Hey guys, I am in the market for a used mini (midi) excavator. I will be using it to supplement the work I do with my L190 skid steer which is among other things, land clearing and small demo work. The land clearing consists of clearing small acreages from 5-30 acres of small mesquites, cedars and other undesirable vegetation. I think a midi excavator with a grubber on it will be much faster than using my skid with a grubber. I would then mount the rake I built on the skid for final clean-up. The demo work I have done and that I am looking for is smaller residential stuff usually 1000sqft or less and single story wood frame. I live in an area where there are several small towns nearby that have a lot of these kind of homes that have been abandoned for years. I am looking for a 4-5 ton machine as that is as big as I can haul and stay out from under the CDL requirements. I have a 14k trailer that I can haul 10k or so on comfortably. I am looking for a 40-50hp machine with a remote circuit to operate a thumb and a breaker. I also want a cab with an air conditioner and heat. I am not stuck on any particular brand of machine although I have a good relationship with my local NH dealer and all my other machines are NH. Most of my experience running mini ex'es has been on bobcats as that is what is mostly available for rent around here. I am looking for any advice you are willing to give as to what to look for and what to look out for when buying this class of machine. Also, at what point hour wise should I start looking elsewhere? What kind of money should I be spending to get a good reliable machine that will make me money for several years without having to put a lot of repair $ into it (realizing that buying any kind of used equipment is always a crapshoot)? Thanks Tim
The CASE CX50 or 55 and corresponding NH models are built by Kobelco and are very good mini excavators. If you can pick up a CASE, Kobelco, or New Holland and your same dealer can work on any of them since they are all the same machine. I agree that a 5 ton machine is a great size to do a multitude of jobs. If the machine you find does not have a thumb and coupler on it, I would plan on buying one. I think every mini available has the aux. plumbing necessary. I find the bucket sizes of 12", 24' and 30" and a 48" clean out bucket cover about everything I need. I have been buying Takeuchi mini excavators specifically the TB 153. The boom design is a different than a conventional swing boom. Good luck.
I'm not sure about Texas but in Ontario you need a cdl when towing more than 10,000lbs, trailer and machine together.
That was going to be my suggestion since you already have a NH skid and familiar with it. I have an '01 Bobcat 334 I bought new. It has 2K hours on it and has been a damn good little mini without any problems (knocks on wood ). I don't know anything about the newer Bobcat ex's but when I replace this one, which won't be soon as it doesn't get used much, I'll probably go with Cat but that's mainly due to the relationship I have with the dealer. Most all of the mini's from the major players are good machines, the difference is parts availability and pricing. For example my local Bobcat dealer's parts are outrageously expensive. I can order parts from Atlanta including the shipping and be cheaper than buying local.:cool2
I have a kobelco sk35sr-2. Has been a good machine. I found that it doesnt matter of the make, as long as you can get parts and service. Im kinda partial to kobelco as they make a good machine and have been around a while. And im pretty sure that most if not all CNH dealers can get the industrial parts now. But customer service is big for anything now a days.
Thanks guys, I didn't even think about the CNH connection. Also, my NH dealer sells kobelco excavators. Looks like the Case CX50 might fit the bill. Tim
I tried to grub some mesquites with a mini once and was very disappointed. I believe it was a 4 ton machine it has been awhile... but even the smallest tree would give me problems, the machine would just not handle them without a bunch of digging. Cedars and brush on the other hand...I believe the skid that you already have is more efficient, I have taken out tons of that with skid and it goes pretty fast since the roots are not as deep. Alot in our area depends on soil moisture content, try grubbing in August and you cant take out a tree with a 330.
Hey Dustin, colman tx? sounds like we may be pretty close. We should probably get together and compare notes.I was talking to my dealer today about using a midi for mesquite grubbing. He says that for the small ones that I am dealing with should come out ok. He was going to look in his (pretty extensive) rental inventory and see if there was something I could try out. I have bought several tractors from him over the years so I bet he can find me something. You are absolutely correct about the moisture being a factor in how easy those little mesquites can be to get out. Did you own an excavator or were you renting. Tim
Yes Coleman TX. It was a rental and I dont have that much time on excavators. I have seen a few people grubbing with full size machines and it looked like it worked well. The trees i were getting were 2" diameter. They were spaced far enough apart that you couldnt sit in one spot and get multiple trees like in the bigger machines with longer reach.
If you're constrained by your truck/trailer setup, I'd say Kubota Kx121 is your best bet. Pretty much as big as you can get "legal" Beyond that, either a bigger truck/trailer setup or have her hauled. I won't be able to do your skid and Excavator at the same time, so why not move up in class and have it hauled. I called a local flat bed/towing company and they haul my JD50C around and will do upto a 60 size for a very reasonable cost. in town $80 per trip, and next town over about a $100 Good deal if you ask me....
