Morning! I'm looking at purchasing a new to me used mini excavator. Looking at a 2018 yanmar vio 35 open cab with 1200 hours, a 2017 35g closed cab with 1900 hours, a 2016 E-45 open cab with 2500 hours and a 2017 50g closed cab with around 4000 hours, and a 2015 303.5 open cab with about 2800 hours. All have auxiliary hydro. I'll be doing concrete work mostly, smaller jobs, rip out and replace driveways, sidewalks, porch decks, pole barns, misc demo, small footings and culverts etc. Maybe a small pool every now and again. I'm leaning towards the vio 35. Just curious if maybe I should go for the larger machine. I have ability to haul any of them. I currently have a 2019 Deere 325g CTL as well. Any input would be appericated!
I think they are all good name brand machines. I assume they all have thumbs and a nice tooth bucket. It's nice to have an enclosed cab for rough weather, but when I break up concrete I like to pick up big pieces and drop them on other pieces breaking them down to smaller pieces for easier loading. With that in mind, I worry about breaking the cab glass. Once in awhile it's nice to have the ability to use a concrete breaker on the excavator. With that in mind, think about if you're going to just buy one or rent one as needed. United Rental has wain roy breakers that fit the machines they rent which is Takeuchi. I'm a Takeuchi guy, so think about that brand. The 5 ton weight class is about right for driveway removal, but it's small for pools, foundations, and door step stoop removal. The image is of my TB240 with breaker. I bought the breaker used from United Rental.
Hi! Thanks for the information! They do all have thumbs. The vio 35 has a 4' ditch bucket as we. I have looked at a few taks. They have just all been over my budget of around $30k. I would prefer a cab, but not a deal breaker, but almost all of them are out of my price range. Especially for just starting out. The only size I have actually run on a job site is a 35.
I did actually just find a 2011 303.5 with cab and 2800 hours for $29k. About 20 minutes from my house. It is missing one of the pieces of side window glass though.
Yeah, a 4' clean out bucket is super nice, and way better than just a 3' wide one. You need that to pick up all the small stuff and spread the gravel etc. Nice to just have 1200 hours too. You can use it for 600 hours or so and see if the machine is working out well. If not sell it for about what you paid for it.
X2 on the 5 ton size machine if moving is not a problem. So much more machine in a 305 than a 303.5 IMO. One wouldn't think the 1.5 tons would make a big difference but it does when it comes to digging, lifting and loading trucks.
X3! We have owned all the sizes you list above (op) and currently are very happy with a 2011 Deere 50d; for all the reasons listed above…. Extra width of machine adds to overall stability as well.
Agree as well. I just moved up from a 3.5 ton Kubota U35 to a 5 ton Kubota U48 and the difference is substantial. With the 5 ton can load my tandem dump in 7 min, take down any reasonable sized tree (with care) and lift much heavier rocks, logs, slabs, etc. Also the digging power is a lot more, like A LOT. I'm also a big fan of the 6-ton class machines, but they are getting just a touch too big for some day to day work I do. I settled on a zero tail swing 5 ton because it seemed like the biggest machine I could handle for the smaller jobs. You do start to notice the size when working under the eves of single story homes, under decks or inside buildings, the 3.5 ton was better there. Was also easier to haul the 3.5 ton, now I generally only tow the 5 ton with my bigger trucks. The F250 is rated for it, but it feels safer and easier on the truck behind the IH 4700 or dump truck. I'd continue your search, there should be quite a few 5 ton machines under $30K, sometimes it just takes a while to find what you are looking for. I'd recommend Kubota, Takeuchi, Deere, Hitachi and Yanmar. I'm not a big fan of the older Cat and Bobcat minis but some guys have good luck with them.