What's the low down on Doosan's. Specifically a DX225? I'm kind of half way shopping for a newer hoe and the prices on nearly new and new Doosan's set up the way I want have really caught my eye.
We had a dx350 and we're not impressed. Price is good but parts are hard to come by. If your not relying on it to make a living you will be ok. Do you have a local dealer?
we've got the dx300 and its been a good machine. we have a pretty good dealer which helps a lot but in 5000 hrs the only problem has been one final drive. friction seals went out and the operator let it leak until it was empty before he called me because he didn't want to lose any hours. that was his last day working with us. :beatsme. cant blame the machines.
Doosan dealer is as local as the big brands. I won't depend on it to make a living, but it'll get a fair amount of use. Mostly fencerow and ditch work with the occasional demolition job. With the work I've got lined up, it'll only be looking at 500 hrs a year for a couple years and then it will peter off to to 2-300 hrs a year. Rentals aren't very conducive to the schedule I need them for and I need something reliable that won't turn into a money pit. That's what is steering me towards a new or slightly used Doosan. Thanks for the input.
I have repaired Doosan's of that size used in logging industries over the years. They are very simple machines. Hold up well. >>>TIO
Cabs are terrible. Made for a little Korean guy. Sticks are awkward (for me). They are a bucket digger.
I have never run one, but my friend who rented a DX300LC-3 loved it
Right you are shimmy1. And very cheap inside. You get what you pay for.
You guys must be running older models, the new machines I have looked at and specifically the new ROPS cabs are as nice as anything Hitachi or Kobelco puts out.
I'm 6ft tall and I think ours has plenty of room. I haven't been in a hitachi but it's as nice as any kobelco I've seen.
I ran a 225 last summer for about 15 min. Brand new 2014. Friend of mine was running it and hated it. Wanted me to see what I thought. I seconded his opinion. I do think that someone 5' 8" and 160 might be right at home. I'm 6-4 and 275 so not so much.
The new cabs on the 225's are as big as anything hitachi etc come out with
I'll be coming from a Kato, so I'm sure the cab won't be too terrible for me.
First thing that should be said I am not an operator but a mechanic. The new 225 and 330/350(cant remember)I was working on were quite a tidy looking machine. The cab was really nice and spacious. The issue I found was the overall quality for example the pin bosses were very loose, if it was a cat or deere I would have called for line boring- both machines were under 1000 hours. I wouldn't recommend them to a production company but for an acreage or small company they could be ok with quality dealer support. One thing with the 300 class machine was it is too light in the back. Customer was moving loose rocks with a small dig bucket because with a clean up and half a bucket and it would tip.
If you grease them they'll last nearly as long as a cat hitachi etc any machine will get sloppy with no greasing
That is true with the pins and bushings but the pin boses are loose because the machining between the boss and the pin is not close enough.
I've seen new Doosan excavators with joints looser than what would be consider acceptable for a 5,000 hour Cat, Hitachi or even a Komatsu.