I plan on purchasing a Kubota KX040-5 and am researching dig depth for foundation type work and slope. I dont do this on an everyday basis so I dont want to spend 15k, are there any other reliable solutions, reasonably priced out there yet? Is it wise to wait a couple more years to see where it goes? Thanks, Joe
I use to have one of these works well if you know how to use it. You have to have the boom straight up and down and your bucket curled in or out all the way( I prefer out as that is how I will be when going back in to the trench. You use it just like the receiver with your laser Johnson Level & Tool 40-6792 Remote Display, 8.5 x 5.5", Orange, 1 Display - Line Lasers - Amazon.com Johnson Level & Tool 40-6792 Remote Display, 8.5 x 5.5", Orange, 1 Display - Line Lasers - Amazon.com a.co https://a.co/d/05YGDKRR Next step would be Trimble 2d with laser catcher but you would be looking at $20k +/-. When you get to digging every day you will love it. The increased productivity is a lot and it is mindless set depth slope and your negative offset and wait for the beep. There is a little more to it but it really is that simple
I've never worried much about dig depth. If your basement will have a ceiling 8' you likely don't need to dig even that deep. I do think a 4 ton excavator is on the extreme sise of small for digging a foundation. A customer borrowed one to install a generator, then on the day, he had a back flare up, I did the digging. The job included: A 50 foot, 2 foot deep trench from the house to the generator. A 3' deep hole 4' square for the generator base. A 100' 18" trench for gas line. A 12 X 6 hole 5' deep for the gas tank. The tank needed to be hoisted from a truck 100 feet away, carried up a steep lawn to its hole, set in the ground. Everything needed bedding sand placed, with the tank entirely backfilled with sand. First day we got most excavated. The digging went OK, but slow. I won't say I enjoyed the working on an incline with the little excavator. Swinging felt like a rubber duck in a bathtub. The tank hole didn't go as well. It got really steep, and the rectangular hole ran laterally across the hill. All the spoils had to be piled above the hole uphill from the hole. Even orienting crosswise from the dig with the blade down hill it still felt pretty unstable. I found it impossible to see over the edge of my hole to see where I was digging. The notion of setting the tank was out of the question. Lifting at center of tank, reaching to center of hole, it'd tip over the excavator. Next day I brought my backhoe. I have 22' of reach from the swing tower. I could set up cross hill, see both ends of the hole, reach both ends to level up the bottom. Carrying the heavy tank up to the site with the loader bucket was nothing. Reaching 9' to set it in the hole was easy. Carrying a truckload of sand up to the hole 1.3 yards per scoop sped the effort, and placing sand on all sides without moving the machine worked great. The electrical ditch was a crooked path avoiding the roots of big fir trees, backhoe reached around trees with no damage to the trees. All said, I believe hours were saved using the backhoe. At least one more day would have been needed with the mini excavator.
There are excellent laser receivers as mentioned above that with well as long as the operator is aware of the techniques required to use them effectively. Here are links to several: Spectra Precision LR60W Laser Machine Display Receiver (NiMH) RD20 Wireless Remote Display Shop laser levels, rotary lasers, pipe lasers, grade rods, and layout tools at discount prices. Contractors-Tools.com is trusted by pros nationwide. www.contractors-tools.com Leica LMR240 Laser Machine Display Receiver ideal for Backhoes and Mini-Excavators : 773569 Shop laser levels, rotary lasers, pipe lasers, grade rods, and layout tools at discount prices. Contractors-Tools.com is trusted by pros nationwide. www.contractors-tools.com Spectra Precision Laser CR600 Machine or Rod Mounted Laser Receiver Shop laser levels, rotary lasers, pipe lasers, grade rods, and layout tools at discount prices. Contractors-Tools.com is trusted by pros nationwide. www.contractors-tools.com Any of these and many others work well for trenching or flat work. You can even use a regular grade rod receiver mounted to the machine in a pinch. For slope work you'll want a good slope laser such as the Spectra Precision GL622 or 722. If you're not doing much slope work or if the slopes are steep it works well to stake the top and bottom of the slope and grade between the stakes.