Thanks Canuck, The KX121 seems like it would certainly fill the bill. Most of the work that I will be doing will be within a hundred miles of home. There are times that I will need both the skid and the ex on the job at the same time. Having them hauled is not a bad idea. I will look into haul rates around here. I have had rental machines hauled in the past and the rates seem to be outlandish. $3.50/mile loaded and unloaded (and that was a few years ago). Same when they picked up the machines. I realize that you can't run a truck and flatbed for nothing but geeze!! Also by being able to haul my own equipment I can maintain my own timelines better. Tim
TMC_31, I have a 2005 New Holland EH80-CS (Kobelco), which I love. I bought it used from my NH dealer in 2008 with only about 600 hrs on it. It has steel tracks, which I wanted, & a Geith stick mounted hydraulic thumb. I have added a manual Klac coupler (from Werk-Brau), a 24" trench bucket & a 48" ditch bucket (both from Werk-Brau), & made some useful modifications to the thumb. I realize that an 80 size machine is bigger than you want, but I would recommend the New Holland/Kobelco brand. I think they are under rated compared to others. I believe that a short time ago, CNH and/or Kobelco ended their tight relationship. Although I think/hope CNH will probably continue to have parts & service availability for quite some time. Also, while the smaller Case ex's are made for CNH by Kobelco, the larger ones are from Sumitomo (same as Link-Belt). I don't know exactly where the cutoff is, but it could be right around the 50 class. Good luck...
The 80 and over machines are Sumitomo. I am not sure what CNH plans are for a mini. I would like to see them renew a deal with Kobelco, however there is so much bad blood between CNH and Kobelco (at least I perceive that) that I doubt that will happen. It would certainly be in CNH's best interest to leave things as they are. The Kobelco mini ex is an excellent product.
I have very good luck with my Bobcat 335. The only downside is it sucks down fuel. I used to have a Takeuchi Tb135. That was a very good machine, good on fuel and decent power. And before that a had an x331 bobcat. And i have used Jcbs which are actually very good. Ive heard Case/Kobelco/New Holland and Deere and Cat are also very good brands. But GET A HYDRAULIC THUMB!!
http://merkel.claz.org/classifieds?q=mini+excavator&m=250 may have something suitable near your area
Hey guys, I have started a spec comparison spreadsheet for the various excavators that fall within the general weight and power range that I am looking for. I realize that the raw specs are only part of the equation (local support is just as important), but they are a starting point. Case in point, so far, the Tak TB250 seems to be a frontrunner spec wise. However, I don't recall a Tak dealer anywhere in my area. The weight is about right at 10650lb, it is at the lower end of the power scale at 39.7 hp but the bucket breakout force is clearly leading so far at 11031lb. It is clear that I have a lot of research ahead of me and I really appreciate you guys input. Postofficer, that is quite a list of equipment I have seen ads from the place in Gonzales before. Jgibson, the hyd thumb is a must. My dealer told me that most of the excavators in this class have hyd remotes as standard equipment so adding a thumb shouldn't be a big deal.Stumpwally, the EH80 is a very nice machine, but is totally out of my weight range. The EH50B on the other hand is certainly a contender. I have also looked at the Kobelco machines which are very nice. Wow, just looked at the NH construction sight and the EH50B specs. It edges out the Tak. There doesn't seem to be a lot of them for sale and what is available their pretty proud of. Again, thanks for all your input, Tim
Local support is huge when it comes to a used machine. Nothing worse than having a part shipped that your not sure is the right one because the manufacturer plays the roulette wheel when it comes to slapping on parts in the factory. Then after the dog team has delivered wrong said part, you have to ship it back. This after I send serial number, dimensions and picture to dealer. All the big players have pretty good machines...pluses and minuses for each. My concern would be making sure I don't get a lemon year/model. One that has a long manufacturing run over several years without major changes sounds like a winner to me. Usually means the bugs have been worked out and there will parts for years to come. Excavators are maintenance heavy enough without the electronics...simpler the better. Have read many stories about the 'new' load sensing electronics causing havoc. Best of luck, melli
Thanks melli, your point is well taken. Fortunately, most of the major brands are represented by dealers in the area. If I could find the right machine. I would prefer to by it through my local New Holland dealer as we have had a very good and long relationship. Tim
The tb250 is a sweet machine for the money. You might even get a used one. Mine has been great and is a money maker. It has plenty of power and get good work for the fuel used. I have yet to get it stuck. It has been able to pull itself out. I did come close mucking a lake. But it came out.
Thanks Georgia Iron, I have the TB 250 on my spec sheet. It is near the top of the list spec wise. The down side of the TB 250 for me is that I don't have a Tak dealer anywhere close. Thank you for sharing your experience with them. Tim