Here's a pic of a new Deere 85D that I got to run the other day. It was the perfect size for digging a 12' deep receiving pit right next to a concrete column under an overpass.
i want to demo that same machine. how did you like it?
I liked it a lot. Smooth and stable. I was digging in soft clay with a 46" wide clean up bucket. The 85D is basically the same as the 75D but it has a swing boom. This allowed me to dig about 10' wide, nice and square to the machine without repositioning. The cab is a bit smaller than the 75D because of the clearance required when the boom is swung fully to the left. If I were to get one I would opt for the road-liner style pads as 90% of my work is on asphalt.
i was thinking of getting a machine it that size
I Ran a 75ZTS last fall a little bit, it was super comfortable and super smooth, but it just didnt seem to have the power I thought it should. It felt like a mini compared to the Kobelco. Maybe the D series is better? What did you think of it power wise?
I don't really have anything else the same size to compare it too. Everything I operate is either much smaller (17D) or way bigger (Cat 330L). For its size it did well. It maybe could use a bit more stick crowd power, but bucket curl and boom power were really good. Personally, I really like the D-series machines compared to earlier series.
Nedly and B.U.S.I, do you know if the machines you ran had the short or long stick?
The one I demo'd had the optional 6'11" stick. Standard stick is a 5'4".
That is a nice looking machine
Cant be sure but from looking at the pics I would say the one I ran had the longer stick. It had a hydraulic thumb, so that always makes it look shorter to me, but I would say the long one.
Thats a lovely loking maching for its size
Until it gets dirty that is!!