Contemplating purchasing a Bobcat E55 or E63. The 63 is not available with a hydraulic coupler. Do you guys recommend anything. Or is the Bobcat coupler decent. Looking at purchasing a 18", 24" and 48" grading bucket. Thanks
I have 2 Yanmar’s with pin grabber quick couplers, I’d look at them if you have a dealer close
My Bobcat E42 has the hydraulic pin grabber (or Hydraulic X Change as they call it) and it works great. Sometimes I need to change from the tooth bucket to the ripper and back to the bucket, saves a bunch of time and hassle. I think the design of the system is a bit weird since you have to basically guess where to position the pins on the attachment unless you move the boom to one side. After some practice it gets more intuitive.
The Bobcat and kubota dealer is maybe 30 minutes from me. Everyone else is an hour. Haven't found Yanmar dealer yet.
I like my e42. The Bobcat x-change works well. Wouldn’t have a mini without some sort of auto coupler. I change buckets/implements frequently. It’s nice not having to get out of the cab. I’m in the process of upgrading to an e50. Nothing against the e42. Just want a little more capacity.
I may be late to the game but I had a E50 with rear weight, which gave specs similar to E55. Really liked the E50 as it was powerful for its size, good visibility, came with boom hydraulics for attachments, able to work in tight spaces and I never had any concerns about reliability or getting parts. If you can get a good deal, go for it if it is the size you need. I sold it about a year later to up-size slightly to a Yanmar 80 which is just more capable all around, especially since I use my excavator to clear land more than anything else. I have a Bobcat and Yanmar dealer just a few miles from me so that was not a concern. Both had their versions of quick exchange coupler that works fine, I believe the Yanmar is just a little easier to use. The bigger Yanmar with more buckets was about the price as the E50 with less buckets included.
I rented and used an E42 from Sunbelt before. The quick attach unit was installed on this unit. I thought it was handy, but not overly necessary. I found that if the pins are properly maintained it isn't too overly difficult to swap buckets. I am comparing it to a standard bucket attachment from a Kubota U35.
I can agree that the quick change feature isn’t absolutely necessary, but I guess I must be getting old and lazy because it’s a big deal for me. After having powered quick change on my e42 and my T595 CTL, I wouldn’t buy a machine without it unless a deal came up that was just too good to pass. I end up changing attachments frequently and it is a real convenience.
I haven't purchased anything. Looked at Wacker Neuson. I like the E63 but doesn't make sense no hydraulic exchange. Would love an 80 series but I think its too much.
Well, best advice I can give is test as many as you can, before I purchased the Bobcat E50, I tested all the local dealers compact excavators at my property (Cat, Kubota, Tak, JD, did not test Yanmar at that time) of similar size. Cost was not a major factor for me but visibility, power, features were and I ended up with the Bobcat as it seemed to be the best all around at the size, I know that is a personal preference thing and I would have no problem owning any of the others but my experience was just better with the E50. I would have kept the E50 but I put a small cutter/mower (~500lbs) on it and at full extension it was was too tipsy around my pond. I tested the E85 but the Vio80 outperformed it with the mower....
The WN ET65 is a nice machine, great power, I really like the bucket articulation they are able to pull off with that linkage design.
Do you have a Takeuchi dealer near you?
Tak is about an hour away. Haven't had time to go by and look. Not too many machines in the 7ton class.
I've been happy with my TB260 (60 class), I believe it's sometime this fall they're coming out with a TB370 which will be a new generation and a 7 ton class machine.
They are also releasing a new version of the TB153 which will be a 257 i believe. I cant wait.
Do you guys know/recommend an aftermarket coupler? Wain Roy? And would it work with OEM buckets? I talked to a different sales person last week. He thought the E63 had a hydraulic coupler. He was supposed to call me back but never did.
I am pretty sure the ET65 has a hyd coupler. I believe it to be a Werk Brau, which is a great coupler. My advice is avoid the Wain Roy coupler at all costs.
