The machine does not appear to be plumbed for a thumb, thats a couple K easy. The price is good, looks real good.

 

i have talked to my kom. dealer and he said its realy no big deal to plumb it to the stick, under a grand if i get the thumb from them.

i think thats a great price, its hard to find a 308c cr with lower hours on it for less then 60k.

 

Pretty good price, almost gray market good. Plumbing the aux. is no big deal, they usually cut you a package deal if you install thumb, hydraulic coupler, etc.. Get yourself a PNW built PSM or HPF progressive link thumb along with a hydraulic coupler of your choice on that beast and go to work. The 78's are very popular machines out here, probably the most dominant I'd wager. It's a great size between the 5 ton minis and 120s.

 

Looks like a good buy, I have always thought this class was under utilized in my area, it seems like it could do a lot of work.

 

guy near me has that same machine and then another one two sizes up that one gets used the most it hardly ever sits , i ran a komatsu pc35 for a month and i was really impressed way more then i was running a 304 cat good luck with what ever you get

 

Its a good deal but I would be looking at it in person before laying down any moolah. I never seen a PC78 with a swing boom there are two contractors with 2007 PC78s they have a fixed boom.

Another thing that makes me curious why is there aftermarket tracks on the machine only overseas Komatsu come with those style tracks.

I would be checking to see if thats a gray market machine.

As for auxilary plumbing the valving is there for it just need to run the hard lines and install the thumb switch in the cab. Komatsu uses a multi control joystick the brandname I don't remember. It may have it already or may not it is the right hand joystick it has 2 buttons and a trigger like a gun.

As for Cat or Komatsu I would go with the Komatsu they are a little cheaply constructed but otherwise a good machine. If you get claustaphobia like I do you may not like the Komatsu cab :laugh:

 

i wasnt aware that those tracks were only avalible grey, i will look into that tomorrow. i wouldnt bother me if it was grey, my dads 200 is and it looks and runs the same as any other 200. no problem to get parts either.

 

I would be looking into it to see if its a gray market machine. The machine is a 2006 the paint is awfully shiny. There is quite a few companys that buy Komatsu machines from overseas give them a new paint job and make them look like a north american machine.

Lots of PC75s were done like this you open up any of the panels and the machine has the original Komastu purple and blue.

 

i thought that about the paint being shiny new also, i will find out. i need to get my a$$ moving im tierd of spending mucho $ on rentals.

 

Komatsu would be my choice, the cabs are still just a wee bit bigger for me and they seem to have faster cycle times.

 

wow i thought everyone would still be in favor of the cat.

 

PC78 MR-6 vote here. Have PC78 with fixed boom and over 3000 hours.

Machine is used in heavy utility construction day-in and out. No repairs. Machine fleet: PC228, PC138, PC78, and PC35. PC300 just delivered on a longterm rental to possible purchase.

 

go komatsu

 

I've put several hours on a PC78-6 just like that one, very nice little machine and smooth. Side swing is definately worth it. We demo'ed the old Cat 308C, but like always Cat was very proud of the machine when it came time to price not even close. And no GR that is not a grey market machine, those are Komatsu's factory rubber tracks.

 

Tracks on machine in question are indeed Komatsu issue for US: those are roadliners. Have them on PC35 and PC78.

PC35 roadliners are bolt on pads from the back while the PC78 are bolt through pads.

Roadliners provide nearly the same traction as steel shoes but less damage on asphalt and concrete than steel shoes. They provide better track life than rubber track both in terms of durability and ease of replacement since you can replace just a pad and not the whole track. Roadliners are a more expensive option. Roadliners are only available in the "utility" division of Komatsu excavators and as such (I believe) are not available past the new PC88.

 

I like Komatsu.

 

ok off to the banker tomorrow, we will see i dnt have high hopes with the economy in the shatter. and i dont wana drain the account right before winter to pay 100% up front.

can anyone recommend a manufacture for hydro thumb, coupler and buckets?

other then werk brau and esco

 

I would try CWS for a compete set up.
minimax

 

Wouldn't it be a little expensive shipping a thumb and quick connect to the east coast ?

Yes CWS stuff is good but I imagine there is a good manufacturer on the east coast.

 

If you are having a Komatsu dealer quote, on the utility lines they will want to quote Werk-Brau-this is according to my salesrep.

 

I'd go CWS or PSM for complete set up (thumb, buckets, QC).

 

I like CWS buckets better than PSM, but I think PSM builds a better thumb. Either way, can't really go wrong, just keep the same MFG. for all 3 (coupler, bucket, thumb. Esco started building decent thumbs, might check them out. I've run quite a few hoes with Esco buckets and couplers, no problems there.

 

Picasso-

How did the meeting with the bank go?

I was coming south on 23 heading to Ann Arbor from Genessee stone and saw you heading north.... a bit before 3:00 or so.

One of these days we'll be traveling the same direction!

 

not sure so far, hes going to run a credit check to see my score and see what we can do.

 

I was at the fair, and looked all over for the equipment and I only found some Komatsu stuff, and I looked at the excavator that was setting there, and man that thing was nice! It wasnt a big big excavator, maybe a pc55, I didnt get a real good look at it, my girlfriend was complainin I had drug her all over the fair to look at tractors (she's still learning), the only real thing i saw were the pedals which looked like they came off of a 320 CAT, but overall it looked like a nice machine,, Hope you it works out for you Picasso because the one I looked at was pretty nice, for the quick look i got...