Volvo...or Kubota?

[Boondox]

I was all set to go with the Kubota KX91-3S mini excavator. The KX71 is too small. The KX121 is too wide (though the power is awesome!). But the 91 with a hydraulic thumb was just about right. It would help me harvest firewood (pick up logs to waist height, slice and dice with the chainsaw, move on to next log), harvest granite boulders and place them in my landscaping endeavors, sculp my land a bit and keep the ditches cleaned out.

The problem is I've never seen a 91, much less taken one for a test spin. Dealers just don't seem to carry them. Spending $35k+ for something I've never seen makes me a bit nervous!

Another contender was the Volvo EC35, a nice and solid 3.5 ton compact excavator built like a tank. The Kubota 91 out-speced it, but it had specs I could live with plus a cab to keep me and the controls nice and dry. In the end, the cost of the Volvo drove me to Kubota.

But today I found one locally. It's a 2002 with 450 hours on it, never used by a contractor (personal use on a farm), in excellent shape with a 24" digging bucket and a 36" ditching bucket, cab with heat, and best of all it has powertilt (the articulating wrist that lets you angle the buckets so you can get creative sculpting your land). All this for $32k.

I need a hydraulic thumb, which is incompatible with the articulating gizmo. But if the gizmo is easy to remove and store, I could install a thumb and switch back and forth depending on the project I'm working on at the time.

Must check with the dealer on Monday!

Pete

 

[Teabagger]

The kx91-3 is an awsome machine. We have a cab, heat and radio and it is amazing the amount of work it can do in a day. We paid under 35K about a year and a half ago. Check with Messick's in PA they have great prices on Kubota equipment.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The Volvo has a great reputation and is very solid. When comparing it to the Kubota you are on equal ground so which ever machine suits your budget and task will work out great for you. I would love to buy a Volvo mini one of these days but too many other things on the list in front of it right now. Good luck on the decision as I know you will be happy with either of these machines.

 

[Boondox]

John and Robert -- Thanks for the input. You pretty much hit on my conundrum.

The gently used Volvo is four years old and though it has very low hours, it has no warranty. It DOES have's a cab with heat and that nice protection from our New England elements (and bugs). It has less bucket curl strength but FAR more in the dipperstick, which would be nice when using that big ditch bucket or when sculpting my property with that articulating wrist.

For $3k more the KX91 has no cab (can't afford the additional $4,500 for a cab!) but has more bucket breakout strength and that brand new warranty. It doesn't have an articulating wrist but it DOES have a hydraulic thumb.

Tough choices!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

How much more bucket force is there? From my experience either of these machines will have more then enough break out force on the bucket. The one that really matters is the dipper stick being able to pick up what you are either lifting or digging. The more power there the better as I have never had a problem with not being able to curl the bucket but I have had issues with not being able to lift some things.

 

[Boondox]

The Kubota has 8059# of bucket curl strength while the Volvo only has 6564#. But in the dipperstick the Kubota has 3592# while the Volvo comes in at 4923#.

I like the extra bucket force of the Kubota for stumping and removing boulders. When I used the Kubota KX71 last summer it seemed like bucket curl did the grunt work like ripping up roots...but to be fair to your point, Robert, the KX71 only had 3200# of dipperstick force and it was woefully inadequate. With that enormous dipperstick power the Volvo can handle a 51" ditching bucket, while the little Kubota had trouble pulling an 18" bucket thru a ditch using only the dipperstick.

That's why the KX91 would be my choice in the Kubota line. But its strengths are very different from those of the Volvo. Tough call trying to decide how I'll use an excavator as my skill level improves. It would be easier to choose if one of the dealers had a lousy reputation, but both of them are fantastic.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well how about this, you buy the Volvo and if you don't like it you can give it to me. I will even come pick it up so you won't have to pay to ship it to me and I will also help you find a Kubota to demo ;-)

I do know what you mean about how hard it is to choose. I am in that quandry regarding utility vehicles. I know what I want but I can save a lot of money going a slightly different route and really not lose much in the process. Only way to know for sure is to demo a few machines and find out which one I like best.

Is there any way the Kubota dealer can bring in a 91 for you to try or at least point you to a customer who has one that you can talk to and maybe even visit to check it out?

 

[Boondox]

Is there any way the Kubota dealer can bring in a 91 for you to try or at least point you to a customer who has one that you can talk to and maybe even visit to check it out?

No. Unfortunately, the 91 is not a popular size. Folks who want small go with the 71, and folks who want power go with the 121. The 91 sales are so slow none of the dealers within 250 miles of me even have them in stock! They'll special order one, but that's buying sight unseen. I found one dealer 120 miles away that did that for a customer, but that customer appears to have had a bad feeling about the dealer and is unwilling to let me see or discuss his opinions of the unit. He wants nothing to do with the dealer. That would have been the best option!

And the whole cab thing has me torn. I really could care less about the personal comfort angle. Since I don't HAVE TO be out on the unit any particular day I always have the option of waiting for better weather. As for staying dry on rainy days, heck, except for the area cleared by the wiper the visibility inside a cab is pretty minimal on rainy days. And since much of my use will be in the forest maneuvering between hardwoods, an open canopy with steel mesh to protect me from branch slaps seems much less likely to cause damage to the unit and the trees. But it sure would be nice to be able to shut the doors and windows in early winter and not have to worry about the effect of all that snow and ice on the controls over our LONG winters!

We got 34 inches on Valentine's Day. Another 18 inches on Friday. 6 more inches over night with high winds. With an open canopy the entire unit would have to be scraped off. Of course the extra $4k for a cab would pay for a lot of tarps!

 

[Egon]

Pete, you are going to have to build a new barn to house all the toys you are accumulating. You could even use the toys to gather the logs from the woods. A nice Post and Beam would be nice!