Excavators

[cat320]

This last weekend i had to dig a pond for a customer and i rented a mini excavator because my backhoe could not fit into his yard.I gotta tell you that it made me want to go get one what a great digging machine.very easy to use and the ability to put the spoil on the other side of it was great.then the dozer blade to grade the yard out.Has any one out there own a small one and what kind is it?

[Scag48]

Don't own one but Bobcats are the best. John Deere and Cat makes them too. Great machines. If you buy, make sure you get one with auxilary hydraulics. Having it plumbed when you buy helps you out in the long run. You never know when you need and auger, breaker, etc.. I would also get a hyd. thumb.

[paul]

We own two, a Kubota, and a Tachuchi.
Kubota good lifting and digging power but slow on the spin and boom cycles. Tach, less lifting power but much faster digging. We use them for planting trees, trenching, stone setting and in rivers.
have a picture of one working on our web site.
http://members.aol.com/palnelson

[steveair]

hello,

Team up a mini-excavator with a skidsteer and you have a combination that will put any tractor with loader/backhoe to shame.

Also, the 'thumb' attachment (claw on bucket) on the mini-excavator will make clean up jobs like pulling old concrete walks up, moving rocks, etc. go faster than you ever thought they could go.

A single axle dump, with a 10 ton trailer to pull a mini excavator and a skidteer at once is a great set up.

steveair

[Guido]

Like SteveAir mentioned, Bobcat markets their setup as a loader and an excavator together = "the Bobcat advantage" We have a bobcat mini and several bobcat loaders that we use almost more than our backhoe loaders now. The bobcat mini excavator is very strong an has awesome weight distribution. We've had it in some real odd positions!! :) We bought the big dumper attatchment for the bobcat loader so we can dig with the mini excavator and load the bobcat when you don't want to ruin all the turf or whatever else you happen to be working in. Some people complain that the hydraulics on the mini excavator are to fast and jerky, but Fast is my operating style so I love it. Its a great machine!!

As a matter of fact, we've been working on about a 200 foot long road and sidewalk project this month, and we used the mini excavator to dig all the drains, sidewalks, utility cuts, etc. Nice and small so it didn't block up the jobsite much at all. I'll have some pic's on my site very soon from that job and I believe theres a bunch of the mini on there. Hope this helps!!


Scag 48 - Wow, I've been gone for a month and before I left you were asking how to stripe lawns and complaining about trimming customers yards more than twice a month and now your giving advice on excavators! You must have learned a lot!!

[little green guy]

yippy, Giudo's back, we missed you

[paul]

Scag, John Deere doesn't make them anymore!

[Scag48]

Guido-I knew about excavators and stuff long before I started lawn mowing. I actually wanted to start an excavating business. I wanted a double axle dump, 15 ton Trail King and a Deere 120. Great machines them 120s.I've run a Deere 200LC with a hyd. thumb. Gotta love them Deeres!

Paul-Check the JD site. They started making minis this year. to tell ya but this time you're wrong. Three models, 27ZTS, 35ZTS, and 50ZTS.

[paul]

Sorry havn't seen new site, just had looked at 1999 site. Older Deeres where much better, new ones not as good, just don't hold up like the old ones did. Like Cat 320 and 312, now for the Minis New Holland is makeing them plus their are a few more on the market now. they can all do a lot, check out Bobcats # on it now great deals going on equipment plus low apr.

[Scag48]

Sorry about that. They actually started making the JD minis last year I believe. I'm pretty sure they did. I like skid steers and stuff but I really like those mini skids. Man I want one of those. I figured when I started looking at them that they would be about $5000. Boy was I wrong! They want $15,000 for Toro's smallest Dingo!

[paul]

For that kind of # you can get a nice skid steer. still haven't found a use for the mini's(Dingo, ect.) guess with my type of work bigger is better :)

[snow]

Just wondering if you've actually ever used a skidsteer , or u just like how john deeres look? also, how are you going to get a $15,000 machine if u had to have ur parents buy you your BR320? just wondering. your cousin might borrow it from u.

bryan

[Scag48]

Paul-Maybe you're right but with a skidsteer you have to get a 16 foot landscape landscape trailer or bigger to haul it. For you thats pretty easy but with me a landscape trailer would be tough to get. With a Dingo, you could load it in the back of your truck. A big Bobcat would be nice but they're sooo expensive. $21000 for a 751 F series here. They want 2 grand for advanced hand controls! Are they nuts?!

Snow-I had to give my dad the money so I could get it. They said thats what I had to do cuz I wasn't 18. I've never run a skidsteer but I want to. Next year I'm going to be doing landscaping so I'm checking out the market for equipment. It will be tough to buy anything over $1000 though so I will have a bit of a problem. If my cousin touches anything of mine that has to do with my biz, I walk over to his house and bust him. He's already threatened my and that's enough. I'm on my toes now.

[snow]

I didn't read your other post. it seems like we share a common interest in construction equipment. i was supposed to work for a friend who owned a contracting business last summer, but things fell through. he had 2 case backhoes, a 9010 and a 9020 excavator, a roller, a tri-axle, a single axle dump and a few 1-tons. he became a paid firefighter. drop me a line if you want to talk constructio equipment-bkrois@aol.com .in response to the mini-excavator question- mostly bobcat and takeiuchi are used around here. I know the owner of a rental place in the next town, and i've used VERY small IHC's. just played with the bucket and drove around the parking lot.

bryan

[cat320]

I have been working with backhoes for a while and had to rent one for a job boy they are great.I really want to get one now there is so many out there and what one will be an overall good manchine to own?I would be wanting to dig for small aditions and walls.What does the john deer site have for minnies since it was mentioned earlier?

[Scag48]

Cat320,
Deere our Case or Cat would be your best shot at a backhoe. Cats are nice but price could be pretty high. Deere is probably the best aside from Case. Deere's Curved Knee loader is the best there is. I think the backhoe controls are better too. SAE controls I think are easiest to run. You can them excavator-style if you prefer. Case I don't know alot about but I've talked to a couple of guys that swear by them. Not just all around Case equipment but just Case backhoes. Likes Cat excavators, s their backhoes. Just operator preference if you ask me. What ever you do, don't buy a JCB. What a worthles piece of European $hit. They're to light and don't track worth a darn in mud. They're hyds. are too weak and won't really do all that much lifting. Deere has some great financing plans. Case might too but I don't know. As for mini excavators, Bobcat or Deere. Bobcats are known for their reliability, etc. but Deere's have a 0 radius swing. This means your tail end of the machine will never go outside the width of the tracks. Nice option for work. Demo them all, then decide.

[southside]

I think they must modify the JCB backhoes for Aussie conditions here,as they are very popular.10-15 thousand hours is common.
I found that Komatsu make a very good mini excavator.

Karl