I also have a yanmar with the hydraulic coupler. I've been very pleased with it. After driving pins on older machines, I will not buy another without a coupler unless I'm going to put an aftermarket coupler. I'm extremely happy with my yanmar and will be buying another one when the time comes. We're two hours away from the yanmar dealer in two different directions. We have a local bobcat dealer that couldn't be bothered to give me a quote.
I personally find Bobcats X-Change system to be crap. Lots of slop in every one I've ever run. Pretty easy to use, but not tight, and the seals blow out on them somewhat regularly. They also don't allow for mounting a bucket reversed. Personally, I'd buy whatever machine you want and pick up an aftermarket pin grabber or Symmetrical standard coupler from someone like Steelwrist/Rototilt. Pricing is pretty competitive, and they're simple, good couplers.
There's no slop in any of the pins on my E42 including the X-Change pins but there's only about 150 hours on the clock. I also don't abuse the machine like rentals get. I was disappointed I couldn't reverse the bucket but I knew that before I bought. I've missed that capability a couple of times.. My major complaint (and basically the only complaint) is the design of the X-Change - you basically make an educated guess of exactly where to position the stick and amount of curl. Bobcat recommends you swing the boom to one side so you can see the pins but that takes too much time. The pins are also a PITA to grease since the zerks are only exposed with a particular curl.
My boss bought a kubota u55-4 this spring and i absolutely hate it. I have never used a machine as uncomfortable and just plain garbage in my life. It has a Rivard hydraulic coupler and buckets amd they are also trash. Coupler sticks too far out the back and does not allow the bucket to open up enough.
I’m happy with the X-Change setup on my e42. Agree that it’s a PITA to see, but after a while it becomes second nature. Never really thought about lacking the ability to reverse the attachments. Honestly, the need has never came up for me. I routinely change out buckets in a minute or less. I’d hate to get out of the cab to do it manually.
Went to Bobcat today. Apparently coming out with an E60. Combining the E55 and E63. Salesmen told me the hydraulic bucket exchange was a waste of money. Mentioned the Take TB370 and he didn't know anything about it.
Hard to make sense of the new models and the phased out models. I should be taking delivery of my new e50 next week. It appears they may be phasing out the e45. So if what you suggest is true, we’d have the e42, e50, and e60. Hard to believe a Bobcat salesman would be trashing the hydraulic x-change. As I’ve stated previously, I wouldn’t be without it. Not saying that other manufacturers might not have a better mousetrap, but if you’re going Bobcat, I’d highly recommend it. Just saw an email from skid steer solutions showing an adapter that allows you to mount the bucket backwards using the Bobcat x-change system. Maybe not the best solution, but if you have a need, it should fill it.
The Taki TB370 is brand new, I am not even sure if they are on the ground yet. I sat in one at Conexpo, the interior is really nice, big upgrade over the 200 series. I looked at the specs and it packs a punch on paper.
Went to the Takeuchi dealer today. They didn't have a 370 but did have a 260. Seems to be a nice machine. Only talked the parts guy. The also handle Doosan and had a 62 which is the same as a Bobcat 63. The 62 has a hydraulic pin grabber. I asked the parts huy his thoughts on Doosan and Takeuchi. He liked the Take better. The Takes have Tag buckets. Looks like you pull a pin out the back to release the bucket.
Got a quote on Take 370. Cab, pin grabber, 18", 24', 48" grading, thumb, $105k
That is more than I would have expected.
The TB260 is $79k and the Doosan R62 is $75k but quote says base machine. Their quotes don't have a lot of info. Doosan has Tag buckets. Takeuchi doesn't specify but I'm guessing Tag. The Bobcat E63 was $85k. All machines quoted with the 3 buckets but the Bobcat included a tilt.
Taki is now offering Strickland buckets now, although to get the cheapest price I am sure they priced Tag. Taki's hyd coupler is Strickland as well, which is a quality coupler. I just happy that there is something other than Tag.