Is this only viable for YouTubers looki ng to generate content? I have thirty acres on mountain side. My fantasy is to have giant excavator that works but is cheap.
There was a guy in Colorado a few years back who had one and some rocks the size of a house he was moving about. Why wouldn't you want one if you had the room? Joe H
I've been told the price of a large excavator is so close in price to a smaller, if yo have the room why not?
800's can be had for dirt cheap at auctions but there's a reason. Some guy with a small pit bought one and no one would let him load their truck with it. Also if it breaks good luck fixing it yourself. Just trying to remove a pin on bucket would require a crane because everything is so dang big. Break a hose? Going to spend $$ buying wrenches to take it off and $$ finding somewhere with that big of fittings.
I was waiting for the giant excavator.
Kinda seems to be a thing, now. Bless their DIY, home-owner hearts.
Beat me to it. A 690 isn't a giant excavator by any stretch. A 690D weighs in around 40K lbs. Our 321 and 325 are 55K lb machines and considered medium size.
If that's the size of machine you class as "giant" your ambitions are far too low IMHO.......... See Page 3 for photos. Homeowner with 2 x 80-Ton Hoes
Nige, that's the guy I was thinking of. Alien abduction......... Joe H
Buy excavator for cheap, spend over double the price getting it home
This guy bought a 345.......... 345BL turntable leaking New excavator owner here, looking for some advice. After transporting my excavator and angling it to crawl onto the trailer I believe my turntable is leaking hydraulic oil through it. Was hoping to get some feedback as to what is the likely culprit here. I ran it for a while before moving it... HeavyEquipmentForums
It makes sense as long as you never plan on moving it again. What really hurts is a component failure on a 30+ ton machine compared to the smaller ones. A 690 isn't big enough to fall into the category of cheap, big excavator. There is a premium in the used market for any excavator that will fit on a tag trailer. Mostly the 12-16 ton machines and to a smaller extent the 20 ton machines. In the before times, it wasn't hard to find a better 30 ton machine for the same money as long as we're talking not near-new machines. No idea if that holds true still, I've been avoiding watching the used market. 90's pickup truck prices on Bring a Trailer are depressing enough.
Wasn't too long ago I remember seeing a PC1000 for around 20 something K close by. The tracks looked like new.
Thing is that once you've moved it to your property you don't have to move it again. Whoever buys it from you has that problem .........
A diy homeowner isn't going to use one enough to break it
Just delivered a new mower to a recently widowed woman last week. Her deceased husband recently purchased an older Caterpillar 235 excavator she is going to be selling; it's not been used since arriving at their farm property. Delivery was included in the purchase price, so no idea what it will cost the seller to relocate it once sold. Cancer took the deceased on a very short timeframe so he never got to use it I'm told.
That is one of if not the most epic thread ever on the forum. 2 80 ton front shovels for a 3 acre property. I wonder if he ever put the counterweight on the Komatsu??
It's a close match to the Shed of Doom on a Canadian motorcycle forum. Google it, it's hilarious. Joe H
A 20 ton hoe is a giant excavator until it finds a rock it can't move. Took me about two weeks back when I first got mine . . .
They would be blown away by a 992
Wonder what the world will be like when everyone is a construction equipment operator, HVAC repairman, computer repairman, hardwood floor installer, brain surgeon, dentist, landscaper, politician-oops forgot everyone already is that, chef, well driller, college professor, lawyer, pilot, commercial fisherman, welder/fabricator, house framer, engine rebuilder, transmission rebuilder, farmer, hair stylist, movie actor/director, cop, professional race driver, machinist, electrician, mortician, Hostess Pie Magician Fruit Pie Technician. * Won't be long and he will either wind the bucket up in power lines or everyone in X amount of distance won't be able to order from Amazon because the fiber optic hanging from a tooth.
I got a Cat 308 for 1.6 acre property. Have only had it a few months but have gotten a few projects done. I can no longer drive my truck around my backyard though, still learning on how to grade with it. If I had more land I would have considered larger. Ok I was considering larger anyways but came across this in my price range first. It wont move from my property. I was actually looking for one too large for me to move with my truck. This way no one can ask to borrow it. I am finding out how much extra larger excavators cost though. The price of a thumb, amount of hydraulic fluid, etc. goes up quickly and I got a fairly small excavator.
A stand on excavator could be considered a giant if the alternative was a shovel to dig a 6ft. deep hole in hard clay.
I'm digging that hole right now Dave. In caliche. It ain't fun. Joe H
Cat lists a 308 as a mini. For reference I was just quoted $7,550 for a manual thumb for a 325 NeXt Gen which is a 55K lb machine. That does include installation.. $10,500 for a QC. Yeah the larger the poundage of the machine the higher the parts, service and add ons are.
