mini excavator stability?

[Ken45101]

I've been thinking about getting a mini excavator for use around the farm. I do not have any experience with excavators although I have a Kubota B21 TLB that I've put several hundred hours onto.

One of my planned uses is for building trails through our wooded hillsides and doing trail maintenance. Another use would be clearing the mudslides we have along our driveway. One of my concerns is stability. Are the units top heavy? I'm often nervous with the B21, worrying about it tipping over.

Right now I'm thinking about either a Deere 35D or a Kubota KX91. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If you don't use your head you can tip any machine over. Excavators generally will let you know well before it tips that what your doing isn't smart. If you try to lift too much with the dipper the excavator will tip till the dipper sets back down. I have ran 1 ton minis and 5 ton minis and have never worried about tipping one of them and never have felt close to tipping. Excavators are great machines for working hillsides because of their stability and traction.

 

[curtisfarmer]

MiniXs are great for stablility, especially with the blade down and over the front lifting. Over the side you will feel when you might have a problem for sure, but believe me, you will let go of what you are handling before you go over. You will be more than impressed I think with the KX91, but I feel you should get the KX121 as it is much more machine and only slightly more $. I have 1 and I love the thing. You will be amazed how you ever lived without one. Get a grading bucket for high capacity moving jobs such as mud, stone, topsoil and other high volume jobs. Good luck.

 

[Eagleview]

I would suggest you get one with steel tracks for steep and rough country as you will find the rubber tracks will come off frequently . Loose dirt will spill into the sprocket rail in the rubber tracks and cause the sprockets to climb out . Rubber pads on steel tracks are the best , they will stay on and give good traction , even walking over green saplings on a hillside will not cause them to slip .

 

[jetsons]

My kx 91-2 has been an excellent machine, if I had a choice now I would go with one size bigger, kx 121 but all in all my 91 does everything I need it to do. What amazes me is that I can run it on about a gallon an hour and it is so quiet. I almost lost a track once in rocks but I saw it in time and simply reversed and tightened the tracks a little and havent had a problem since.. hope this helps

 

[LBrown59]

If you don't use your head you can tip any machine over. Excavators generally will let you know well before it tips that what your doing isn't smart. If you try to lift too much with the dipper the excavator will tip till the dipper sets back down. I have ran 1 ton minis and 5 ton minis and have never worried about tipping one of them and never have felt close to tipping. Excavators are great machines for working hillsides because of their stability and traction.

MiniXs are great for stablility, especially with the blade down and over the front lifting. Over the side you will feel when you might have a problem for sure, but believe me, you will let go of what you are handling before you go over. You will be more than impressed I think with the KX91, but I feel you should get the KX121 as it is much more machine and only slightly more $. I have 1 and I love the thing. You will be amazed how you ever lived without one. Get a grading bucket for high capacity moving jobs such as mud, stone, topsoil and other high volume jobs. Good luck.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

That is a skid steer, not a mini excavators. They are completely different machines and act completely different. It is fairly easy to tip a skid steer.

 

[curtisfarmer]

I have never even come close to tipping over, but I am not ashamed to say I have bounced my forehead off the glass at least 2X grapping something like a stump and breaking free only to violently smash around in the cab. All minXs have blades and with that down the stability is great, albeit 75% +/- reduced over the side. Some may say more. My KX121-3 is like a robot with a great operator like myself ( can you here the self-backslapping??!!) and sure is unbeatable in terms of flexibility, productiveness, and capability. Iwant a mower head so bad, but cannot justify the $. I have 3 bush hogs already. Grading bucket is the 2nd best thing for a miniX after the thumb. Never had steel tracks, but rubber is certainly best for anything other than severe duty applications. The longer the track is better, wait till you feel your back. Oh, and 0 turn excavtors have reduced capability to compensate for the counter weight being moved inward towards the center of gravity. Must miniXs that are not 0 turn are very close to it (like Kubota) and have much more lifting and breakout power than the 0's.

 

[LBrown59]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/126802-i-knew-i-should-have.html

 

[mouse]

why does a (presumably) self appointed super star with over 11k posts confuse a skidsteer for a minix??

eh, life's little mysteries.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/safety/126802-i-knew-i-should-have.html

I still don't see what connection that thread or a skid steer tipping have to do with this post? Maybe I am missing it but again they are two completely different machines.

 

[Ken45101]

Thanks for all the responses, they've been helpful.

I wasn't aware of rubber tracks coming off! That sounds challenging to fix if you're back in the woods on a hillside. Yes, I think the steel tracks with rubber inserts might be better but I haven't seen those on the units for sale.

I understand the stability issue when you are digging. I was worrying more about tipping over sideways while traveling forward over uneven ground. We have 128 acres here and only about 3 acres is flat! My B21 makes me nervous that way, even working sideways on our driveway while cleaning out mudslides. (Maybe the B21 is more stable than I give it credit for, but I like to be conservative and safe )

Yes, I've started thinking about the KX-121 although that would mean a heavier trailer if I want to transport it. But the 121 does sound nice and I really like the idea of the swing blade on it for grading.

Thanks again for all the responses.

Ken
southern Ohio

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks for all the responses, they've been helpful.

