Comparison mini dozer

[Builder]

As a construction company owner, I buy used all the time. Usually the only thing I buy new is my personal pickup. Right now I have 3 pickups, 1 dumptruck and 2 farm tractors. Everything but the pick-up was bought used. Even a lot of attachments (snowplows, mowers, georgia buggies, york rakes, etc.) I mostly buy used.

After 20+ years of doing this, with some common sense, good used equipment is easy to come by.

 

[20 20]

My mini ex and dump truck are used and in great shape, all I had to do was change fluids, do that with all my used machines. I have bought many things used over the years, for the most part I know what to look for. When I was looking for my dump, I can't remember how many I looked at. I drove all day to look at one that the guy said was in awsome shape. Everything looked great when I got there and seemed to work. He kept telling me to take it for a drive. I don't work that way, I waited for it to warm up then started really looking over things. That thing leaked like a stuck pig, never did take it for a "drive". My point is that if you're not carefull, for every good deal there are probably 5-6 bad. When I was looking for my truck I found countless shady deals and only a couple of honest ones. Don't forget these people are selling for a reason, and sometimes reading{watching their personality} the person is all most better then checking the vehicle.

 

[orezok]

It's kinda like the sign I saw at the junk yard. "If you think used parts are no good, why are you driving around on them right now?" Hmmm...:mur:

 

[J_J]

http://www.struckcorp.com/download/MT1800.pdf

Struck Corp. Technical Support

Struck Corp; Magnatrac? Compact Crawler Tractors

 

[20 20]

$18,815 for the biggest they make, without ANY attachments not even a blade

 

[dbear]

Don't have any seat of the pants experience, heck I never even laid eyes on anything other than a picture, with either a MagnaTrac or NorTrac, but looked into both at one time. I really liked the MagnaTrac for size and manuerverability, but thought, for the money, it really should have a standard LQ diesel, 3pt, pto, and quick-tach FEL. The NorTrac came with standard (I think) rear 3pt and pto, something a used construction dozer will not have.

 

[20 20]

. The NorTrac came with standard (I think) rear 3pt and pto, something a used construction dozer will not have.

Correct the norttrac comes standard with the 3pt and PTO

 

[MarkV]

Any real world experience with machines this size? I am not bashing anything, I just wonder how something that weighs under 1900 lbs could be effective. The loader on my 40 hp tractor is rated to pick up more than that.

MarkV

 

[Builder]

I made that point earlier. A light dozer is quite limited. To "doze" you need weight. I have little doubt my M7040 or certainly my NH backhoe would out-doze a itty bitty dozer.

However, in the right situation, they could be useful. Xspecially spreading driveway stone or cutting a small road/trail, etc.

 

[Dargo]

Don't have any seat of the pants experience, heck I never even laid eyes on anything other than a picture, with either a MagnaTrac or NorTrac, but looked into both at one time. I really liked the MagnaTrac for size and manuerverability, but thought, for the money, it really should have a standard LQ diesel, 3pt, pto, and quick-tach FEL. The NorTrac came with standard (I think) rear 3pt and pto, something a used construction dozer will not have.

I've not been on here a lot lately because I picked up a side job buying some equipment for a dealer. I've patched, rigged and fixed properly all sorts of equipment. One of the best places to look is IronPlanet. You get a guarantee with the equipment that they actually do UOA tests on engine and hydraulic oil in general. Besides, after a while, if the test results aren't tampered with, you can read the machine's history like a book.

Mid sized pieces of equipment are finally coming down in price now. At first it used to be used junk and really large pieces (difficult to transport) that went really cheap. With so many construction companies borrowing money on their equipment and business being slow, a lot of equipment is showing up for auction. Some key pieces for a guy to have would be a good track loader and a decent sized mini excavator. Putting in some more soccer fields in a bad area (which doing so seems to really tear up some user here) last week we proved that a Kubota and Takeuchi 7 ton units will flat put a full sized backhoe to shame. It's pretty well safe to say that, with experienced operators on both, the mini excavators will do twice the work as the full sized backhoe will do. That means, if you want one, used backhoes are reeeeeeeealy cheap right now.