Large machinery is great and dandy on the cheap just move once and you are done. One thing people don’t consider is when something breaks how are you going to lift that part out, you aren’t fixing it in your 2 car garage, and how expensive the part will be. Where it breaks is where it sits and you better have a way to take tracks off, pull a torque converter etc etc etc… Better hope it only breaks in the spring or winter so you can get it fixed before next winter, not based on how fast you are, but on how long you have to wait for parts.
If it breaks hopefully you got your money out of it and call the salvage company. Buy another on the cheap to lift things lol
About the time something starts self destruction in the hydraulic system and sends metal through the system. Becomes yard art where it died. Wife-{Fred just had to have that to install the yard system, that's where it stopped moving and the yard work stopped also, his buddy who repairs vacuum cleaners is going to help him fix it. He said found this real cool website called HEF or something like that and figures he will find all the info and help to get it fixed, it's one of those guy things Marg}.
Or just wait until an ambitious 16 year old comes across it and wants to resurrect it to start his own business.
I wonder if that would happen to Douglas's big ass shovel
I guess you never got to enjoy working for a cheap outfit that had no shop heat for years, no crane of any sort, and many times no other machine to help with, so all heavy lifting was engineered using, come alongs, steel bars, pry bars, jacks and wood. How expensive a part would be? That is what welding is for. My old boss then would only buy expensive parts if the job was done at a dealer, well even then a used part was king if they could get it, we got to work with junk.
Look at what @tctractors can do using only what can be carried in the back of a 110”-wheelbase Land Rover. It doesn’t need a 50,000-pound service truck with a crane to fix big kit, only a bit of grey matter……. Caterpillar Sproket Removal (also Komatsu) Just thought I would start a new thread on stuff I get up to, this will include sproket removal etc from D9G/H down through to D3, and Komatsus' from D30 to 155 as I dig out the pics. (May contain traces of nuts). HeavyEquipmentForums
I know a guy who bought a 400 series backhoe mostly to p/o the local code enforcement people. Apparently, you can have a machine on your property if it is privately owned but not commercially owned. Code enforcement assumed a hoe that size CAN'T POSSIBLY be privately owned. It was. 8^)
good on 'im..........
I got told I couldn't keep my skid steer parked on the side of the driveway in the winter. RV's are also not be parked in driveways but there's at least 8 of them parked almost all year. Have a good feeling a feeble old woman across the street who creepily drives around slowly didn't like it and made complaints. It's better now but they used to use just a truck with snowplow and always left a foot and a half high snow bank at the end of everybody's driveway that would freeze. Now they come by with a skid steer to clear it.
I worked for Uncle Sam at one point and being overseas it was just as that actually worse working on whatever as we try to complete a mission or get ready for the next one. To add insult to injury it wasn't even our own equipment, ever diagnose a Kamaz in a 3rd world country while getting shot at trying to not get overran with comms down. Gets pretty warm over there in some places and got pretty cold in other places. There is some things you just don't do twice in life. As for in the civilian world, yeah I have done such stuff. Adventures of the Spud Monkey
Know a great deal that became Yard Ornamentation as a pump or coupler or drive failed, unable to fix "Cheap" or to find buyers usually went to scrappers. Pennies on dollars. Wasted efforts on so many parallels.
Well guess I did "inherit" a 977 with a shot torque converter...
I posted a really sweet monster Insley with a thumb in "old iron" forum. Bet somebody could get that going. All you need is a coal shoveler for the detroit screamin' 8.
Some day when I get bored and want to part with some money, I'm going to buy one those tiny lawnmower engine Chinese excavators. I'm going to let my kid dig up the back yard with it. Assuming it digs at all
There was someone on here that bought a couple compact machines from China not too long ago. Little bigger than a lawn mower engine but pretty low price in comparison.
Link or pics? Sounds awesome!
I think I know which thread you're talking about. I guess they're not too terrible, as long as you don't set your expectations too high. I just think they're funny to look at and funny to watch someone operate some no-rop tiny little thing.
I once was when I needed a stick cylinder rod for one 15 years ago.....
Here is a great example of what you can get. This was the biggest piece I have operated and the particular one was very special. You had to go out the door, down the side walk, through the engine compartment doorway and pull a parachute cord to shut it down. https://www.ritchielist.com//1/1-3-...F8ULE0-jLdjZSgZxYtSS7iivQt83fPLRoCVH0QAvD_BwE Only 50K! It loads it's own counterweight, woo hoo! This one went for 25K https://www.ironplanet.com/for-sale/Excavators-1994-Cat-375-Tracked-Excavator-California/6152717 Not a bad garden spade you can see down in that walkway in this video.
Damn right. A proper digger, not something that belongs in the Lawns & Gardens catalogue. You’d shift some dirt with one of them.
12 watchers and 1 bidder tells a tale. So there were 12 star eyed DIY'ers that had big dreams and only 1 dumb enough to bite. Or it went for parts.
75 metric tons for 25K. That's quite a bit over scrap price, so some of the parts went somewhere. If I had a 2000+ yard job close by it would be worth a look. Even all cobbled up it can move some yards. The one time I ran one I was loading trucks off a pile on a Saturday. She was boom slow so I worked the stick circles.
