Bobcat Compact Excavator Test Drive

[Montana_Jack]

Boondox,
I had no experience with excavators prior to my purchase of the Bobcat 430. I made the decision on the steel vs rubber treads as a result of what I read on the various threads here & on other forums. It was almost unanimous for the steel except in special circumstances that I mentioned. Having said that, I have never operated an excavator with rubber tracts & base my decision on what others have told me. I paid an extra $1,700 for the steel & had to wait another month or so since the rubber tracts were in stock & mine had to be built. Steel also adds some weight to the machine, for good or bad. I don't operate my Ex once the snow falls & I don't have a cab. In the winter, I use my Kubota M5700 tractor exclusively that has a cab & is pretty plush. I believe I could transport a Kubota 121 (9K)lbs with a 1 ton without too much trouble, especially locally as it only weighs about 1K more than my machine. I had a garage built for my equipment at considerable expense to protect them from the elements. I think you should consider at least one of those mobile home covers for your Ex should you purchase one. I have one for my boat & it at least keeps the snow & rain off. You can get them in any size from building centers. Mine cost $1,600 & is about 25' long & 10 or 12' high.

 

[dirtman24]

Next spring we will probably sell our 30K lb machine and get a 9000 to 12000 lb one. I have looked at the bobcat's and Kubota's. I have also seen the Mustangs in use. Does anyone have any experience with the mustang brand (which is basically a Gehl).

Puck

puck

the one i think is better then all the excavator there is the wacker neuson its the same as the mustangs and the gehl but wacker makes them and in 2012 or 13 wacker is going to be making cat mini excavators to

 

[Rmflanna]

Kubota is definitely the way to go! We demoed both bobcat and kubota and there was a night and day difference. The kubota's cab is second to none and its hydrolics are smoother. We purchased a kx080 and love the thing. We put on about 400 hours the first year and it keeps comming back for more. The thing about kubota is they think about the little things like where to put the cup holder and ergonomics. The thing weighs 20,000 lbs and I know your looking for something smaller, but all the kubotas are superior. The funny thing is that I am a bobcat man and it killed me to go with kubot but I would do it again in a second.