I wasn't aware of rubber tracks coming off! That sounds challenging to fix if you're back in the woods on a hillside. Yes, I think the steel tracks with rubber inserts might be better but I haven't seen those on the units for sale.

I understand the stability issue when you are digging. I was worrying more about tipping over sideways while traveling forward over uneven ground. We have 128 acres here and only about 3 acres is flat! My B21 makes me nervous that way, even working sideways on our driveway while cleaning out mudslides. (Maybe the B21 is more stable than I give it credit for, but I like to be conservative and safe )

Yes, I've started thinking about the KX-121 although that would mean a heavier trailer if I want to transport it. But the 121 does sound nice and I really like the idea of the swing blade on it for grading.

Thanks again for all the responses.

Ken
southern Ohio

One trick is if your trying to run sideways on an open hill just swing the boom to the up hill side and it will make you feel more comfortable if it is real steep. I would rent one first though and give it a try and see how you feel operating it on your property. I know the dealers here would take your first rental fee and apply it to the unit you buy if you buy one from them so it isn't a bad idea to try it.

 

[MarkV]

Ken do you have the tires on your B21 filled with liquid ballast? It made a huge difference in the stability of mine.

MarkV

 

[LBrown59]

*why does a (presumably) self appointed super star with over 11k posts confuse a skidsteer for a minix??

eh, life's little mysteries.

not payin attention

 

[Ken45101]

Ken do you have the tires on your B21 filled with liquid ballast? It made a huge difference in the stability of mine.

MarkV

No I don't. That's probably a good idea but my first tractor (IH 2404) had a small leak and the wheel was being eaten away. I've shied away from loading tires here, we have lots of honeylocust trees In fact that's another advantage of a excavator with a thumb, it would help in removing them! And no worry about flat tires

I understand there are alternatives to calcium these days, but they are very expensive.

Ken

 

[Ken45101]

One trick is if your trying to run sideways on an open hill just swing the boom to the up hill side and it will make you feel more comfortable if it is real steep. I would rent one first though and give it a try and see how you feel operating it on your property. I know the dealers here would take your first rental fee and apply it to the unit you buy if you buy one from them so it isn't a bad idea to try it.

Good point about running with the boom uphill, but I'm mostly talking about in the woods. We have two types of land here: moderate enough that it can be mowed for pasture (although I have to back down some of it), and too steep for pasture (90 acres) that is all woods.

Good point about renting first although I don't know of any Kubota rentals around here. Mostly Bobcat and IHI, one Deere dealer with a 35D. It would give me a feel for the machines in general, but I hate to spend the rental money on something I wouldn't buy if I want to go Kubota. I'll have to look harder for Kubota rentals.

Ken

 

[turbo36]

I have never even come close to tipping over, but I am not ashamed to say I have bounced my forehead off the glass at least 2X grapping something like a stump and breaking free only to violently smash around in the cab. All minXs have blades and with that down the stability is great, albeit 75% +/- reduced over the side. Some may say more. My KX121-3 is like a robot with a great operator like myself ( can you here the self-backslapping??!!) and sure is unbeatable in terms of flexibility, productiveness, and capability. Iwant a mower head so bad, but cannot justify the $. I have 3 bush hogs already. Grading bucket is the 2nd best thing for a miniX after the thumb. Never had steel tracks, but rubber is certainly best for anything other than severe duty applications. The longer the track is better, wait till you feel your back. Oh, and 0 turn excavtors have reduced capability to compensate for the counter weight being moved inward towards the center of gravity. Must miniXs that are not 0 turn are very close to it (like Kubota) and have much more lifting and breakout power than the 0's.

Man does this bring back memories! Not only did I do the same thing but one time I was operating with the door open and when the machine launched forward I put my hand out to brace myself on the door frame just as the door swung forward and latched. Holy Cow did that hurt! After unlatching the door I took off my glove and started counting fingers, yup still got em all, but they weren't all pointing in the same direction! After that I started chaining the door open.

I second the vote for rubber tracks, if you keep them adjusted properly they stay on the rollers quite well. The only time I had them come off is when I would spin the machine in loose soil when the tracks were buried.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Good point about running with the boom uphill, but I'm mostly talking about in the woods. We have two types of land here: moderate enough that it can be mowed for pasture (although I have to back down some of it), and too steep for pasture (90 acres) that is all woods.

Good point about renting first although I don't know of any Kubota rentals around here. Mostly Bobcat and IHI, one Deere dealer with a 35D. It would give me a feel for the machines in general, but I hate to spend the rental money on something I wouldn't buy if I want to go Kubota. I'll have to look harder for Kubota rentals.

Ken

Your Kubota dealer should be willing to let you demo a unit on your property which should be sufficient to find out what you want to know.

 

[Ken45101]

I did more searching this morning and found a couple of rental KX90 and 121 units although they are about 60-80 miles away. This isn't Kubota rental country ;-)

One sounds very promising, a KX-121-3 with about 500 hours on it with 12, 24, and 36" buckets and a thumb. It's currently out on rent. They'd sell for $25,900. Like you said, Robert, they would apply any rental toward the purchase.

Ken