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mennoboy
Posted 7/29/ 00:20 (#)
Subject: Excavator questions

Rivers, MBWe've started looking for an excavator. Have about 75 ac of land that was cleared and windrowed with a dozer and will burn the rows this fall. need to root through the rows and repile and bury the remains. Some drainage projects as well: ditch digging, basement digging etc.

When posting some questions a while back, it was suggested to look for a 20ton - 40 000 lb excavator.
Big enough to get the job done but small enough (narrow and weight ) to still haul on a tandem deck. Few more questions have come up while starting to look.

1. Was advised to avoid the Korean (Samsung/Hyundai ) machines and stick with the US/Japanese built machines. That leaves me with Hitachi/JD, Case (Link Belt ), and CAT right?
2. 20 ton machine - CAT 320, Hitachi EX 200, JD ??, Case or or ?.
3. Need a thumb - hydraulic or mechanical? Is the hydraulic worth the extra money?
4. Is hours alot if it is well cared for? Don't want to be fixing every time I need to use it.
5. Any brands harder to get parts for than others. Kind of like the JD vs. AGCO parts availability/speed.
6. Kobelco? who makes that? Local NH dealer is a dealer for them but don't much about them.
7. Do they make "root rakes" / claws that would work well to root/sift through ashes/dirt to pull out the unburnt stumps or will that need to be a custom made project.
8. Do you need a low bed to haul a 20t machine or will a step deck work with ramps?

We have a CAT, CASE, JD, Kobelco and Hitachi dealer within 2.5 hours of our farm so would like to stay with those if I can.
Any other advice greatly appreciated. Kind of feel like a fish out of water when it comes to the construction equipment side of things. Thanks in advance.

MOWe are currently running a Case . It has proven to be a very reliable machine. We use it mainly for removing fence rows (trees ) and building ponds. I have run CATs, Kobelcos, and Komotsus. All seemed like good machines. I am not for sure that Case, Link Belt, and Kobelco are not the same machines. A is about 35,000 lb, 45,000 lb. We have a manual thumb and would not pay the extra for a hydraulic in rough situations ( e.g. picking up stumps vs. removing slabs from a bridge deck ). We move ours with a short low-boy. Deck height 30 inches with no problems. I would stay away from a long trailer, too much point load for a 48 footer.

Rivers, MBWould it be more of a point load than a combine on a step deck? Our step deck is a 45' with the tandem axle right at the back of the trailer.

How many gallons/hour are you using with your Case.
Thanks.



Central / West Texaswe have a 200 clc john deere and like it. It is made by hitachi, no real problems. I would not want 10k hr machine others are availabe now that are lower hrs for not much money. We have a detachable neck that I move it with. We also have a 25 ton lowboy with ramps but really dont care to load on it with the 200 it is too wide and could slip off easily. If you want to haul on a trailer that is 102" and not a detachble neck better get a 160 size machine they are narrower and will get lots done also they usually only weigh around 30k and are easier to move. We have to load ours to the front of the trailer in order to lay the boom down low enough to be under 13' 6". There are rakes availble or just look at one and make your own. We have a thumb but its sits in the yard most of the time. It is good to load debris on trucks but for brush clearing I just grub it up and make rows then burn. Grabing stuff takes too long and brush seems to get caught in or on it and then you haul that around and its annoying having that stuff stuck on there.

MNWe have a Kobelco SK 150 III and like it. It is a lb machine. It has a mechanical thumb and also 2 different buckets. I would recomend the thumb. We haul it on a gvw tandem axle pintle hitch trailer and it works well. Since Kobelco is a division of CNH, I can look up parts and usually order through my local NH dealer. A good dealer is very important in my opinion. Hope this helps


Eastern OntarioWe have a Case B, it works well but for raking roots I would get one size bigger, also the place where we get things fixed for it, says the Hitachis are cheaper to fix and better built than most other brands. Like the CAse you can not get the housing seperate for the hydraulic pump so you have to change the pump instead of buying a new housing. I would not buy a 10 k machine either, ther e are good ones aroud for not that much with less hours.

Bothwell ontGet a hitachi thats what I had really good on fuel & it n ever missed a beat & never a problem with getting partsDo you not have a Komatsu dealer around? If you did they make the best hoe of all of them. An LC 200 or 220 with the Komatsu engine would probably only burn 4 gal per hour doing what your doing.


SCWe have a 320 cat that has been a good machine. I would not want to go lighter cause it seems we always find the limits on this one. I think a smaller machine would be fine, but for speed with stumps and heavy trees. We have a mechanical thumb, dont think hydraulic would take the abuse.I'll second the Komatsu. May want a 160 if hauling it on a drop-deck is a must.


Eastern VA. No such thing as too many Magnums.We have a Hitachi 160 and it is the biggest I would want to haul on a step deck with ramps. I think there are plenty of 200s out there and they seemed to be the same price or cheaper than a 160, probably just because there were more of them built. I agree with the other guys about checking out Komatsu. They were supposed to be really good. Whatever you get, make sure the swing area is tight, no teeter tottering, and make sure the drive sprockets and undercarriage is in good shape. Those are the two expensive areas to fix. You might want to read a previous thread regarding excavators from earlier this spring. Heres' a link.

http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=&posts=20...




Ethridge, TNI've loaded 20 ton machines onto drop decks, 102" wide, with ramps, but I don't like having to do it. You'll definitely find your pucker point, if you haven't run one of these very much. The lower the trailer, the much nicer it is to load onto. We currently have a 60 ton detach.

As far as excavators themselves, I prefer the cats or Deere/Haitachi. Have run JCB's, but bend over big time to get parts, and aftermarkets aren't real available for them. 10K hours, better have complete verifiable service records, or that could get to be an expensive lesson, especially if you haven't been around this type of equipment much to really "know" what you are looking at/for. As has been said, check the swing table and the under carriage real close. If you aren't sure what you are looking for, take someone with you that does know.

For the type of work you are talking about, I'd go with a mechanical thumb. I do definitely want that thumb when I'm working around trees/brush.



Somerville, IndianaJust to be sure, price the swing bearing and either a reman or new hydraulic pump for the exc you are planning to buy before purchase. The pump could require replacement while you own the machine, likely not, but a good way to test the water in parts prices between manufacturers. The more machines of any certain size and brand that are sold, the cheaper-better-closer parts will be in the exc business. Careful buying a white elephant or it will require a daily deposit no matter how shiney the bumper is.

West TNWe have a Samsung SE210. Had it about 8 years and cant complain at all. It has a 5.9 cummins, so you have great engine. The new Volvo's are the basically the same machine. You can get parts through any volvo dealer. They are about the same price range as anything else. But anything with yellow paint is a little more expensive. I would not hesitate to buy another Samsung if I needed another machine. Good reliable machine for alot less $$$$. There are alot of these machines around here and everyone I know has had good luck with them. I hope this helps.RickB
Posted 7/29/ 19:50 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Excavator questions


Lincoln County. NCThe used Cat (307? ) sitting on our lot is a Mitsubishi.hvy 1ton
Posted 7/29/ 20:04 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: RE: Excavator questions

NE KSThe 200 series cats were mitsubishi , but the 300 series are designed in house. A couple of the smallest minis may still be mitsubishis, i know they have mitsu motors in them. There aren't many bad options as far as excavator manufactures, i mean most of them are built by somebody else anyway. As for putting a 200 on a step deck, I wouldn't run anything bigger than a 160 without a lowboy.dmax08
Posted 7/30/ 00:27 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: Excavator questions