so im off for two weeks and have about 3 jobs im starting on soon and basically both can be done with a skid and a excavator so im rent because don't really have the funds to purchase both but im looking at buying one and renting the other till I pay something off what would be the best to get first the skid or a mini/mid sized excavator
Depends on your projects. I use my skid all the time (do have several attachments). Been thinking hard about a mid -ex, but don't use by backhoe enough now, so not sure about investing in the ex....
right now I just started and all I got going on is clearing and driveways and small pads and just little stuff
it depends on your work and what you want to do as a regular work in my opinion a mini ex is handier than a skid steer for us cause the only thing a skid steer does for me that a mini cant is **** handle material across the job. otherwise a mini can move material well enough that its only at a disadvantage once you get spread out. but if your looking to do different attachments with the skid steer for shreding or brushing things that changes completely again its really just a matter of what machine you will use more and what machine you dont have to have to do the job
I have a tractor for bush hogging and what I offer is forestry mulching also but I just added that in there and if the demands happens then ill buy a mulcher till then its just on there. I think I might go with the mini then id like a cat 308 or a kx057 but I found a kx040 for a decent price still though something about the cat 308 calls to me
If your going to buy a 308 you might as well look at a backhoe same depth and reach you can buy a good used backhoe for cheaper and have more usability A 308 size machine is nice I have ran 1 or 2 but for the most part i can only think of like 2 occassions where i need that size excavator And on the other hand at least 3 days a week i have to use both ends of the backhoe to do the job Just my 2 cents but unless all your work is highly specialized to an ex in that size you are not going to get the most out of your money
a 420 backhoe would be nice also would be good for the driveways and pads only down fall would be land clearing but its do able
I only look at it that way cause by the time you buy a 7 or 8 ton ex and a decent skid steer you could buy a brand new 420 or 310 There are a lot of companies around here using 5 ton exs and skid steers they really have there place but they are not as versatile as a backhoe and it requires 2 operators to be efficient that's why we run backhoes mainly we are doing some small mini work but thats for access reasons I just find it easier to keep a backhoe busy than 2 machines. If your into a special market it's a different story
I haven't gotten any kind of special work yet I just started my company so its all learning but I think a 420 backhoe would do good for me and just rent a larger machine for land clearing
A 7 ton machine will out dig a TLB and burn less fuel. One major downside with 7/8's over minis, they are just big enough to be a big step up moving. Unless you drive it everywhere a backhoe has the same limit on mobility. I was talking with a guy last week and he said if he started over tomorrow he'd by a skidsteer and some attachments, work his way into a mini and buy a single axle dump with a trailer big enough to haul both. I should have asked him if he meant SSL or CTL. He has both and since we're in the land of track loaders he calls everything smaller than 953 a skidsteer.
Sounds like a skid steer is what you should start off with. Depending on dealers in your area you could rent a rent a backhoe to fit on the skid steer if need be. If you're doing driveways and pads, a skid steer will be a 100 times easier to get to grade than a TLB. You can see exactly what the cutting edge of the bucket is doing in most skid steers. If you can't see the cutting edge get a lower profile bucket or a different brand of skid steer. Not being able to see what the bucket is doing (other than snow removal) almost defeats the purpose of having a skid steer.
i asked a guy who had been doing it for a while and he basically told me if he knew what he knew today he would of bought a 320 caterpillar and a d5 and a lowboy it was not very helpful advise but he did say he would just stick with a brand that has almost everything to make it easier for everyone
I see the ups and downs of both I saw a 259d for sale with a grapple buckets for 45k and then I saw a Kubota mini for sale for 45k both low hours and cabs so you could imagine how that just makes me sit and wish I had about 90k in the bank but I only have the money for one
The biggest thing I have learned is that there is no right right answer for anything and everyone based there opinion on what works for them. That answer is different for everyone you have to do what will work for you budget wise and how you can utilize it Hvy is right for the most part a 7 ton ex is going to outperform the backhoe it will definitely burn less fuel but feed or my outfit that machine would be highly underutilized cause it would only fit part of our work I couldn't keep it busy with my current customers. There are a 100 different ways to do a job on this forum you will probably find an opinion based on all 100 find the one that works for you and your area and customers that makes you money and leaves a quality job
Perhaps going to you tube and plugging in Mecalac 6 or 8 CMR in the search engine may be helpful. I am considering purchasing one myself. I am pretty much enchanted with the duality of the machine.
