Anything wrong with the new (06-08) Link Belts? My brother wants to try one out to replace an older 320CLU and there aren't any that I know of around here.
If Im not mistaken, they are the same as a new Case CX series. So yes, it is a good machine.
we have a case/link belt/sumitomo....it's a case, 210...it's a freakin hot rod, we absolutely love the machine
Oh ya LB is second only to JD IMO. The only issue I have seen with them is the top rollers tend to bend/ break off I don't know how wide spread that problem is but I have seen it a few times.
I knew a guy that had 1 Sumitomo, 1 Linkbelt, and a Case excavator. He said they never really gave him many problems, but they were all older, nothing new like you're looking at. You're not going to make your bro toot the Cat horn anymore Ron?
No, he runs away from Cat and I walked right in and "bent over" for them!!! But seriously though, LB is $23,000 cheaper than Cat for the same machine, Cat will give him $12,000 more for trade in but the Cats are thirsty on fuel, so LB will save $1200 in fuel and over $1000 per month on payments, Cat's finance is higher, LB's is lower with less payments and better warranty-that was a red flag to me, they seem to have a longer warranty, up to 7 years whereas Cat only has a max. of 5 years.
im not a link belt fan. but i have ran link belt / case (same thing). i dont think that they have the power that a cat or komatsu have. and i thought they are light in the rear.:bash
I agree jperfect LB are light in the rear. Its hard to dig a level hole when you have to put dirt under the front end in order to keep from getting motion sickness
Hahaha, you do suffer from "OCD". If we had to buy another fullsize excavator, it would more than likely be Deere/Hitachi or Komatsu. I've run a buddy's ZX120 a bit, I really like it, but I've never run a Komatsu and would like to give one a try. Has your bro looked into Komatsu? I hear their presence in BC is pretty good.
our 210 case isn't that way a bit, it plays with our 7000 lbs trench box. not tippy at all.
I asked him about that his response was....."forget that, their joysticks are way too long"........I think he is one of those "Kumagusta" crowd people. Personally, I like Komatsu, my old man has 2 PC-60's from '91 and '92 both approaching the 10,000 hour mark and even a local Hitachi nut from town just switched over, I even fell in love with their PC27UU after my dad bought the Hitachi 27, Komatsu knows how to make a big cab for a little machine.
I've worked on most all excavators but don't really want to inject an opinion about specific makes and their operating characteristics. I do have a comment on the warranty time period and fuel usage reports. Machine warranties are made on an operating hour and age basis. Typically an extended warranty might be two year or five thousand hours. If someone is giving you seven years of warranty I would look very carefully for the limiting statements in the contract. It might be seven years or three thousand hours, which ever comes first. Typical construction sees about a thousand hours of use per year on small excavators. Your seven year warranty could be gone in three years. Many times there are also limiting conditions that apply. Maybe you have to buy the manufacturers lubricants and filters or sign on for their maintenance program. Make sure all the salesman's claims are in the purchase contract and compare apples to apples between manufacturers. I assume you haven't run the Link-Belt or you wouldn't be asking for the advice. So where are the numbers for fuel economy coming from? Link-Belt is a catalog engineered machine just like almost everyone else. They only make the frame, implements and piping. The engine, pumps and components are all made by someone else and there are really only minor differences between any one's machine now days. The only real way to get better fuel economy now is to cut back on performance. So check the claims carefully. Check the statement to see if the machine has to be in a general or light mode to get that claimed advantage. I always like to set up a purchase with incentives and penalties for venders I haven't used before. They have to give me the same or better than I already have. They should be willing to risk loosing something if their claims come up short.
I remember playing around in a pc200, the newer one (don't know Komatsu very well) and it was pretty damn nice. The inside was pretty neat. Blake WA
All the info was gotten off the LBX website for the fuel economy.