In my experience parts second hand are super cheap for them now. every dismantler has 2. Quarry i work for replaced theres with 385b. Parts are not as affordable but still cheaper than 45 ton Deere or komastu.... I really like them 375s when i hit lottery I'll get one for the back yard.
The average homeowners old excavator, can buy replacement handle too.
I was that 16 year old I was successful at the repairing also
I was referring to the kid who wanted to start a business with a 1266 Koehring that had been sitting for over 17 years.
I must have missed that one howd it end up?
He finally decided it wasn't worth pursuing. Some good pics. of it though.
Good for one foot here, 2 feet if you are lucky with a mattocks.
That's the extended reach version. There's also the D handle variety and don't forget the hoe for those long trenching jobs.
Here is the first post where it got started. He had iron fever!! HeavyEquipmentForums
For anyone who owns a business it’s a risk that probably isn’t worth taking. However for a private individual if they can get something delivered to their property for scrap value or not much more the decision process is somewhat different. And it’s a cool toy…..
Until the old lady wants the "yard art" that hasn't ran in months off the property. Scrap value vs divorce.. Yikes - wasn't planning on spending that much.
If I had 15 or 20 less pieces of yard art my wife may be happier. I just fire them up and move them around once in a while to confuse her. I sold my DW-21 Cat scraper and took a D6C on part trade last fall. She rolled her eyes when I told her I downsized.
I just saw this post, @chidog I wander if a PC1000 would get enough travel time to wear out a set of rails. I know I certainly wouldn't want to have to walk one back and forth to the refinery to refuel...
A smaller outfit here in town had one when they were new, and got all the big drain tile jobs and some deep stuff. They had a big B-E excavator with no stick and a winch on the boom, dedicated to pimp for the big hoe. It last worked doing some deep bailing at this pit maybe 20 years ago. I bet it was hell on parts. One day it was working an 8' tile job down the road from a bridge job I was on. It got it's toes to the gutter and they set the bucket in the suicide lane and ran traffic under the boom for a lunch. That was some funny stuff.
Tonnage is nice but stop at the front door nice to have a machine you can challenge warning ads not to use & do a beer run in we had it 40 yrs ago
I worked on that machine many times over a couple of years and a couple of times in that exact spot. The company was EJ Rody and those machines had too small of tracks installed on them. They would actually snap the track pins and pull the links apart. That machine provided a few house payments just in the overtime I put in on it.
I really enjoy your posts, John C. Hope things are well with you.
Thanks John, Rody had slipped out of the memory banks.
They were nice people to work around and had a lot of Komatsu gear in those days. I think I saw that PC1000 sitting across the street in the Corliss pit last time I drove by there.
Great pic! I looked and couldn't find a pic. of a Warner & Swasey like that. It looks very similar to what the guy that put in our cistern had except his was much cleaner. He pulled his 1 ton behind it so he could leave it at a job site. Only pics. I could find were of conventional truck chassis. I think it's bigger than a 300 despite it being called a 300 (I found that pic, from Night Rider) maybe a 500 or 550. 300's I've seen only have one screen cover on the side and this one has two. I've also seen 300's on single axle trucks which this would be too heavy. I'd guess about a 3/4yd. or maybe 5/8yd. bucket. Wonder if somebody knows for sure what model it is?
Same!
Alive and kicking living in Idaho.
That's dayexco dad's machine's Hoptos & Drotts. Hopto 300 late 50s & 500 60s had no traditional boom cylinders,they mounted on the house floor push from behind below boom pivot . W&S 550 cylinders visable
Now I want too see the episode
Great! That confirms it. The guy who dug our cistern had a Hopto 550. I read they stopped making them in 1974 so think his would have been close to that. Don't think he bought it new but maybe. His brother in law got him in the business and had a much older truck mount excavator but I don't know what make. It was much rougher. You don't see them for sale often. Would be curious to know how many they made. He kept it in really nice shape. Doesn't appear to have stabilizers. Guessing there's enough counterweight and the operator uses his seat of the pants gauge to judge when it leans too much.
I never noticed the lack of cylinders before. Very odd design but W&S were at the forefront of hydraulic excavators. It appears that later model 300's did have conventional boom cylinders. https://www.vannattabros.com/adospics/h3004.jpg
I think that machine was bubba's handy work to swing logs. The 300,360 & 500 from my dad's stories in 70's they were 10yr plus old joke bring on a job the boom design no lifting power for the bucket & slow to newer 550/Koehrings/other standard boom & his JD 500 digmor backhoe was faster similar size bucket capacity digging fuel tank holes
Remember right on the Hoptos first two numbers were weight ie 300 would be 30k lbs as a crawler excavator up to 70's big 1900 was a 95ton hoe 190k lbs
What i was thinking. It's roughly a 200 which is a nice size.
