Mini Excavator Brands, pros and cons?? Hours?

[M59]

streamin,

M7040's suggestion to rent first is valuable advice and one I should have included.

If you intend to exclusively use the excavator, if you chose excavator over a TLB, on unpaved areas then metal track is preferred since they last much longer and rubber tracks can be "thrown" even by experienced operators. Putting a thrown track back in place requires a second heavy machine to lift the excavator. Royal PITA.

 

[sea2summit]

Getting the right size machine for what you want to do with it is first order of business I would say. If in doubt start by renting to zero in your minimum size and options. Then go buy new or used. Any of the major brands will work and dealer support and distance wold likely determine brand

I'm in this camp. Especially since you may realize that with the right size machine you can get 90% of the chores done you need to and not have the machine sitting unused for the next XX years. I've owned two tractors with back hoes and when I need it there's no substitute but for the last several years I've only put it on once or twice a year and normally it's for a job that takes less than a few hour.

 

[streamin]

I'm in this camp. Especially since you may realize that with the right size machine you can get 90% of the chores done you need to and not have the machine sitting unused for the next XX years. I've owned two tractors with back hoes and when I need it there's no substitute but for the last several years I've only put it on once or twice a year and normally it's for a job that takes less than a few hour.

That is good to know, I have thought about buying a Bh for my Mahindra but I've weighed both sides of the pros and cons. Having a second machine has much more advantages (except cost), I will be building an old school log cabin so moving logs higher up and stuff like that is a no brainer with a mini ex. And jumping off one to the other is a lot better than taking the bh off to put something else on.

 

[streamin]

streamin,

Have you considered the larger Kubota TLB's L47, M59, M62?

I too live in western NC in the "mountains" ( Fairview, NC ) and use the M59 to maintain two driveways of 3/8 and 3/4 of a mile each. Grades exceed 20 degrees in places. Water erosion is a constant battle with 5 silt ponds in place to settle out silt before water drains away to local creeks. Helps keep the trout happy.

Cleared lots of land and removed acre plus of timber / stumps for utility buildings. Picture below of the rocks I find all over the property. Mouthful of Rocks in a 72" wide grapple. Can't put the hoe into the ground with adding adding more rock to the rock piles.

The "Bone" is in the bank just outside kitchen window. I have plans for house expansion which include moving this slab. This bad boy is too big for the M59 so I have been looking at KX 080's for moving the bank back, this slab, and other big earth moving jobs around the property. Something an excavator excels at BUT for general preperty maintenance, the larger TLBs are the cats meow.

That looks like the same stuff I will be dealing with. I haven't bought a grapple yet but I will have to. I mentioned in another reply about building an old school log cabin so I will need to do some digging quite often. I think my 50 hp Mahindra will be good for maintenance later on. You bring up a good point about the tracks, metal. I see most of them are rubber. But wouldn't rubber grab better in rocky stuff? I also was going to hire a couple jobs first off but 4 people were so high I could have paid for the machine almost. AND they were months behind in work. So many things to consider.....

 

[kthompson]

I own a 5 ton Volvo. Bought it used direct from Volvo. I like the machine; I don't like getting service on it. Nearest dealership is right at 100 miles away. So far have not been forced to hire them but have found a local mechanic who has helped me out. I am guessing it is near 20 years old and Volvo has issue with the computer control in those machines. At a $1,000 per unit (was $2,000) but they got lower price due to not having all the controls they original did.

I would first look at distant of dealerships. If I were buying to day would want CAT or Kubota in my area or John Deere. They each have establish dealerships in reasonable distance (less than 25 miles).

On needing the second machine to get a thrown rubber track back on, I have only had to reinstall due to taking them off for a repair and I did not have to have second machine. I use the boom to lift that side of the excavator and was able to handle the track myself with pry bar. Just be sure you back off the wheel that is apply the pressure to keep the track tight. Now, that is one machine and is a 5 ton machine. I am not saying that is true on all machines.

I have really enjoyed and used my a lot, for first few years. Today I would not buy most likely, I would rent by the week or month.

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

After using my backhoe for 20 years I switched to a mini excavator. The maneuverability and flexibility of the mini excavator far exceeds that of the backhoe.

