Takeuchi rep came by today....

[ksss]

I got a call from my sales guy this morning and asked if he could bring the the Takeuchi rep by. Sure I said.

Well I got to meet Takeuchi Bob. He has been a TK rep for 20 or so years. He covers the Western US and Canada. I voiced some of my complaints (AC that has never put out cold air in its life, Poor aux. flows, and the need for proportional hyd. like the TB180 has along with the control handles that come with it). Over all not a lot to complain about, he was very informative, of course when he saw my VTS 440 he wanted to sell me a TL250, but you have to expect that. I expressed what I liked about the machine as well. The side to side boom is the best thing to happen to a mini ex since the swing boom. I was impressed by the visit. The guy knows TK thats for sure and probably the best thing is he is point of contact that I can go to with issues that come up. He was taking notes of what I had to say which at least makes you feel like he cares.:drinkup:

[Bleed Green]

So are you wanting to buy a Tak? Or do you have something Tak already?

[WillieWonka1850]

So are you wanting to buy a Tak? Or do you have something Tak already?
He's got a Takkie Mini ex.

[talus]

I got a call from my sales guy this morning and asked if he could bring the the Takeuchi rep by. Sure I said.

Well I got to meet Takeuchi Bob. He has been a TK rep for 20 or so years. He covers the Western US and Canada. I voiced some of my complaints (AC that has never put out cold air in its life, Poor aux. flows, and the need for proportional hyd. like the TB180 has along with the control handles that come with it). Over all not a lot to complain about, he was very informative, of course when he saw my VTS 440 he wanted to sell me a TL250, but you have to expect that. I expressed what I liked about the machine as well. The side to side boom is the best thing to happen to a mini ex since the swing boom. I was impressed by the visit. The guy knows TK thats for sure and probably the best thing is he is point of contact that I can go to with issues that come up. He was taking notes of what I had to say which at least makes you feel like he cares.:drinkup:

I wonder with the launch of your new website,the Takeuchi salesman got nervous with the IHI link on it.:laugh:

[bobcat_ron]

Those side to side booms are amazing, it's the only system I would want on a bigger machine.

[Scag48]

Man I just wish I could sit down with an engineer at Cat and voice some opinions. I know they pay less attention to operators than they do purchasers of equipment, but ultimately we are the end user.

[Junior M]

Those side to side booms are amazing, it's the only system I would want on a bigger machine.
the booms that break on the boom like you see alot of older smaller Komatsu's have? I am not sure what yall are talking about?

[P.Services]

the booms that break on the boom like you see alot of older smaller Komatsu's have? I am not sure what yall are talking about?

just when i think you have turned into a knowledgeable young man you pull this. :hammerhead::hammerhead:

[Junior M]

just when i think you have turned into a knowledgeable young man you pull this. :hammerhead::hammerhead:
Man, shove it, I been racking my brain with whats on 2 fire trucks all night, give me a break! :hammerhead: :realmad: :gunsfirin

[bobcat_ron]

Man, shove it, I been racking my brain with whats on 2 fire trucks all night, give me a break! :hammerhead: :realmad: :gunsfirin

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD6-W5wb4WQ

[Junior M]

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD6-W5wb4WQ
oh duh.. I forgot they offered that.. :hammerhead: :hammerhead:

[hvy 1ton]

What are the booms called that pivot right before the stick?

[P.Services]

garbage is what i call them.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

are you talking about the kubota superbooms? nice if you need minimum trench cut.

[stuvecorp]

It's always nice to get some attention. I think some sales guys enjoy talking to guys even if they may not sell something.

[ksss]

It's always nice to get some attention. I think some sales guys enjoy talking to guys even if they may not sell something.


I didn't really get the impression he was really trying to sell me anything, I already am a TK customer, I think he saw the tracked CASE and couldn't resist telling me how cool the TK CTL is. The guy is very well connected and hopefully he will take the suggestions back to Mr. TK and make some of the improvements. I think they will certainly fix my AC which would have been a real fight if I didn't have him in my corner. Course this is just talk right now, well see if my AC gets fixed. TK really needs to get these aux. flows up to where they should be. A 12K machine should make over 15 gpm. I explained that it makes running a hoe pac of backhoe size difficult due to the low flow, and I explained I would like to put a brush mower on the TK but with such low flows you end up with much less mower than you should considering its a 12K machine.

They also talked to my neighbor who has a TB53FR, a TB153FR and a TB180FR.

[stuvecorp]

I bet that TB180FR is a nasty animal.

[stuvecorp]

One idea I had with the Takkie track machines, take off the undercarriage and put a set of VTS on it. And do a chop top, it's way too tall.

[ksss]

One idea I had with the Takkie track machines, take off the undercarriage and put a set of VTS on it. And do a chop top, it's way too tall.

I agree the 140 and 150 are tall machines.

[ksss]

I bet that TB180FR is a nasty animal.

The machine is huge. Considerably larger than the 153. They had been fighting overheating issues since they first got it. I think they finally got it figured out. I think the elevation is hard on excavator cooling. Seems they all struggle regardless of color or age of machine here.

[bobcat_ron]

What are the booms called that pivot right before the stick?

Parallel Offset, those are the booms with the knuckle in the middle of the boom, between the stick and the boom curve, downside is way more greasing and weakness, stick cylinder is way up in the air and they all use a short sticks.

The boom with the knuckle in the curve is called a Variable Angle Boom, good for close work along walls and under trees and power lines.

All traditional mini excavators have the swing boom set up.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

http://kubota.com/f/products/ce/kx/images/img_kx080s_main.jpg

like this?

[bobcat_ron]

http://kubota.com/f/products/ce/kx/images/img_kx080s_main.jpg

like this?

That's the Variable Angle boom option, and it has the swing boom on it too.

[hvy 1ton]

I knew swing booms and VA booms, just wasn't sure on last one. I hear people call both offset booms around here so i was a little lost. I wouldn't want one for all of the reasons you mentioned, but a va boom on a 5-7ton mini would come in handy from time to time.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

by swing boom you are talking about the entire arm assembly swinging left and right where it attaches to the main excavator frame correct?

[hvy 1ton]

Swing boom is where the whole boom/arm assemble rotates at the house, at least to me. VA booms are nice when you need a lot of reach and very little all in the same machine.

[ProTouch Groundscapes]

ya thats what i thought, i havent been on a miniX that hasnt had a swing boom, they've incorporated that a long time ago no?

[bobcat_ron]

ya thats what i thought, i havent been on a miniX that hasnt had a swing boom, they've incorporated that a long time ago no?

The early Japanese machines had parallel offset and zero tail swing, that is still the best set up, but Takeuchi took things to a higher level.
Boom swing was soon incorporated into the mini's to get more room on the machine for the engine and other parts.

[NEUSWEDE]

I looked at the 138FR in the spring when I was in the market for a Mini X after I sold my Deere 35D last fall. Nice machine but the price vs options and dealer support was what steered me away. I ended up with the Kubota U35, would had had to spend an extra 5K on the 138FR to have the same options as the U35. In my eyes the boom is a neat feature but not something that I needed. I have 100 hours on my U35 and its a great machine very comparable to my old 35D.