1900 is often listed as 103 tons. I think I read where a 550 crawler was about 44,000lbs. 300's were mounted on single axle trucks so even without the crawlers would be too heavy for a single axle truck. Maybe some brochures could be found.
I have some yard art that I’m not really sure how the hell I ended up with. It’s a rebuilt Michigan 275C coal dozer. Was rebuilt by the power station owners and scrapped a couple of months later.It has all the toys including aircon and fire suppression. Unfortunately,it’s of absolutely zero use and far too big for a wannabe collector. It’s occurred to me that it’s actually sat there for the last 4 years. I just haven’t got the heart to scrap it
Pics??
Hopto 1900 started with a 4yd later upgrade 6yd bucket it would need more counterweight
6 or so hobby machine helping out fuel was always fun no body gives it a thought til low run & get a Jerry can I would walk away to see the cans lined up around the 1900
Not the best of pictures,but I’ll try and get some fresh ones next week. The beast is in full working order with a nice Cummins stuffed into it. I’ve got timbers under the front axel due to a slow puncture
Got a 855 NTA BCIII with a load sensing governor.
Thats a beast. I could use that at our dump.
push it, smash the heck out of it. All good.
Nicky what does that thing weigh?
It's usable with no use for it. That's sad!
The other big problem with it is that it is fitted with a coal blade because it spent its entire life working in a power station (the last operating station in England as a matter of fact) pushing on the coal feed stockpile. So it’s pretty much a one trick pony. Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Back in my uni days I used to drive right past that plant on a regular basis. It was almost new back then.
Nige Vme 280 made clean up around shovels can't put OEM u blade on it?
There's no mining left in the UK now so really no use for a machine of that size. Apart from that it's so old that where would one find a U-blade for it anyway.? Certainly not here because I'm betting it was the only one ever imported into the country. I certainly don't ever recall seeing one until Nicky showed me this one in his yard a couple of years ago. What also made me do a complete double-take was the fact that Ratcliffe had an all-Cat fleet of machines apart from this one. Why didn't they just buy an 834 or 844 and have done with it.?
Figured it was a 1 off to old for MSHA. Michigan & Tiger conversion was at time only wheel dozers out there
The blade for it is lying in the undergrowth.As Nige said,the machine spent its last days rolling coal into stockpiles at a British power station and has no foreseable use anywhere in the world due to it not being a Cat. Back in the day,the UK coal and power generation industry relied on large numbers of Terex,Michigan and Cat equipment for its material handling with Michigan/Clark or whatever being prominent in the big shovels up to 475 status.This is the only wheeled dozer I’ve seen on any UK stockpile with the mainstay being shovels,scrapers and dozers. Terex were a big supplier of TS24/TS40 scrapers aswell as fleets of shovels in the 966/988 sort of size. In more recent times,I’ve worked with quite a lot of Cat 637E/G coal scrapers,but not one is working here anymore and never will. There have been a few 657E coal scrapers over the years and I’ve seen a couple up close,but the biggest fleet was 4 657G’s working at Drax power plant.I’ve no experience of those beasts and they’ve left the UK for good. I’ve got some old pics of the Mich 475 along a fairly new Cat 992C somewhere that I’ll have to dig out.
I think the Mich was at Ratcliff from the days they ran Terex and Mich kit on the job. When Cat took over,the Mich was kept very well maintained and worked up to around 2018 I believe.
There was also the Melroe 770 coal push that died a similar death, total of 10 built. The biggest of skid steers. *
What a monster!!
Two of the same only M880's setting as art next to a park not far away, used as a push truck on heavy haul of reactors from subs decommissioned, and that portion buried on Gov/Hanford range. Basic yard art. *
Found a clean Hopto 1900 upper hadn't even started to turn Delo black yet I can afford be hours of fun perfect for home use.
That video doesn't do justice to how big they are. Standing under the boom looking up where the hyd. cylinders attach is massive! About 7' wide or wider at the widest part. The cylinders are huge too! The two former Henuset pipelines 1900's both have Esco buckets with 4yd. tags on them. The other thing is they look extra long with all the sheet metal body on them. With the sheet metal removed they actually look fairly compact. Henuset took the sheet metal off and applied lots of yellow paint to protect them from the weather. Apparently it was common to blow hoses and it's not easy trying to bend the large hoses into shape to fit them. They must have been somewhat popular to stay in production until 1990! Would be interesting to know how many were built. Henuset had 5 they bought at auction from the Alaska pipeline. Would be especially neat if they mounted the custom high walker 1900 up on the pipe supports to raise it another 10' high but I doubt that will happen. That machine was also converted to joystick controls instead of hand levers and pedals. I'd imagine the joystick controls had a long stroke with a lot of slop. The backhoe on my track loader is like that. You get used to it though. A little tricky trying to do precise movements.