X2 I've ran up to 80 ton LBs and none of them where any more tippy that the others.
ive ran and older well worn out 5800Q (450), with 15,000 hours and it seemed like it would have been a great machine in its day. it used 10 gallons of oil a day and was missing a few bottom rollers. still had plenty of power it was still able to tear apart the heavy duty rock bucket it had on it, very stable. i really liked the room in the cab.
for your consideration Just from comparing specs on a 320D to a 210X2... They are very closely matched on stick/bucket forces, but when you compare bucket sizes the linkbelt only rates a 1.31 CY bucket up to 2700lbs/yd, but the cat rates a 1.53 CY bucket up to 3000 lbs/yd, both with 9'8" sticks. I don't know if the linkbelt is any faster to make up for it, or if it would even matter, (or if the machines are under or over rated in these specs), but it would lead me to believe that the cat could move a little more material per hour, even if it burns more fuel. I have also herd that the cat D series is a lot better on fuel, have not had a chance to find out for my self though. It would not make up for the higher price of the cat, but performance (fuel) wise, they may not be that far apart. It would be best to get the two machines side by side (equiped the same) and find out. On a side note, how much fuel/hr is he getting with his 320 now?
The 320CLU that will be traded off is an absolute slug on fuel, 1 tank goes empty in 12 hours, but it will go 2 days @ 8 hours each running at throttle 8, but the last bit is barely making it if I don't idle in between truck waiting times when doing ditch cleaning.
I myself have never really spent a lot of time in any older LB's, we rented a number throughout the years cause it was cheaper than CAT rent and only have the most time on the new long fronts(240X2). For a machine I would be running day in and day out though I would myself still go for the CAT(and I'm not footing the bill anymoe). But I have had good luck with the Lb's i've ran. Trbo
The 320C and the early 320Ds used the mechanical 3066 engine. The new 320Ds use the C6.4 with Cat's ACERT technology for tier 3 emissions. The fuel economy is supposed to have improved significantly. Anybody have experience with these new ones?
You don't happen to be a UIUC TAM grad, do you?
heres my qeution for you bobcat. how much are you realy saving after you trade the cat in and have 5 more years of payments? :beatsme from my math you are going backwards.
Your the only person to have ever figured it out! I graduated the year before they merged it with the ME dept.
My brother looks at this way; "it's better to make equipment payments than repair payments on old junk" He never keeps anything after a machine's warranty (5 years) runs out even if it approaches the dreaded 6000 hour mark it'll be ready for trade off. He can easily handle $20,000 worth of equipment payments a month, for a "small" excavation business like his, he does really well, he broke the $1,000,000 gross mark last year and there still was more need for a 5th excavator and second bull dozer.
Could'nt agree more theres nothing worse than putting money into junky equipment. Right at 8k hours we trade all are machines in for new.
Hmmm... did you recruit at EXPO this past fall? I think we met briefly -- I'm Xing. (One of the truck-body engineers from UIUC -- she was an ME grad and helps at EOH a lot -- introduced us, I think)
I usually trade something in when the oil samples start showing higher amounts of metal. I have a Cat 980C with 15,000 hours, use it just for snow now. I think trading something in at 6,000 hours depends on what type of work you do with it, and if the machine is used daily. If I was doing demo day in and day out I would try and trade the machines in at 6,000 hours just because of the beating the pumps, undercarriage and motor take. Not to mention the stick and boom. My Cat 320BL blew the motor at 8,000 hours and it was mainly due to my own fault. It's $13,000 for the motor and $2,000 to put it in. I'll do that run it another year and trade it in for a John Deere 240.
Sorry, I'm not that person?? :beatsme I'm in the CMEC group, I rarely get out except for business. :bash I haven't been back to visit campus since I graduated.
600lx Ive worked on and ran alot of linkbelts 600lx,6000Q,6000RT,5800,CII,4800's...However Im in a different industry...we are in the scrap metal business and they have riser cabs on them. That being said,the 600lx seems a little light in the rear. The others besides the 6000rt I liked. I hate the 6000rt,working on them is the worst thing I have ever done.
I have ran linkbelt 210 lx and they are by far the fastest and smoothest machine out there plus they have isuzu engine they are the only machine I would ever ever buy
I agree 110%!
I'd start and finish by looking at Hitachi and Deere machines. They are quite common, both new and used. Around here at least, the dealer and support network is excellent for both of these brands. And you don't need to wonder whether or not you are getting a good machine.