Boondox
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 3,873
- Location
- Craftsbury Common, Vermont
- Tractor
- Deere 4044R cab, Kubota KX-121-3S
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
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