That's too nice to scrap! Maybe it could go to a museum? Could be made to push scrapers if they're still operating. Clark Michigan were generally well regarded machines. 475's and smaller were fairly common. That's why Clark designed the 675. There was a downturn in the economy when the 675 came out though. It had some issues but that's to be expected with a completely new machine that was twice as big as their largest loader and nothing like it in the industry. Maybe too far ahead of it's time?? The IH 580 Payloader had a similar fate. Still have to give kudos to Clark and IH for designing loaders that were so much bigger than anything else. Same with the Champion 100T grader. If it came 10 years later might have had a better fate.
After W&S disappeared in 1980 it became Badger 811 as a home owner I'll stick to Koehring 1066 if fuel goes down I'll get a 1466 better parts available then my brigg's lawn mower or Hopto make 2 tracked turns lawn is done
I was curious if the 811 was a rebadged 1900. Looks like it has some improvements/changes. Most noticeable is the main boom and cylinders moved outside. Doesn't have the adjustable stick pivot either. I'd guess higher pressure hydraulics so cylinders could be smaller and more efficient. Maybe better cooling?? Have read the 1900's would get very hot. Doesn't look like the 811 has any vents in the side doors.
90s Wagner made a carry dozer blade & in wood chips carry 100yrds Sad Cat 824 was dropped in the 80s money first customer 2nd
W&s Badger from the beginning but w&s had the 211 pilot control under the floor after Badger take over they moved the pilot controls wast high & the steel hard lines 16 came up trough the floor to feed the joy sticks boy your leg touch'em you would jump it's only 180* hydraulic oil running trough the machine.70s 211 my Dad's company was a 82 a 10yr old excavator design pushed against Hitich/Komatsu was dominating Im sure a sellman found a VFW said boy do I have a hoe for you or a lot of coke
No one has said buy Cat buy.90's Farm excavator was American brands if was a Caterpillars it was cheap auction cat junk 313/odd Belgium# or EL no dealer parts abandoned by dealership sold'em new
I don’t know and don’t really want to know as I’ll then have a true value of from a scrap point of view. That could go two ways……..
Welder Dave,I agree that scrapping it would be dreadful
The Wagners were used here as wood chip dozers mostly at pulp plants. I worked for the Wagner dealer who was also the Drott dealer in those days. We only worked on the Wagner dozers because of the transmissions. The rest of the machines were bullet proof. There are still dead Wagner stackers and chip dozers parked in yards all up and down the west coast of the US. I appraised an operational Wagner CHD60 in 2013 with good tires at $17,000. That was also about the price to break it down and move it from Port Angeles to Tukwila.
Port of Oakland CA had 3 or more Wagner log loaders working I think the logs came in into the port on rail large piles of timber, loaders would grab set # of logs get sideways & wheel loader would shove into 40' cans going overseas. I p&d Hyster 360s couple times & take my 15 watching
Would be fun zip around with. Past see them sold with a kit qc,hoepak,hoeram & buckets plus a 6 way blade. Aftermarket conversion looks like a 690B early slide boom but a D idk if any Hitich was involved & being ex military for runway repairs have low hrs
Don't know if its still the case now, but years ago you used to see a few cat wheel dozers fitted with big stick rakes used in Western Qld. Im guessing they were much quicker than a tracked dozer, hence the use with rakes.
Caddyshack 2 that gopher ain't getting away this time
Be ok on hard ground. We had a jersey spreader. Fit over the blade of a tractor. Wheels on the front, truck backed in dumped in the box. Think it had steel rollers on the front like an asphalt spreader so you could push the truck. Be like an extra large box spreader except that it would push the truck. They re worked it to fit a large loader. Worked fine on hard ground, but once the loader was on top of the material it was spreading, it would spin
I don't know if this qualifies as giant, and not sure if I am considered homeowner as it went to 225 acres, but mine has been a great investment. It still runs perfectly. EC480
Those used to be pretty popular here however the spreader was in front of a D6D or similar oval track Cat.
Thanks for the history…really interesting.
Same here. Ours was made for a d6 sized tractor. The dot changed their specs at one point, and a tracked machine was no longer allowed on the granular materials so they stopped using them. Used to be great for spreading 3 inch. They tried to make it work on the loader for that reason
I believe they are similar to the Clark 290m which are 55100#
I am a commoner, inexperienced in excavation equipment, but very intent on buying a large excavator for my mountain property. I think I've decided medium and small will not cut it. I'm currently looking at a used 2600 hours Liebherr R936 LC.... I have heard that this brand has a good reputation for reliability. Anybody have any thoughts on it?
parts and service availability rules the day.
I think the 1900's I looked at had 2 levers and 4 pedals. One pedal for extend and one for retract of the same function but the highwalker was converted to 2 joysticks. The old P&H's used 2 levers and 2 pedals that rocked back and forth like skid steer foot pedal controls. Two other levers were for travel. Really good workout for the whole body but loud with screaming Detroits. 6V-53 in P&H H418 and newer version H1250. Two 8V-71's in the H1900's. Basically nil for cab insulation! They should have come with mandatory ear phones.
