Well, I am the guy that over the last couple of years have picked up a Kubota L3250 Tractor, a Ford 555 Backhoe and a John Deere 350B dozer. We have 20 acres of property that we are building on and will need to continue to develop in the years to come and much of that development will come in the way of clearing for use, retention ponds, ditches, large 1/2 acre or larger fish pond as well as continued maintenance of the property. So, now I am looking for an Excavator for the property. I inquired about a Case here a few days ago, but that one is out. Now I am looking at a Hitachi EX200-2. I read yesterday that Hitachi and John Deere started a Joint Venture or Merger in 1988 and I am to understand that John Deere Machines since that era are actually Hitachi Machines with Deere engines in them. So, couple of things that are on my mind... 1. Is the EX200-2 (meaning the -2 model) a grey market machine. If it is, is that anything to be concerned about as far as parts availability. 2. What is the equivalent John Deere machine, and what if any are the primary differences other than the engine? 3. Does this machine have switchable controls (Deere vs Cat) and if not, which one is it setup with? I currently operate on Deere (Backhoe) controls, I wreck things running Cat controls... 4. What are things to look out for with a Hitachi EX200-2, known issues or problem areas.... 5. I don't see a throttle lever, does this machine have an electronic throttle? The machine I am currently looking has 10,000 hrs on it. Asking price is $19K. They state that all pins and bushings have recently been replaced. The machine does not look at all like it has been beaten on, no bent sheet metal, all the glass except for the lower front glass. The UC looks to be in good shape, at least 70% from what I can tell. Does not look like it tracked very much for the 10K hours or the previous owners have already made some UC replacements. No repair welds on the boom that I can see and no plating for sure. Cab appears to be pretty clean for a 23 yo machine, no rips in the seat, normal where otherwise it seems. I do know that a couple of cylinders on the boom have minor leaks, but that is not that big of an issue to fix, all hydraulics leak, eventually I have discovered. If there is any other advice, comments or suggestions that you think I should know about this machine, please share with me. I don't want to put good money after a bad machine. Thanks
I'll let the guys who really know Hitachis address your questions. They were recently extremely helpful when I was buying my UH083. I do a lot of clearing (fence rows, wood lots etc) on several tracts of land that I farm (1,400 acres +/-). For many years an E70B Cat was my excavator and it served me very well. To backup the excavator though I had/have an 1150D case, 580L case, 544 JD, 85 hp Gehl skid loader and a few 300+hp farm tractors. From the sound of things you aren't planning anything I don't do. With your base line of equipment. Have you considered upgrading your dozer to a 10 ton class? Just a thought but a weeks rent on a new excavator and spend the leftover money on a good heavy dozer may provide more productivity.
I do want to upgrade my dozer, but really need the productivity of end excavator for clearing and especially digging to manage water issues first. Ground is to soft when wet to get much out of the backhoe. Sinks into the root mat muck to often and walking on buckets is very slow. Really want a JD450 size dozer with 6way blade.
The electronics on these machines can be a nightmare, when I bought mine it needed a complete rewire, new computer and a few other odds and ends in the electrical department. The wiring and insulation gets brittle over time and especially in the area under the muffler in the engine compartment where the wires to the pumps are routed... I have a thread on here somewhere that follows my repairs from beginning to end. Otherwise, these machines are good units, the engines seem to run for ever, the hydraulics are actually impressively strong and from what I hear they burn a lot less fuel than a comparable Deere machine, but I can't confirm that from first hand experience... They also don't seem to suffer from undercarriage issues like the earlier 150 series Hitachis. All in all I'm very happy with my machine now that I have all the kinks ironed out. Edit - ok not sure what happened there but the whole other paragraph I typed disappeared... Anyway, what I forgot to mention was that as far as I know they didn't come standard with a pattern changer. I added one to my machine as my dad and I are used to different control patterns. If you do end up getting this machine I can walk you through either changing the pattern to suit your needs or installing a pattern changer, both are very easy to do if you are comfortable working on the machine.
Maybe I'm missing something but why do you need so many machines for 20 acres?
Well, not that this has anything to do with this post, but we rented an exvacator when we were clearing the area for the home sites and had all for machines working. Root raking, moving dirt and grading all at once. I have 3 boys, having all the machines keep everybusy and ingaged in the project. However, this is raw land, previously logged 20 years ago, and not touched since until we started to build. THis land has a high water table and a deep root mat on top. There is a clayish layer about 3-4 ft down that water does not penetrate through. This makes operating the backhoe in the lower deep root mat areas difficult. THe one machine that I need the least if the dozer, but for the ditches, canals and ponds that we need to dig on the property and roads to build, I can still put everythign to use at least to the point that we have most of the developing accomplished.
Thank you for your comments. So, you do have an EX200? What control pattern does it come with? I assume it would be deere (backhoe) controls. Hopefully the electronics on the ones that I am looking are okay and I can do some preventive measures in the problem areas that you mentioned prior ro having issues. I will definitely be in touch should I purchase one of these machines. Do you have any idea if the -2 indicates a grey market machine? Have you had any issues getting parts? What is the (-) version of your machine? Also, is it electronic throttle or manual throttle? Thanks again.
Yes I do have one, and yes it is a -2. It came with Cat controls but whether or not it came from the factory like that I have no idea. That is just the most common control pattern in my area by far. Don't worry too much about what control pattern it has, it literally takes at most 30 minutes to change it if it doesn't have a switch. As far as being grey market I don't think it is, and getting parts has been no problem at all. One call to my local dealer and parts were there over night if they didn't have 'em in stock. My machine did have the electronic throttle but due to the electronic issues it had, someone had converted it to a manual throttle and I've left it like that. Here's a link to the thread I had going on about mine. HeavyEquipmentForums
spitzair, I read through your thread on your wiring issues. Thanks for that, it gives me something else to look over specifically when I look at machines. I don't want to buy one and then have to dump another $3K into it to soon after purchase to keep it running correctly. I see that your serial number was 147-70690, the 200 that I am looking at is 147-73149. I will look to see if the updated wiring harness may have been put into the machines from the factory over the 3000 unit difference from your to this one. So, maybe if I see issues in the engine compatment harness, it will be an easier, simpler and cheaper fix. Now I can't wait until next weekend to go and see it. I will update here with what I discover.