for the dollars and how many hours is to many, what hour range should I be looking at to avoid a lot of problems, wanting to go as big as I can afford,taking out stumps and digging ditches on farm
Been looking myself and what I have found is the bigger you go the cheaper excavators get. The better question is how big can you transport, this will determine your size. From my research a 20-27t machine is ideal for general farm use.
If you are only working it only at one location or within walking distance I would be looking at a 50 to 60 ton machine. Most were owned by larger companies that knew what service was and were taking care of. If you can work the machine delivery into your purchase at a fair price you can often get a good machine fairly reasonable. Machines that can be trucked easily command a bigger price tag for what you get. If you have to move it around by hauling all bets are off.
Yep bigger is cheaper till you have to truck it....bought it huge case 5900 hrs works awesome....dug many dugouts and cleared many areas....bought it for 30k .....cost 3.5k to haul it to farm...but we walk it everywhere....sometimes takes hours lol....but reach...power..and lifting cant be beat...compared to little bobcat or midi kubota lol.
You should be able to get a nice 320 even a 330 if luckywith thumb for 60-70...no stump can stop her lol. 320 is nice to haul around
HeavyEquipmentForums Seems like a good time to bring this thread back up.
I'v tried to forget that one.. However that thread is a good one to take note to the price of parts for the bigger machines - the price of parts coincides with the weight. The bigger the machine the more $$ it is to fix it. Heavy equipment is a double edged sword on costs.
The 20 to 25 ton machines seem to have the best resale value because they are relatively easy to truck. The downside is you get less hoe for your money. The upside is if you get all your work done or just decide a hoe isn't for you they are easiest to sell. When it comes to maintenance, think in terms of a percentage of cost per year. That is a percent of new cost, not what the machine cost on the used market. You can also think in terms of repair part cost in $/lb. Hydraulics are most expensive iron, figure $50 to $100/lb, down to aftermarket soil contact parts that may only be $3-$6/lb. Bigger machines have heavier parts.