Unfortunately really small equipment won't do much work than a 6'10 man in good shape! I think my neighbor "Big John" is 6'10 and I know he can out dig one one of those silly looking towable "diggers" they sell. I think "Big John" measures footers by his shoe. I'm pretty sure he says his size 23 shoe is right at 24" long. Makes for a good reference for width and depth of a footer. I just wouldn't want to be buy them or be kicked by one of them. About the only thing a small dozer does well is tread lightly on soft ground and have a large ground contact point. The large ground contact point will allow it to push much harder than a wheeled machine unless it lacks weight and power.

If you haven't looked on IronPlanet, I'd give it a try. On most all equipment you will get a professional opinion and dozens of pictures of the equipment. Out of a dozen or so pieces I've bought from them only one wasn't what was expected and they made good on it immediately. Good luck!

 

[jmolwitz]

Dargo I'll take any machine Struck makes and run it against Big John and his shovel any time . The mini Excavator market has proved that there is a machine for every weight class and people are amazed by what they can do. Can a Cat D4 fit between 48" posts ? Its not getting to the back yard then

 

[Builder]

I can out dig 6-7 ton mini-ex with my backhoe. Not only that, I'll dig deeper than him, easily outload him on the dumptruck faster, grade off the jobsite faster and drive the machine around the jobsite faster, too. As an experienced operator of both types of machines, I can make this claim.

 

[20 20]

I can out dig 6-7 ton mini-ex with my backhoe. Not only that, I'll dig deeper than him, easily outload him on the dumptruck faster, grade off the jobsite faster and drive the machine around the jobsite faster, too. As an experienced operator of both types of machines, I can make this claim.

:confused2: I've also run both machines and this claim IMO is very false{sorry } Just the design between the 2 machines is enough to allow the excavater to work faster. Being able to turn 360degrees alone is faster. Now lets get into some good ole muck, I'll take the tracked machine anyday and walk all over a BH. Not to mention the lesser amount of movement to get onto different spots.

Builder, I'm not knocking your experience, but after running both types of machines there is NO WAY a BH is going to beat an excavator. Not saying BH's are bad, just saying the design alone makes the difference :drink:

 

[Builder]

So you can load a dumptruck faster with a mini ex than a backhoe? I have a 4' wide BH bucket and a 1.6yd loader bucket. I can't see how a mini-ex can load dirt faster. And a 7 ton min ex can dig 19-20' deep?

I TOTALLY agree in some situations a mini ex is faster, but if I had to survive with only one machine, it'd be a BH, not a mini-ex and that is my situation. I have 1 excavating machine.

All this depends of course on what you do for a living and what your situation is...I'm sure we can agree on that?

 

[powerstroke444e]

Builder I would agree that these old little dozers are neat but not as usefull in working dirt. As for mini excavator's I like them but they have limited uses. If I needed a small trac dozer I would get skid steer on tracks as they seem more usefull? Also I have found that with the work we do the small backhoe loader or a mini excavator works great but that is our nich market doing the jobs no-one else will do because they would do it by hand where we can get a machine in. I wish we enough work to keep a fullsize hoe running but there are so many cut throats around here that the numbers don't work out on them for us.

 

[Builder]

:confused2: I've also run both machines and this claim IMO is very false{sorry } Just the design between the 2 machines is enough to allow the excavater to work faster. Being able to turn 360degrees alone is faster. Now lets get into some good ole muck, I'll take the tracked machine anyday and walk all over a BH. Not to mention the lesser amount of movement to get onto different spots.

Builder, I'm not knocking your experience, but after running both types of machines there is NO WAY a BH is going to beat an excavator. Not saying BH's are bad, just saying the design alone makes the difference :drink:

My backhoe has 22" of ground clearance and locking front & rear differentials. In quite a few sitautuions, I've gone where a mini ex wouldn't go.