APPEARS TO BE A VERSATILE MACHINE.
those are about 100k my budget for a used machine is half that but if I had the money id love to have one there is someone selling them in north Carolina right now actually to
yeah that's the whole problem I just finished the driveway job I had to do and I rented a d4 for a week and a 312 and that be what I do the clearing job with and the building pad hopefully end of next week all jobs will be done and then I can decide on something
I'm just going to throw this out there. 50k seems like your number from your posts. I'm going to suggest you buy a $20,000 skid and a $30,000 mini ex, if that's what you use. No way would I give almost 50k for a skid loader. Sure when your renting- the low hour machines are pretty nice, but you can do a lot of work with a little older machine. You can get some pretty good used stuff out there. And especially when your starting out, no way would I buy really new- the early hits on value- are really ugly if the work slows up and you need to sell. Some guys worry about repair costs on a older machine, but newer doesn't mean cheaper to repair. If you can't handle a $10,000 repair bill, you shouldn't buy anything, you should just keep renting.
yeah 50k is what I have saved for starting the company to buy my first machine anyways I might try and get a bigger excavator like a hitachi 120 that's down the road for sale and get a older used skid maybe early 2000s somethings gotta be bought renting is already annoying me
Have you gave any thought to a skid loader with a backhoe attachment ? The backhoe attachments sell pretty cheap as we lost the generation that knew how to run a hoe . These young fellers are lost if it won't swing 360 degrees all the way around . LOL ! https://www.ebay.com/itm/John-Deere-PRO-911-Loader-Backhoe-Attachments-/332559130905 https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/12181481/1998-deere-8875 One tractor with the attachments would be the way I would go starting out . And cap the money at $ 25,000.00 instead of 50 .
I started out with a dozer & excavator . They worked great but was limited as they were not suited for small jobs . Ended up buying a JD 8875 with 911 extendable hoe . Talk about a game changer ! Don't take long to swap the hoe for the bucket not to mention other attachments . HeavyEquipmentForums HeavyEquipmentForums We tag team it with the excavator all the time . Those two cat's like working together & don't care what the task is .
The backhoe attachment works well? Never used one, but wanted to give one a try. Would make a great ad on for someone starting out with little money
You could essentially buy one good machine, with a couple attachments and just do small stuff in neighborhoods
really those work good? your the first person ive talked to actually recommend that
right now im doing a stuff for farmers and my dads boss man has recommend me to his friends so its a slow start I have 4 jobs under my company name 2 have been finished and im starting a building pad today and gonna try and do a lot clearing this weekend to be done by Monday because all the rental stuff goes back Thursday. then that's all ive gotten so far
Yeah fellers , I can only speak for the JD 911 extend hoe on the 8875 . Fits like a glove , great visibility and speed . Stay in the hoe seat & reach back to the skid levers to move around . No complaints other then we should have bought two of them . I've never had it stuck . The skid loader has a flat belly pan so she sinks down about halfway up on the tires & floats like a turtle in the mud . Can push or pull yourself around with the hoe . You fellers get a little experience under your belt first . Then down the road you will just take an old Ford 4000 to the jobsite . LOL !
Or an older cat that's tighter then tree bark . LOL It's a good all around unit & pound for pound will move dirt with anything else .
lots of thinking to do just wish I was better on a backhoe then I am now. be great little attachment though for certain places
"Back in the day" which would be the '80's when skid steers were becoming popular on the job site, a back hoe attachment was the mini-ex on the site as there were no mini-ex's to speak of. I knew a guy that ran 3 units back then which all consisted of a 843 Bobcat, backhoe attachment, tooth bucket, smooth bucket and forks on a 3 axle 9 ton trailer pulled by a single axle dump. He made a killing with a 4 hour minimum.
i think when I was in high school the water line broke and they had a skid steer with a backhoe attachment on it beyond that I haven't ever seen anyone use it maybe I should look into that