Im looking for a mini excavator to add to my list of equipment. I have never owned one although I have ran some. I want to use it for probably 50% demolition 50% digging. The excavation work will be mostly drainage solutions (dry wells, french drains, ditches, etc). I am leaning towards zero tail swing machines. What do you think about the bobcat E45? How about Takeuchi? I dont know anyone that runs their equipment although Ive heard nothing but good things. I am disapointed in the lack of power kubota seems to have. Here is a link to a video of me trying out a kubota http://youtu.be/So8rB1hl0Y4
We have a fleet of mini excavators on rent in Europe , we had Takeuchi , Yanmar , Kubota , Neuson , they are all OK , my opinion is the Kubota is the more reliable
the E45 has 50% more horse power than the Kubota you were on and even on my cat 420 d ill have problems with roots. when I get on my mini I take smaller cuts and it goes pretty efficient .
Thanks for the info. What kind of slew force does your 420 have?
15000 lbs breakout force.
They all have pros and cons, I look for dealer support, and parts avail first, I have a 303.5 Cat would have gone 304 but need to be able to occasionally take it in a set of double doors, it does just about everything I need it too, has the long stick and hydro thumb. The Zero swing is great not worrying about hitting things, but the trade off is the weight you can carry at full reach, so if your setting heavy pipe or tanks a standard over hang might suit you better, if around people,, houses, etc then a ZTS would be the ticket, and you can fab a little extra weight if need be, but that will be more wear and tear on the swing gear if on there a lot. I've had/have Case, Cat, and Bobcat and all have served me well, one swings stronger but the other lifts more, etc, etc, what I love about my Cat, the dealer treats me like gold, and my only Cat is the 303.5 which I bought in another state, with the Case dealer a half mile south and the Bcat dealer a half mile north I would probably buy another cat just based of their service and how they treat me and I love my Case stuff, the others treat me fair, but not the same, so I would weigh that relationship pretty strong considering how close all these machines are.
http://www.mustangmfg.com/DigIt/450ZNXT2FEATURES.aspx
Hi straightexhaust, I am in Australia and have a new E35 Bobcat, had a ZX 35 Hitachi and a TB138FR Takeuchi before the Bobcat, the bobcat just eats them for digging power and speed. Had major problems with both other brands, slew bearing on the Hitachi at 860hrs, air con and hydraulic hose problem on the Takeuchi. Kubota are a great machine though, my mate just bought a new KX-040 last week, he had in excess of 7000hrs on his KX-121, and still had the original tracks on it. All that being said, dealer support is good to have as well, if you can go and drive an E35 or E45 Bobcat you will be more than surprised !
I think you have the correct outlook…The service behind the machine is most important….anyone can sell equipment, but what happens afterwards is far more important….I unfortunately purchased a bobcat, thinking the dealership fas fine. Turned out I was wrong, and regret the mistake…Tony
I purchased a takeuchi tb53fr, do a lot of installing perimeter drains around existing house foundations, and the machine is perfect for it. The ability to spin around in 7 feet with a loaded bucket has come in very handy several times. Do to the boom design, it will lift more than other machines in its class. Its been very reliable thru the 1k hours ive put on it. Dug some house basements with it even. I'm not completely biased though, yanmar, komatsu, cat, deere, all make a good outfit. dunno about Kubota, and you couldn't give me a bobcat.
I like Takeuchi a lot and would never knock them, but what makes you think cat, yanmar or komatsu, make a better machine then bobcat or kubota?!? The E series bobcats are amazing machines. Kubota also makes an awesome excavator. Wasn't a huge fan of the D series deeres but love the new G series. Yanmar is a POS, Komatsu minis are absolutely horrible, I like their big excavators but their mini's are terrible. And cats are ok but not better then Kubota or bobcat...