hey guys im considering either one of these excavators. im leaning toward the JD because it is so much bigger and stronger. the JD 330 has 6000hrs and the Doosan DX140 only has 3600hrs. The Doosan looks brand new and i just feel like would have better resell value. but it is only 94HP and the JD 330 is 265HP. What I need a excavator for is i just had a 100 acres clear cut and i need to start stumping it now and putting the stumps in piles. I considered just grinding the stumps down as all i want is a pasture for cattle, but i thought that getting pulling the stumps and burning them would be better. Im just looking for some recommendations on what route you all think I should do. The Doosan DX140 is around 7k more than the larger JD330
If you ain't gotta vote it around from job to job, maybe the deere is a better fit. More work accomplished with less abuse to the machine, kinda seems like a no-brainer. I don't know how many trees you have to contend with nor what kinda age they may have. Are either machines equipped with a thumb ?
When it comes to stumping, the bigger the machine the better. Even though it’s older a 330 would be a lot better than a 140 for pulling stumps.
funewithfuel- yeah it would stay on my land until i was done with it and then sell it. I was thinking the bigger the better, and yes the JD330 has a thumb which makes me lean towards it even more. Casefan13- yeah thats what i was thinking, less wear on the machine because its stronger. I just thought maybe the doosan would bring more in a resale. but ill probably go with the JD330.
Assuming it’s in reasonable shape, the 330 is an easy choice between those two.
lumberjack, it is in good condition from the pictures. i plan to make the trip to look at it this week. Probably go with it as it has more power, Just the lower hours and great shape of the Doosan caught my eye. But im sure getting the 3' oak stumps up would be an 4-5hr affair with the Doosan, and maybe a 30 min with the JD330.
Just a thought, maybe find a local dealer or reputable independent to give her the once over. Could save you thousands or give you strong negotiating points Or confirm she's a cream puff waiting for you to get to work
Both of those times are a good bit longer than I’d expect.
Funwithfuel, I honestly don’t know any mechanics that would be willing. I’m still trying to find a heavy duty mechanic that is independent because I can’t afford someone from a dealer to work on stuff. So I guess I will have to take the risk. lumberjack, I agree it would be longer than expected.
I don't recall seeing any Doosan excavator having "good" resale value. Doosan excavators new are in the range of twenty to thirty percent less in price to any of the long established brands and their technology is usually at least one generation behind all the rest. That will always show up in the resale price. I don't see this as being any kind of a decision to make.
John C. - I only say that because the same machines, DooSan with the same size and hours where I am are 20k more than the one I found. so I thought I could possibly run it for I needed it for and then resale around the same thing I paid for it. That being said I went and ran the JD 330 it ran good, only thing I found in the hour I was running it was the left final drove got weak and didn’t want to work. any idea on what that would cost to fix ???
You won't have a choice if that Deere has any issues where it needs to be plugged into.
All I'm saying is that you are not likely to get you original purchase price money back when you are through with it and want to sell it. They are also not known as a trouble free machine and finding anyone to work on it might be worse than bringing the dealer out to work on the Deere.
My personal opinion is the Doosan is probably higher priced because it this point with the economy and the ease of moving it around make it a more desirable machine. The 330 adds a whole new level of complication to get it moved and its size doesn’t lend itself to smaller jobs. I would go with the 330 if you’re just digging stumps and grading in relatively open areas, my opinion is you would never regret it....
MarshallPowerGen- i guess you are right, shoot that didnt even cross my mind that i would have to have the dealers software to hookup to it. it is a 2007 so im sure i would have to. John C.- i thought Doosan had turned into a pretty reputable machine? Tags- Yeah moving a 15ton machine is a heck of lot easier than a 35ton machine. Ill probably go with the Deere. Any of yall have any idea what difficulty fixing a final drive would be?? I operated the Deere for about an hour, ran pretty good, decently tight, BUT the left final drive seemed to get super weak. it would barely even drive forward after running it for that hour. I talked to a part house, the drive without the motor is $8,800 and with the motor is $9,900. Im gonna try and figure out how hard it would be to fix myself.
If it rotates it probably isn't the problem. Final drive failure mode is to break up gears and stop moving. Likely weak travel problems in order: leaking seals in the swivel, internal leakage in the travel motor caused from worn or damaged components, weak hydraulic pump section. At the stated hours the most likely cause is the swivel seals. It's not a fun job but is usually the least expensive of the list.
