I'm looking for a 10-12,000lb machine for mostly farm use. Mini Excavators are just awesome for fixing drainage tile, cleaning up trees and rocks. I have my eye on a 2017 bobcat E45 with cab, hyd quicktach, etc. Low hours. I've run several over the years but never a bobcat. Anything I should know about them?
How about some images of it? How many hours? What buckets? Bobcat dealer near you? Buying it from a dealer or private party? For the most part, the Bobcat E45 is a good machine.
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...17-bobcat-e45-mini-up-to-12000-lbs-excavators
Everything looks pretty good! Not sure about the price. Nice to have all those buckets, as that's worth an easy $4000 in itself. Who will do the service on it? Who owned it before the dealer got it, or was it a rental?
Well, I went and checked it out, it's a clean unit. One caveat (and it's not a deal breaker) is the backfill blade is fixed position. Anyone know if it can be converted to 4 way?
IMHO, Don’t bother trying to convert it, it would be cost prohibitive since it doesn’t have all the lines needed down by the blade or the joystick functions in the cab. I’ve had the angle blade on a machine of similar size and I wasn’t impressed at all, can get just as much done with the fixed blade and there will be less fittings to grease and wear out.
I would agree with Tags a fixed blade is all you need.