How about snow removal. How good is a mini-ex compared to a backhoe? :laughing:

 

[Dargo]

:confused2: I've also run both machines and this claim IMO is very false{sorry } Just the design between the 2 machines is enough to allow the excavater to work faster. Being able to turn 360degrees alone is faster. Now lets get into some good ole muck, I'll take the tracked machine anyday and walk all over a BH. Not to mention the lesser amount of movement to get onto different spots.

Builder, I'm not knocking your experience, but after running both types of machines there is NO WAY a BH is going to beat an excavator. Not saying BH's are bad, just saying the design alone makes the difference :drink:

Yup, although I'm not "the owner of a construction company", I own both machines. To state that what is considered as a full sized backhoe will out dig a 6-7 ton quality made mini-excavator only demonstrates one's ignorance concerning the issue. Been there, done that, got the T shirt, story over. It flat isn't going to happen; period. This is the reason that the sales of backhoes have plummeted over the last few years. They are going by the way of garden 'tractors' are to zero turn radius mowers when it comes to mowing. But, I still have some guys state that their 28" Snapper Comet will out mow a 30 hp diesel front mount zero turn radius lawn mower all day.

 

[Dargo]

How about snow removal. How good is a mini-ex compared to a backhoe? :laughing:

Compared to my 6XXX series JD tractor that has a hydraulically operated rear blade in addition to an 84" front blade, a backhoe absolutely sucks at clearing snow! :laughing: I'm glad we had a lot more snow than normal this last winter. It sure made it a lot easier to justify that blade!

 

[20 20]

So you can load a dumptruck faster with a mini ex than a backhoe? I have a 4' wide BH bucket and a 1.6yd loader bucket. I can't see how a mini-ex can load dirt faster. And a 7 ton min ex can dig 19-20' deep?

Are you saying you can't put a 4' bucket on an excavator? I'll give you the loader on a BH setup but that doesn't really help in a tight situation does it? If this were the case then why are BH's being replaced? There is a mini ex on machine trader that has a reach of 20', it is lighter then 6ton. Can I ask how much your machine weighs? I allready figure its hp is around 100, correct? The 7 ton mini ex can do more work with less hp as long as they have a decent operator. Like you say maybe for what you do a BH is your best bet. BUT for ALL AROUND type work a mini ex will walk all over a BH. :drink:

I TOTALLY agree in some situations a mini ex is faster, but if I had to survive with only one machine, it'd be a BH, not a mini-ex and that is my situation. I have 1 excavating machine.

Fair enough just remember you're comparing your situation, and I am speaking in general. lets say you dug ponds for a living a BH would be to clumsy and awkward. Doing tight foundation work a mini ex would be WAY faster the a BH. the list goes on.

All this depends of course on what you do for a living and what your situation is...I'm sure we can agree on that?

I agree :thumbsup:

 

[20 20]

My backhoe has 22" of ground clearance and locking front & rear differentials. In quite a few sitautuions, I've gone where a mini ex wouldn't go.

I find that hard to believe :confused2:. Not saying your machine isn't a good setup, but muck will suck a 4WD vehicle under fast. There is no way a wheeled vehicle will go further{in a mucky situation} then a tracked that's just a fact . Ground pressure comes into play. Plus even if an ex gets stuck it is very easy to use the bucket to pull out{not saying a BH can't it's just easier in an ex}. Once again if this were the truth then we'd see BH's digging ponds.

How about snow removal. How good is a mini-ex compared to a backhoe? :laughing:

Well I have seen excavators clean snow especially the ones with blades they do fine. If we are just talking about snow then lets compare a snowblower, dozer, tractor etc.....
I still stand behind what I say, an excavator will out run a BH any day of the week. I know lots of guys that started off with BH's in their construction company. Biggest reason was money and availablity. The ones that have stuck with it now run ex's and hardly ever use their BH, that's if they even have them anymore.

I still agree with you that maybe in your type of job market a BH best fits your skill and operation. No hard feelings just a difference of opinion