John C.- the thing is the hour meter isnt counting. so i truly do not know how many hours are on this thing. I cant believe a digital meter isnt counting, its weird. So this thing could have 15,000 hours on it. also i am completely new to this game, i only know some basic stuff about these machines. i have no clue how to even do a swivel seal. But i will say the machine was pretty dry after me running it an hour, and some kind of work has been done to the hydraulic pump because the lines are color coordinated tags on them to match up where the went so i can see that about it. Overall i was impressed with the Machine but i just want something that i hope to have the least amount of trouble out of it while i own it.
You can swap hoses switching sides/circuits between final drives (left handle to right track and vice verse). If the problem switches sides you know it’s not the final drive.
oh ok any direction that i can look up how to do that?
Micheal, i'm not trying to put a Bee in your bonnet or discourage you from buying this machine, travel motor issues, an hourmeter that's possibly not working, and the fact that you're not experienced with heavy equipment, I would walk away and go find something else. Of course this is just my opinion, but I'm sure there are plenty of large machines available at a decent price at this point in time. Having someone like an experience heavy equipment mechanic or a dealer mechanic look at a used machine for you would be well worth the thousand dollars it may cost to have done, $1000 now can save you tens of thousands later.... The bigger machines may be cheaper to buy than something you can move on a tag trailer, but the cost to repair all of them can be quite expensive....
I agree it would, just finding an experienced heavy equipment mechanic to look at it would be the thing honestly. i dont know any. I know the hour meter isnt counting i ran the thing an hour the other day and id didnt move. so no telling how many hours are on it. It looks like a great machine i didnt see any leaks after that hour of running it, just the only issue was the left final drive getting weak. But your probably right, i think i need to look for a machine in the 3k-6k hour range in good shape that hopefully will not cause me too much trouble. Now that being said i got to find that i can afford.
Run from that Deere. Sounds corrupt 30T machines can be fairly slow and clumsy when doing stumps especially with a learner behind the sticks. Yeah they can dig and pull and lift strong but as said, costly to move, costly to fix. The smaller 16-20T class would be a better fit in my opinion. The little bit longer it takes to get a big stump out would be better than a major component failure on a big one. Resale?, more buyers in the immediate area might be looking for a purchase in the smaller tonne bracket? 30Tonners love the fuel If your dead set on a large one you can’t fault the CAT330B. Smaller ones are much faster and easier to use scratching up all the roots and mess around your stump hole. Attachments are a lot cheaper for the smaller ones. Anyway, good luck, I just have a bad feeling about the Deere, There’s absolutely no excuse for a digital hour meter not to be working apart from ones desire to screw someone over. Drive motors and finals get expensive quickly
Phantom970- thank you for your input. i decided to not go with the deere. Suppose to go look at a Volvo EC210 tomorrow with around 4800hrs. we will see how that runs. I wouldnt mind at all on getting the Doosan 140x only problem is that its about 13hrs away, it is low hours at 3600. What brand machine would you recommend? i see the size, My budget is 30-40k. i also would like to spend another 5-7k on a stump ripper/puller. So if i could stay closer to 30 the better.
it is always funny to me that people think they can buy and do work and not have any thing in what they do with machine. if that was the case everyone on here would be rich. first do you not do anything right now because if you get work done you are going to have to be on that machine. but i guess you farm and dont count labor anything right, not to think about fuel oil and what you not being a operator do to a machine, but you may be smarter than, those of us that has a life of doing it. any one can drive one.
All the Jap stuff is good Michael. I know nothing of The Deere’s. They don’t seem to be in OZ. There’s a lot of Doosans for sale with low hrs over here. Might be a sign of trouble? Volvo make a good digger. I have used briefly the exact model you are looking at. Rippers are cheap from China. The brand SEC. you won’t break them. I do a lot of trees and stumps. 17tonne machine. I Just use the ripper and my largest 1200mm GP tooth bucket for cleanup. If there’s a clump I will stack them with the grab. Very rarely have to dig a stump or tree. If I do Then I use a 450mm tench bucket so there’s not a great mountain of dirt and roots to clean up. Some trees and stumps you can try try try and they won’t budge then you go around the other side and they just pop out. Don’t know what your Oak stumps will be like but AUS Box trees and Gums most of the time are anchored to the centre of the earth With tap roots like steel cables. If you get a ripper, put a tiger tooth boot on it. They are great for wedging roots, stumps and timber between the tips. Makes life easier.
Phantom thank you for the input and information. im sure the oak and sweetgum trees with be in the ground good and take some time. I was looking at the TRK stump puller, i think they are a Canadian company. Dozr- what in the world are you talking about?
