projects like digging holes for trees and some drainage ditches where this backhoe has performed very well. I have also loaned it out to neighbors for a few of their projects and have only heard good things from them as well. Also; in the three years I have owned this backhoe it has never broken down. I did lose the owners manual though but when I contacted customer service they sent me a PDF of the manual within a day. Bottom line…This is the best towable backhoe out there and you can’t possibly go wrong buying it. You won’t be disappointed.

12. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Brad – March 21, 2024

    I have 2 older backhoes, and this machine is awsome. It starts easly, and I can move it around quickly, so I can get my jobs done fast.

13. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Paul P Kieu – May 6, 2024

    I bought it 4 years ago, I just need to change the engine oil, the emergency shutdown button is broken, but it’s not difficult to replace, it only costs a few dollars. I am very satisfied with my correct choice.

14. 

    Rated 1 out of 5

    Coleman – May 7, 2024

    I have never hated a piece of machinery like I do this one. I’ve owned the towable backhoe for less than a year and in that time I have broken 3 hoses due to the absolute lack of line management on the machine. The hoses naturally lay across pinch points or directly against hydraulics so inevitably they get torn to shreds. Right now, my towable backhoe is sitting inoperable in my garden bleeding hydraulic fluid. Again. Now I will have to wait weeks before the hose arrives and try again to overcome the thoughtless design of this machine. I wish I had not bought this.

15. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Eric Neumann – May 25, 2024

    Purchased in Oct of 2023

    Location: Northern suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

    What I purchased: MD-300 towable backhoe with optional 24″ smooth bucket and 14″ toothed bucket. Unit comes with 9″ toothed bucket.

    Shipping:
    Unit came in the packages, one each for each extra bucket I purchased, and one large crate roughly 8′ x 3′ x 3′. Was easy to unload with a forklift, I suppose a liftgate and a pallet jack would make quick work of unloading as well. Use the tools you have.

    Unpacking and assembly:
    Assembly instructions were good, packaging of unit compact but logical in layout. Major groups already done, just putting sub assemblies together. I needed my cheaters to read some of the directions but overall, hydraulic instructions/hose hook up went well. All hydraulic ports and hoses came capped to protect components from contamination. You would be wise to have an assistant or two when putting the stick with bucket onto the boom. I cheated, I have a forklift and other hoisting equipment and was able to do it all solo. An engine hoist or cherry picker would be convenient, but a helper or two are quite adequate to accomplish the task.
    Note: The trailer hitch comes with a small bolt through the locking hole, which fooled me at first to think I had a stuck-closed-hitch, but in fact was simply taking the place of a safety hitch pin to prevent unwanted hitch detachment. Remove to open/unlock hitch, replace with your preferred safety pin style.

    Converting from tow configuration to digging configuration:
    Not hard to do once you figure out the order and get used to using the boom to lift which ever corner you need. Each leg or wheel assembly has some heft, but are manageable for most adults accustomed to outdoor tasks. I don’t consider myself to be particularly strong, but I can carry any given component, though I usually just roll the wheel assembly since, well, you know…. wheels roll. The legs are easy to carry and slip into receiving sockets.

    Operation, soil conditions-sandy soil with some 30 year old tree’s roots to contend with:
    I found that running engine at about 1/3 throttle was more than adequate for all tasks I performed. Slower RPM means less hydraulic flow, which meant smoother operation. Since I am not a professional excavator operator, I don’t have the expectations to perform super smooth motions with the engine at full output, but I can fake it at lower engine speeds.

    I tested operations with all three buckets in a portion of my property that I use for supplying sand for landscaping projects around the house. I found that the digger is quite capable with any bucket choice, at any distance within its operating reach. Once I started on the project I purchased this MD-300 for… I mostly used the 14″ and 24″ buckets.

    Project #1, uncover septic tank:
    My Septic tank was adjacent to a large Maple tree stump, about 24″ to 30″ diameter, and the roots had covered the access hatch, making it inaccessible. I started with the 14″ bucket, the teeth used to remove many roots. Once I reached the tank, I switched to the smooth 24″ to scrape clean and avoid hooking the lifting rings. Worked very well in all counts. I got better with moving the rig around with the bucket to reposition as needed. You are going to like the seat. Spring loaded. Cuts down on fatigue and embarrassment from abrupt maneuvers.

    Project #2, uncover distribution box for drain field:
    D-box needed inspection and clean/repair. I used the 24″ smooth bucket pretty much exclusively for this. Getting to the D-box was easy enough, but due to damage, I needed to dig a drain trench for the overflow to perform repair and cleaning. Again 24″ bucket, and found that the digger was well balance for a full 24″ wide bucket full of fully wet sandy soil. No problems pulling a full scoop and depositing it at full extension.

    Power and control:
    The MD-300 has more than adequate power for all the attachments purchased. You can perform multiple motions simultaneously with practice, but keep in mind that the hydraulic system will still favor the path of least resistance. Practice and a bit of skill is needed to emulate the big boys, and the hydraulics on this unit are NOT in the same league as those on the big iron…. Seriously, just the hydraulic valves on the big iron cost more than the delivered price of the MB-300. Yeah, I looked into the costs to build a version of this model, good hydraulics are not cheap, and cheap hydraulics aren’t very good.

    Jansen Product support-after sales support:
    The shipping company damaged my fuel tank and kill switch for the MB-300, a quick email to Jansen, and I received a response from the tech support folks real quick. The damages were not red-flag level, machine ran. Jansen shipped replacement parts immediately and I was up and running like new shortly thereafter. The support team is responsive, knowledgeable and professional.

    Next project(s):
    Now that I have a digger, the list of things is growing. Root cellar, trenching for electric to outbuildings, landscaping several otherwise labor intensive Honey-Do areas, and some root pruning/cutting around the septic tank. The list is long, and the summer short.

    Matchbox summary:
    Jansen has found a good combination of affordable components and designed a capable little digger that you can afford, and in turn afford to do projects you can’t afford to pay others to do for you. At least that is my personal experience.