hi excuse me if I ask the question. in your opinion which would be the best middle class excavator or from 15 to 23 tons of weight. the most robust the most reliable the most versatile the most maneuverable and manageable for a thousand uses and applications. who can use it for many jobs both in the construction field, quarrying and mining earthmoving, demolition, in the agricultural and forestry fields (to which to mount the most suitable equipment to perform its function and work in the best possible way). what better model brand. what better arm conformation. what would be your ideal excavator to use for all kinds of applications, how it should be done to have the right standards. thanks, I wait for clarifications, opinions, experiences and criticisms.
Well my $.20 is a Cat 321DL. Zero swing, decent cab for a compact radius and no DEF or after treatment. Powerful and decent on fuel. Our 2011 321DL has just over 7K hours without any major issues. Also have a 325FL which has a bigger cab, probably a little faster and stronger but is Tier 4 with DEF and after treatment. The Tier 4 is what nudges the 325FL out of the winning spot. I'll replace the 325FL but we'll have the 321DL as a spare machine until I retire.
That's about as big as I like to go with no butt. The bigger zero machines make performance happen with ginormous tracks that feel like bunny or clown shoes, and even then that lack of counterweight makes this old skool hand sad. I am used to some weight in the caboose
I don't want to own a conventional swing excavator in this size class. Actually I'd like to go up to a 40 ton compact radius 335. For the jobs we do the swing radius is a roadblock. The track is underneath the office trailer. The green stake is where the yard inlet was going. The 3 phase transformer was live.
It's funny because all the OP's example pictures have butts
I miss my Deere 225 for the no tail swing, amazing how tight of areas you can work in. But I don't miss the insane extra weight to haul, and constantly being worried about the pig breaking sidewalks, and can only imagine how much swearing would be done trying to work on anything back there. Only machine i've ever had where I damaged a city sidewalk crossing it, and it had plywood protection. 25% more weight in the same footprint is a lot.
thank you for your precious intervention and your eyewitness testimonies.