Are you serious?
a 40T gets things done fast, right or wrong
Personally,buying a Liebher is not for me and never will be. Parts availability,difficulty in finding a fitter to work on them,cost for parts and resale value are the reason I’m out. The resale price will definitely work in your favour though on an old 932
Which part lol
yes i am. your thoughts?
A bit heavier than that. Between 64 and 83k depending on how it was equipped. I would say with a coal blade Nicky's machine probably weighs somewhere towards the higher end of that range. https://www.volvoce.com/-/media/volvoce/global-site/products-and-services/past-products/documents/21-wheel-dozers/02-michigan/mi-280c/mi-280c-212-1850-8803.pdf?v=0iEyPw
Well for starters you being a self described "commoner, inexperienced in excavation equipment" an 80,000 lb excavator is a lot of machine to jump into.
Looks like there is a dealer in your state. They are an odd duck. You will be shocked and disappointed when trying to purchase parts or trying to find someone to service it. A common, domestic brand machine will create less headaches.
Liebherr good chance that excavator was a European only & floated over to USA as a gray market machine in it day may have to find & call a German farmer ask him pull parts off his hoe in the weeds for it.
Go big or go--built for grooming privet drives. *
West Texas years ago Two other contractors had already went belly up on these jobs "i think it was 36" water line" rubber tired dozers pushed the dunes back and kept them off the crews untill the lines could get layed, those dunes could shift overnight.
Michigan 280C dozer looks to be a cross between and 175C loader and 275C loader. 175C power but 275C weight. 280C brochure is dated 1988 so may have been made later. 175C brochure is dated 1985 with Volvo showing made up to 1985.
VME-80s Volvo Michigan Euclid. Volvo colors but 275c Michigan loader some loaders changed 475 update to 480
A machine like that they had a rap song about. " Give it away! Give it away. Give it away now!"
The Mich seems to have stirred abit of interest up,so I’ll get a few close up pics of it today for you all
I think the big Michigan's like the 475 loader were well regarded. I used to have a brochure for the C series. A turbo transmission had a 10,000 hour warranty but apparently ran hot in Oz. Oz dozer on here ran some.
Michigan 275/vme280 was a popular rock quarry /concrete recycle machine in Ca. The loaders quad loader arm are massive & z bar vs A model Cat held up to hard use. Driving past dead row or reading never heard loader cracking or seen fish plating solid ol'girls now a great hobby homeowner machine little bigger than most Kubota but a time saver.
#33 built 475 tractor shovel Texas no one could go to Sears & get the guy a patio umbrella ie acme fops.
The loader arms look different on that loader. I think it's the camera angle. The four plate loader arms seems like a good idea to me. They mention where some of the 475's went on the 675 promotional video.
All they need are a few people to get taken in. I'd guess from other states where they can't/ don't think it's necessary to inspect machines. Good that you posting that.
Google maps check location & #1 is Money well spent having inspection done frist before money change hands.
Good private mechanic knows his machines will save you from waking up with a bud light model of a dozer
No these scammers are located overseas away from any US or Canadian law enforcement. We've dealt with our fair share of a scam site just like this that wrecked the Forum. Do not link any of these websites to HEF.
Same as a shade tree dealer painting a gray machine North American colors ie Kubota blue-orange, Komatsu purple gray- yellow blue or decals for NA market.
They could be overseas but anybody close to the address listed could see it's a scam.
Guarantee they are overseas either in southeast Asia or eastern Europe/Russia. They get people to wire money and once you wire money its gone - gone, gone.
475 you could rebuild the clutch packs for the trany. in the tractor which happened mostly from operators shifting directions while moving but that was one of Clarks clame to fame that their trans. would take whatever a operators neck would stand and no it wasnt from lack of brakes they actualy had a decent brake system for that matter they were just a good machine.
Nothing wrong with being inexperienced, especially if you're asking advice. Some questions. 1. Why a large excavator? Why not medium or even small? Many people would consider some medium excavators quite large. 2. Where have you heard Liebherr has a good reputation for reliability? 3. Does this machine in fact have only 2600 hrs? If so, why is the seller dumping it? 4. Are there a lot of Liebherr machines around you? 5. Is there a reputable dealer within driving distance? 6. Have you priced any parts or looked into any service procedures for this machine?
2600 hours could be 12,600 hours if the hour went around once. Liebherr excavators aren't common in the US so don't think there are many dealers or technicians familiar with them. Cranes on the other hand are more popular.
There is a dealer here but it's mostly wheeled log loaders. One of the mills here has one with the cab you can raise, long boom and clam for unloading wood
Some pics taken yesterday View attachment IMG_2942.jpeg
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Not sure how many pics you can all see,but there should be 14 posted. I can only see 3,but possibly need to refresh
Non MVT BCIII @ 475 HP, Cummins did build some industrial 475's with single turbo. Wonder what the CPL is. Because it's also non STC. Those engines are rare birds.
What size are the tires?
So was it originally painted red?
