JCB offers ‘more affordable’ 3CX Sitemaster backhoe loader

Farmers keen to handle their own ditch cleaning, water pipe installation, groundworks and similar operations are being offered a “more affordable” backhoe loader – a new Sitemaster version of the ubiquitous JCB 3CX.

Priced at £50,000, or from £271 a week through JCB Finance, the newcomer is broadly similar to the regular 3CX and its “Plus” and “Pro” variants in having a side-shift excavator with telescopic dipper arm and a 1cu m capacity six-in-one multi-purpose bucket on the loader.

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The main difference is in the transmission department, where the Sitemaster is equipped with a simple Dual Synchro manual gearbox with four speeds forwards and reverse.

Higher-spec iterations have a six-gear Autoshift coupled to a TorqueLock torque converter for direct-drive road travel; in both cases, speeds top-out at 40kph.

Pared back hydraulics

Available through JCB construction dealers, the 3CX Sitemaster is powered by a 73hp version of JCB’s 3-litre, four-pot DieselMax engine and is equipped with a 132-litre/min hydraulics system to operate the loader and excavator.

This contrasts with the 165-litre/min system installed on other 3CX models and the 109hp 4.8-litre DieselMax powering the “Plus” and “Pro” variants.

With fully offset side-shift and the tele-dipper extended, the Sitemaster’s excavator can reach 6.57m to the side for ditch cleaning, measured from the centre-line of the machine.

The loader, meanwhile, will happily lift more than 3.5t, taking loads to a height of 3.59m at the bucket hinge pin.

It comes with “return-to-dig” for quicker and easier loading and re-handling cycles, and suspension to absorb vehicle movements over uneven ground.

An optional JCB Quick Hitch equips the loader to operate familiar farm attachments, such as bale spikes and grabs, muck forks and general-purpose buckets.