 

[LD1]

When it comes to mini's, they all make a pretty good machine. Deere, yanmar, bobcat, kubota, cat, new holland, volvo, etc etc.

AS far as a used one, it all depends on how it was cared for. I have seen 2000hr machines that look and run like new, and I have seen 2000hr machines that are totally wore out. All good advise as far as checking the overall sloppyness of the machine and everything that moves.

And I know alot of people have the notion to avoid ex-rental equipment, but overall I found when I was shopping that they seemed to be in better condition for similar hours. Because they get rented a day or so at a time...then get a going through. They get greased ALOT and follow proper maintenance schedules. At least good rental companies. They tend to stay on top of keeping them in tip top shape. Because no one wants to rent a piece of equipment that has issues

 

[streamin]

When it comes to mini's, they all make a pretty good machine. Deere, yanmar, bobcat, kubota, cat, new holland, volvo, etc etc.

AS far as a used one, it all depends on how it was cared for. I have seen 2000hr machines that look and run like new, and I have seen 2000hr machines that are totally wore out. All good advise as far as checking the overall sloppyness of the machine and everything that moves.

And I know alot of people have the notion to avoid ex-rental equipment, but overall I found when I was shopping that they seemed to be in better condition for similar hours. Because they get rented a day or so at a time...then get a going through. They get greased ALOT and follow proper maintenance schedules. At least good rental companies. They tend to stay on top of keeping them in tip top shape. Because no one wants to rent a piece of equipment that has issues

I was always thinking to stay away from them just like a rental car, but you make a good point.

 

[mike69440]

streamin,

Have you considered the larger Kubota TLB's L47, M59, M62?

I too live in western NC in the "mountains" ( Fairview, NC ) and use the M59 to maintain two driveways of 3/8 and 3/4 of a mile each. Grades exceed 20 degrees in places. Water erosion is a constant battle with 5 silt ponds in place to settle out silt before water drains away to local creeks. Helps keep the trout happy.

Cleared lots of land and removed acre plus of timber / stumps for utility buildings. Picture below of the rocks I find all over the property. Mouthful of Rocks in a 72" wide grapple. Can't put the hoe into the ground with adding adding more rock to the rock piles.

The "Bone" is in the bank just outside kitchen window. I have plans for house expansion which include moving this slab. This bad boy is too big for the M59 so I have been looking at KX 080's for moving the bank back, this slab, and other big earth moving jobs around the property. Something an excavator excels at BUT for general preperty maintenance, the larger TLBs are the cats meow.

If I had to give up one piece of equipment, It would be my Komatsu PC75UU2 with blade and hydraulic farm. Our property would not look like it does without it, but at my at both my age and it's condition, given the current economy if it breaks bad, it will not get fixed. I've put +2,500 mostly happy hours on it, and now it averages 40-70 hours a year. My beefed up L39, modded to have same weight and loader capacity as the old L48 is my workhorse while the Max 28 handles the farm type duties. Still every year I find use of the old excavator, duck pond, walls, land clearing and logging, dozing, pulling rocks, and other stuff that would kill the L39.
If you have a 50 Hp. tractor, get an excavator in the 10-15 ton range. Darn handy tool.

 

[mike69440]

I own a 5 ton Volvo. Bought it used direct from Volvo. I like the machine; I don't like getting service on it. Nearest dealership is right at 100 miles away. So far have not been forced to hire them but have found a local mechanic who has helped me out. I am guessing it is near 20 years old and Volvo has issue with the computer control in those machines. At a $1,000 per unit (was $2,000) but they got lower price due to not having all the controls they original did.

I would first look at distant of dealerships. If I were buying to day would want CAT or Kubota in my area or John Deere. They each have establish dealerships in reasonable distance (less than 25 miles).

On needing the second machine to get a thrown rubber track back on, I have only had to reinstall due to taking them off for a repair and I did not have to have second machine. I use the boom to lift that side of the excavator and was able to handle the track myself with pry bar. Just be sure you back off the wheel that is apply the pressure to keep the track tight. Now, that is one machine and is a 5 ton machine. I am not saying that is true on all machines.

I have really enjoyed and used my a lot, for first few years. Today I would not buy most likely, I would rent by the week or month.

2n'd machine helps with thrown tracks. Just never throw a track. I've done it 3 times. Yuck!