And now for something completely different... http://www.equipmentworld.com/caterpillars-new-304-5e2-xtc-is-half-excavator-half-skid-steer/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=03-21-2016&utm_campaign=Equipment%20World&ust_id=237224d5fd3865bad149cbfe8ee19739
I think that would a handy machine, I'd love to hook a bobcat dumping hopper on it for a stone box, be nice in tight areas instead of tracking back and forth to the pile.
I saw that on EW. That machine would be perfect for plumbers and electricians working in the commercial market. Dig the trench, lay the pipe or conduit and backfill with stone, one doesn't need a high lift capacity to scoop stone out of a pile and dump it in a trench. Then they can clean up the spoils without a skid. If the spoils need to be hauled off then they can be loaded with the excavator.
A couple of months a ago I came across something on EBay a guy was making and selling quick attach plates to go on mini's just like the Cat. He had a video demonstrating his Kubota 121 it showed a 4n1 bucket, forks and even a harley rake which he hooked into his auxiliary lines on the stick. He was selling the quick attach for something like 8k I believe and you had to have angle blade on your machine. I can't find anything now, I wonder if this is his design Cat got from him.
Love the intro. That's a lot of extra weight added to the machine. It's also kinda big and cumbersome. If nothing else, it will help prevent that controversial rookie habit of digging over the idlers. :tong I think this guy's approach looks more productive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElhGYqSYasQ
This kind of mini-ex/skid combo is made by a few European manufactures, it's just a simple variation of those.