Looking for any information on Takeuchi Excavators.
Sounds like Google might be your best friend then. If you can get more specific folks might know where to start offering what they know. Are you hoping to buy one? Why? What will you do with it? Size to get will depend on what you want to do. New, used, want to compare it to another brand? etc.
Hi,thanks for the response. I have found a used machine with low hours and just learning more about them. I need to clear a 10 acre lot of leftover stumps, roots and useless trees. The machine is local and reasonable in comparison with other machines within the area. So thats my story.
As you're clearing a 10-acre lot with stumps and roots, just ensure that the machine has enough power and the right attachments. A hydraulic thumb or a root rake can be incredibly useful for grabbing and removing debris efficiently.
What is the size of the machine you found? And what are the attachments that come with it, the features? Do you have pictures? A lot of these guys are eagle-eyed and can tell a lot from good pictures about things you might not see. They have done that for me and I'm amazed what they can discern from a picture that shows things I did not even mean to capture.
What size machine and what size stumps. Those 2 questions, give us a starting point.
In general Takeuchi has been around a long time and supports most of their older models. Ive rented many over the years and there is nothing special about them good or bad. They do the same job any other brand does. Cant answer much more than that without knowing year/model and what diameter stumps in what type of soil you're working with. In general doing this type of work for a living I would recommend at the very least a 3.5 ton machine with 12" dig bucket and thumb. Ive cleared a lot of acreage with a 3.5 ton when my bigger units were tied up and its the smallest machine weight and power wise id use.
Thanks very much for the info, it pretty well covers my property! So far, I've come up with a 7 ton machine with about a 30 inch scoop bucket, a 24 inch dig bucket and a thumb with 7000 hrs on it! I imagine that it should do the job if I use it and maintain it properly!
That gives a better picture. 7 ton is a great landowner size machine. Ive been using 8 ton machines for business and they handle 99% of clearing work I do. Only recommendation would be go with an 18" dig bucket instead of 24". The narrower the bucket the better root ripper and rock hound it is because it takes less power from the machine. Now the 7,000 hours is another topic. Is your scope of work more Maintenace or heavy clearing? That amount of hours you're in for some frequent machine maintenance if you plan to put thousands more hours on it. What year is this machine youre mentioning? If its 90s or earlier verify you can get every part for it or youll end up with a lawn ornament.
Welcome to the Forum 62! Glad to have you. Have any pics of the machine you are looking at to post up?
I agree with DMBulldog. I have a Takeuchi TB370, a 15K machine, and it does a LOT. We grub/clear land, mulch, dig, dredge, etc. with it a lot. Here is a mess of pictures of stuff done with our Takeuchi. Things excavators can do - GaryLayton This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here. garylayton.smugmug.com Bridge building for Bill Camp 2023 March 7 - GaryLayton This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here. garylayton.smugmug.com Farm - Takeuchi first day Oct 21 2021 - GaryLayton breaking beaver dams -- digging out spillwell at road pond garylayton.smugmug.com Farm - Takeuchi - 2nd day mulching breaking dams - GaryLayton This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here. garylayton.smugmug.com Farm - Takeuchi - 3rd day - GaryLayton mulching-work on canal dam-accessing mill site garylayton.smugmug.com Farm - Takeuchi - 4th day - GaryLayton Swamping to and Breaching beaver pond garylayton.smugmug.com 2022 June 21-July 4 dredging road pond mud mat use - GaryLayton This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here. garylayton.smugmug.com
See if there is a nearby dealer for starters, preferably that has been around for awhile. Tak are good machines but have read they expect too much from their dealers and thus are losing dealers. No good if you can't get parts or need to wait overly long to get them.
If we know the size of the stumps, then we will know the right size machine. Yanking on stumps is a great way to blow old hydraulic hoses and break pins. I know, because I've done it and these were on Takeuchi machines. I have three of them. Excellent machines and brand. We need to know the model and year of the Takeuchi you are looking at. If it's an older TB175, then that is a beast and would be a good choice depending on condition. If the stumps are larger than 3' dia, then you need a machine bigger than the mini excavator class. Even if you can get a 3' stump out of the ground, you may not be able to lift it, but just sort of hobble around with it. For a mini excavator most of the stumps would need to be less than 1.5' in dia or less. You need a ripper or 12" bucket with thumb to dig out the roots on the side. Not sure what machine you are looking at for 7 tons. Takeuchi hasn't really made one quite that big until the last couple of years ( Like TB370). My TB153FR is 12,500lb. Fantastic machine, but not great at all digging large dia stumps over 2' dia.
I agree with PeterG...my TB370 does a lot but for larger trees I get the CAT320. I have learned that pushing trees over lets the weight of the whole tree help loosen and remove the stump...cutting/breaking one off a ground level means it has to be dug out sometimes, not pulled out.
Another thing to consider if your scope of work is more heavy clearing than not is, 20+ year old 15-20 ton machines sell for about the same price as the mini/midi machines. Pretty much any machine that cant be towed behind a class 6 and under truck gets real cheap, real quick when past the age and hours that a contractor will purchase it to put to work for an income. The larger machines are also supported more in their old age vs the mini/midi machines.
70000 is way, way too many hours in my book for a mini excavator, especially if you not a long time operator and service mechanic for them. If you can get something in the 2000-3000 hour range it's likely to be in better condition, have better resale value, and be easier to sell off when you're done with it.
70,000 hours is way too much for anything unless it's a walking dragline or electric shovel.
oops, my bad! Should have said 7000 hours...