Big.
not sure John,they are all matching though and quite nice
Quite a common colour for power station equipment at the time. Was yellow at the time of purchase
Don’t know anything about the motor other than the oil is clean and no evidence of any gasses or water in there. I also checked the coolant whilst up there. Probably needs running up,but I’ve not got the time to be messing with it
Thanks for taking the time to post up the pictures. Its hard, dealing with actual work, and also having old iron around. I've got 3 cranes I should get rid of, but they all need a little work, and its hard to find time, when we are busy working with our newer equipment. So they just sit.
My problem is,with a big machine like that,I’ll need to get the jump packs out,move a load of junk to get the fork truck alongside,then possibly correct the transmission fluid,then blow the tyre up that’s on blocks……..would end up being half a days work to circulate the fluids and warm things up,not to mention £50 worth of fuel. It will end up in scrap or a in a wealthy collectors yard
My problem is,with a big machine like that,I’ll need to get the jump packs out,move a load of junk to get the fork truck alongside,then possibly correct the transmission fluid,then blow the tyre up that’s on blocks……..would end up being half a days work to circulate the fluids and warm things up,not to mention £50 worth of fuel. It will end up in scrap or a in a wealthy collectors yard
If you do get a spare moment, it really would be interesting to see the CPL number on this engine data tag. *
That’s what first caught my eye when I looked at the photo. Was just wondering if it was 29.5, 33.25 or bigger.
It's roundabout the same size as a 988F so I'd have a punt on 65/35R33.
Although this brochure is for a 280C 1986, the engine specs do not match the one listed in this thread. The rest I suppose so. I used 1986 because that is roughly the engine time period for the one that's in it now or originally. * https://www.volvoce.com/-/media/volvoce/global-site/products-and-services/past-products/documents/21-wheel-dozers/02-michigan/mi-280c/mi-280c-212-1850-8803.pdf?v=0iEyPw
Very interesting that it was made in Canada. That might make it even more rare. I never knew Clark made big machines like that in Canada. Forklifts I could see but not giant wheel dozers. The Terex Titan was also built in Canada so anything's possible. Even if it was donated to a museum or a collector would be better than scrapping it. Other than some weathering it looks in great shape. Not sure how the exhaust stack could get dented like that??
Noted sir. I’ll try and get that
I’ll take a look John. Something is ringing a bell with 33’s. Same as the Terex TS24’s years back
Interesting spec sheet you’ve posted Truck shop
Welder Dave,the stack was like that at time of purchase. We removed the handrails for transport and reinstalled them at the yard at the request of the haulier. It’s possible the stack could have got damaged years earlier if the handrails have ever been removed before
Tires are 29.5 X 29 in the spec sheet.
Here you go for any homeowner interested. A pair of 275's Facebook www.facebook.com
About 10 years ago the JD construction dealer had a 275B or C in excellent condition for $30,000. All the components were clicked off as excellent on the inspection sheet. CN Rail still has a 275B they use for lifting as far as I know. I've seen it a few driving past one of the maintenance yards. When I looked at the specs. the 175C has a 118 GPM pump and about a 12 second cycle time where the 275C has 117 GPM and about an 18 second cycle time. Seems a little odd but maybe it's common for larger loaders to have a little slower cycle times? I knew a guy who bought a 175B new around 1976 I think and he said you couldn't hurt it. He chained a ripper tooth to the bucket and said it ripped frozen ground better than a D7. He'd take a run at it and drive until it started to spin. It had extra counterweight too. He also had a 75B and said it wasn't as tough but his brother said that's only because he tried to use it like the 175. He did take good care of them though. He said the 175 had the original bucket pins and they were still tight. He swore by Cummins 855's. That was what all his trucks had as well as the 175B. Mostly hauled end dumps but had flat decks and a lowboy too. His brother dug pipeline and had bought 6 P&H hoes between about 1968/69 and 1977 then went to Hitachi's and finally JD 892's because you couldn't buy Hitachi 300's in Canada due to the agreement with JD.
It's not the size of the tool how use it bs well drop the soap
Neighbor was in a bind. Walked the pc300 next door had traffic control .
Last of Dads equipment on property was waiting on lowboy til nextdoor had work mini ex/skill overwhelmed
I’ve taken those pictures requested of the Mich serial plate and tyre size View attachment IMG_2983.jpeg
Few more
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That painted riveted plate in front of compressor is engine data
Correct--that's the important one, the CPL number will be stamped near middle just above the middle rivet and be four digits. *
What model is that excavator?
Thanks Nicky for getting the tire size. 29.5 -29 is the tire usually used on 980 wheel loaders. The Cat performance book shows the 824C wheel dozer in production from 78-95 which is the dozer equivalent to the 980B ran about 315 horsepower. The 980B ran at a lower horsepower setting of 260 HP.
Those tyres are all matching and probably worth £1k each. Add in the weight of it,and it’s probably worth scrapping it. However,it’s not earring any grass and I kind of like the beast for now.