Micheal, save yourself a headache and grind those stumps, you only need to go 4" below ground level and it's job done and finished. Get the Doosan and put a grinder on it. If you go down the grinder route avoid a Stumpex.
michael that was the answer i was expecting, one of the machines you ask about was one you drink beer with friend on weekend and work on flower bed, and other was big and wore out, i have done eq work all my life and dont know anything about it but have knowage to know eather of them would not do the job by there self . and you even said you did not know. there is more to it than pulling stomps like shaping where it will not wash away as you do it . good luck with it.
Tones- If i bought the newer Doosan i wouldnt have any money left to buy a grinder attachment. i do have a skid steer, if it wouldnt take forever i could buy a stump grinder for it and grind them. but i figured pulling the stumps would be the best thing to do. some people say grind some say pull, im torn on it. dozr- thank you for the input.
$40k budget and 100 acres of stumps favors an excavator in my opinion. We started as a stump grinding service 22 years ago (primarily do tree work now/primarily only ground my own stumps now).
lumberjack- thank you, i think it will be the way i go. because then i could dig out watering holes or build a pond with it. Tones- i may call a stump grinding company tomorrow just see what it costs per hour and estimate.
100 acres of stumps will almost assuredly cost more than $40k. FWIW, I'm in Columbus, MS. Just noticed you're in Bama.
yeah you are right around 3.5-4yrs from me. i made a guy an offer on a 30 ton machine yesterday with right at 12hrs. If he takes it that is the route im gonna go. Thank you for your help and guidance lumberjack.
You could just leave the stumps for free. The cows won't care. If you see some regrowth, a ring of Tordon on the sapwood only will fix that. Tordon on the heartwood is wasted. In 5 years the stumps will pop out with the 14 ton machine.
in a replant timber oparation mite be ok but in pasture you will have stomps rotting and have to level and replant grass in about 5 years because of holes from stomps, and from my own farm if you get in hurry after pulling them in cullman country you will get that to. have also seen it with cutter blade too, see i am working on 25 acres here in holly pond for about 2 years now, i work outside fence row and fence to keep from growing up behind me again good working on it.
terex herder- i would imagine i would tear up a tractor and tear up a bushhog trying to manage a pasture with the few thousand stumps out there. not to mention the tree tops, logs, and butts left every dang where. I dont imagine that it is an option to leave them if i want to clean up into pasture. Dozr- so you arent too far from me. yeah ive thought about grinding and not buying but then the would settle and i would have to fill in. If i can find the right machine for the right price its what im gonna do.
Why not it’s great free nitrogen back into your pasture, have you considered something narrow enough to go between the rows of stumps like a nursery does or an orchard shredder?
skeans1- just leaving the stumps?? no havent thought of that because of im starting from scratch building fence and such. be hard to put fence up with stumps in the ground. I mean i guess its a option but seems like a little more difficult time than pulling and burning the stumps.
Are these stumps in rows?
Skeans- they most definitely are not. It was a hardwood and pine forest mix. They are every where.
MJ what part of the state is the property located in? I know a few independent mechanics around the Birmingham area. As far as Doosan goes the dealer for Central and North AL is R&M Equipment in Birmingham and I'll just let that speak for itself.. . Any parts you'll need other than GET will more than likely have to be ordered. Couldn't agree more of removing all the stumps and debris if you are going to put cattle on it. The last thing you want is stump holes all over the place waiting to catch a leg. I would imagine stump grinding 100 acres would run well over $100K. The best dealer presence since you will need a dealer at some point in ownership as it's heavy equipment and it will break down in order of size and locations. Thompson - Cat TEC - Komatsu Cowin Equipment - Volvo, Case, Kobelco Warrior Tractor - John Deere Any other brand will have revolving dealers in my experience. Personally I would stick with one of the brands above.
CM1995- Im about an hour and half from Bham area. Im down in Lafayette, right outside opelika and auburn. Where are you ? Yeah i have talked with R&M equipment and they never returned my call, so im assuming their not too good of a dealer. I thinking on getting a Komatsu now, they seem to be good machines and hold their values. Thank you for you input and im pretty postive i will stick with one of the above brands for sure.
Know the Auburn/Opelika area well, graduated from Auburn many moons ago. . I'm in the Birmingham area. Komatsu is a good hoe. I know Thompson has a branch in Opelika but not sure TEC does but I bet there is a TEC branch in Columbus.
yes sir I love Auburn, if i had the time i would go get my BS there. but my little associates is serving me fine. I would like to say i was an alumni though. Yeah i hope it serves me well while i have it, made the deal today with the guy and im getting it on Wednesday. Im gonna have to look now that i know for certain that i am getting the Komatsu. Hopefully there is one in columbus!