Hey guys, looking for opinions here. We have a good low hour backhoe (2004 Cat 420D, 1,500 hrs.) here on the farm, but I have been thinking about trading it for a 'midi' excavator. Found a 2012 Cat 308D-CR at the local Cat dealer, it has 5,227 hours on it, has approximately the same capabilities as the 420, except won't dig quite as deep (15' vs. 18') I've been thinking that an excavator on tracks, especially with a thumb, would be more versatile on the farm. We don't contract backhoe services, just use it for general digging, trenching, hoisting, and also some loading, but we have a farm tractor & a skid steer for shifting gravel, dirt & manure. It is handy for travelling to the farther corners of the claim (2 - 3 miles one way) Is the 308 a good machine? Is 5,227 a lot of hours (too many hours?) Will it run a smaller mulcher? (3 or 4 foot, 308 does 35 gpm) Thanks in advance
1) what shape is it in( pins,bushings.track & undercarriage,hyd pumps , hyd leaks and so on 2)how are you going to move it around farm 3) parts availability
1) I discovered it is not at the local dealer, it is 500 miles away, I have only pictures but from what they show it looks not bad, the sprockets appear to be in good shape, the idlers are at about mid adjustment (I think) and the rubber on steel tracks are in decent shape. Cannot see any leaks from cylinders or undercarriage. 2) I thought I would 'walk' it to the work, is 2-3 miles on dirt too far for that? 3) parts should not be an issue, the Cat dealer, Finning Tractor have a local dealership They want me to pay the freight to get it to our town, so no, I won't buy it sight unseen. They did offer me a very fair trade in dollar for the backhoe, but I will wait. Have been considering a Kubota 8 ton as well, any opinions on them? Thank you.
2-3 miles is way too far to be walking an excavator.
I’ve walked ours that far plenty time while working along. Not just to walk that far to work it. We’ve cleaned up some 2-3K acre parcels. It’s a PC200LC not a Midi. Not sure how they hold up comparatively. I wouldn’t think that would Be the best way to go about it. I’d load onto a small trailer and tote it.
A 308 is not a cheap machine to work on compared to 420s they just are not as common. Personally on a farm in that category of machine the versatility of having a machine you can road 5 miles in 20 minutes beats the pants off a machine you got to load up and haul I would not walk that machine more than about a half mile between work it's not cost effective in my opinion. It will be rare that a 308 will do things a 420 cant do a lot of times the 308 will make it easier and sometimes it will do a little better job but more often than not you can do things with a backhoe that are a stretch for an excavator
I think your going to want to trailer it. Maybe put a trailer behind your loader tractor if you don't have anything else to pull it with. I have not checked the speed spec on that machine but it is probably around 2 mph maybe 3. It would take you two hours to MOB three miles each day, plus the wear on the machine. I think the 308 is at least as good as any other similar machine. Being your a farmer, productivity isn't as big of a driver as it is for a contractor. So your not needing state of the art performance specs anyway.
Thanks for the replies, I value your opinions. The main thing bugging me is the travel, as most of you suggest. It is so easy and fast to go those distances with a backhoe. One thing that a midi excavator would be good for is to run a forestry mulcher. I have been getting by with a good heavy 3 pt. brush mower on the tractor but it does not cut new trails well and thats hard on the tractor anyway. Good for maintaining existing trails & field edges though. Have watched several videos on the Kubota 8 ton midi with a mulcher. Seems to work well. There was one working the ditches of the nearby highways last summer, did a pretty thorough job. Hard to decide, the 420D is a good machine. I had it out today, used the dipper to cut some snowbanks, brought it into the shop to remove a broken cutting edge on the f.e.l. bucket. Cheers.