Cat 988's were 29.5-29 and 980B's were either 26.5-25 or 29.5-25. I owned a few.
I pulled the sizes off the Cat performance manual. All the 988 size machines I've looked at over thirty years were 35/65-33 and that is also what the performance manual shows. That includes Cat, Komatsu, Volvo and Deere. The tire size is the give away as to the capacity of the machine.
I recall 988B machines in the mid-80s coming with 65/35R33 tyres. Maybe the A models had 29.5 x 29 tyres but then again they were physically a lot smaller than the B.
These were 988 A's They really didn't call them A's back then.
87A prefix. A right lemon from my recollection. Nobody called them A’s AFAIK until after the B model came out.
I’ve heard other names for them too.
They were a line borers nightmare
92 Komatsu 300-5. Ol man had would look like mating pairs but they were all honey's 2 excavators Hopto 211 & Komatsu,2 hoes 500A & 310se,2 dumps,2 asphalt rollers,JD 440 & 50's 1.5 Michigan loader & a lonely Case 1816 some hold on from his O/O days,same were orphans,same were cheap.
If I recall,all those early orange and blue Komatsu diggers were very reliable machines that made money for their owners
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Apologies for the multiple posts. Never straight forward posting pics on this forum
That’s as good as I can get pics of the serial plates without damaging them. View attachment IMG_2995.jpeg
Yeah. They were great machines for their day. This one had the 400 undercarriage and a Pierce Pacific front and cab riser.
Komatsu excavators was king for pipe work in late 80's & 90s in my area. Ol company had 2 Komatsu 300 dash 3&5 both with Komatsu diesels solid reliability & fuel economy later 5s had Cummings. Power at the bucket was always impressive I could 4 point off the bucket & lift & move the JD500a with it without needing the boom power button. Dash 3 was mechanical my dads preference but after 18yrs it was loyal but first to go Ca air board CARB tier 3 requirements
20 yrs ago Cail,CARB started registration # to all diesels,good machines had execution dates if found after on a job all parties would be fined & have it dead in a co yard would be fined & have to fight prove non use. Condor safe buckshot was important don't want give a reason for another ticket show up looking for a missing inforcer on the milk carton.
2014
Did personal machines or farm machines also need to be parked?
Basically all diesel equipment over 25hp & truck over 14k gvw. Lucky the Hopto was a emotional support animal being it's a Badger need to remember the red vest on the dipper cylinder take it though the stores,it was never registered with state no work no need to help em kill ol GM diesel.
That does help a lot of people with hobby or occasional use machines.
We had a 351 Pete 2006 CARB allowance was 5k miles a yr next revision dropped 500mi yr put end to looking at restoring her. 10yrs later read it was up to 1k a yr.
Was that one in AK? The McDonald decal means that it is very likely that I've left some skin on it somewhere.
Given the price of hydraulics and repairs for even mundane things like hoses. I could not think of anything worse then an old excavator.
Old Honey needs fuel,heat & air basic diesel hydraulic's o'rings, springs & seals rebuild a valve Cylinder seals but mostly old fluids have a taste can't find on the shelf
Yeah. It was a KPC machine. That picture was taken near Thorne Bay. You helped me diagnose a soft swing issue with it. Do you remember the custom soft swing circuit you guys designed for these in Kent?
The dash 5 machines didn’t have a good spot to easily mount a 2-way or a stereo deck. I guess the Japanese didn’t think we needed to be listening to radio or talking with the trucks. Funny the things we keep in our tool boxes. I made a bunch of brackets for mounting Uniden 510 CB radios on the front of the RH console. I kept one as a pattern for the next time I need to mount a CB in a dash 5. It’s been 36 years since I had to mount a radio in a dash 5. You never know,………
Works in dirt & parking lots
We never claimed any credit for that soft swing hack. That was done by a guy down in Eugene at the behest of some Weyerhaeuser operators in the Pe Ell camp. Some of the operators came off of rope machines and wanted the hydraulic units to act line Link-Belt 98s. The first time I ran into them I nearly killed my service truck. Nice job on the CB mount! It would probably work well in what is built today because there is still no room in a standard cab machine. The hand held walkie talkies only had a range of about 600 to a 1000 feet with the antenna sticking out the window. Not much good for talking to a truck coming to the landing. I've rode in trucks with people trying to use them to dodge the loaded loggers coming down the haul road. Most times you were better off listening for jack brakes.
Home owner beware odd German machine missing parts at the auction. Terex 125
There is a Bobcat version of that machine out there too. X2 on buyer beware..
Schaeff/Terex didn't know Bobcat now it's Yanmar how co's keep getting past around. 20yrs ago in Ca big highway company RGW Construction become a dealer for the "new" Terex name, overnight maybe 1/3 there fleet was white pans,dumps, loaders, backhoe's etc I would see'em getting dumped at auction with low hrs 5k or so find out they were all unreliable junk dealer was having trouble getting parts at that time.