Looking to get an excavator for the farm soon, have been doing research and I'm pretty confident I have narrowed it down to takeuchi. They seem reliable at a decent price and plenty of hydraulic flow(may be a forestry mulcher in my future). What I can't decide is which one tb260 looks best on paper lots of power for its size and would just barely go on our trailer weight wise. But for about the same price I can find tb280fr's or for cheaper a tb180fr. I don't necessarily need to be able to haul it and would it be worth going with the older 180 to avoid the newer emissions standards ? Is the full radius something I would find useful? Trying to understand exactly what purpose it serves. Would like some feedback from people who have used them. I did spend some time In a rental tb260 and liked it. Thanks in advance
I decided on a TB260 after a good bit of research and found a used on with app. 1250 hours. It is a reliable and competent machine and is a great resource on my property and at my sawmill. It is haulable on my 10 ton goose neck, but just barely. I highly recommend this machine for your needs. Auxiliary hydraulic flow is spec'd to be 26ish gpm. Kubota was my other choice, but only 19ish gpm on a KX057.
The FR machines are capable of near zero swing both front and back of the machine. I am a firm believer in the FR machines. They are the near perfect excavator for what we need them for. I have had 4 FR machines that I bought new over the years. That said, if I was working on a farm, I probably would avoid one. There are a bunch zerks and moving parts to make it do what it can do. There is a lot of complexity that I don't think you need. They don't break often, but if you cant take advantage of what they can do, why have the complexity? A lot of guys like the 260, to be honest, I have never really fallen in love with them. The 290 on the other hand is an incredible machine in my opinion.
I've run TB260s quite a bit, they are a nice machine and are right up there at the top of their class in performance. I haven't run a TB290 but from everything I've seen and heard they are also an excellent performer. If you don't need to haul it I think you would be well pleased with the larger machine. I agree with KSSS, for your intended uses I don't the one of the FR machines would be a good fit.
I have three Takeuchi Mini Excavators. I'm currently selling my TB153 FR with 1900 hours which I think is a fantastic machine. Only reason I'm selling it is because I'm down sizing a bit, and getting rid of my Kenworth and big Trailmax trailer.
Pretty much confirms everything I was thinking, I figured a fr machine wouldn't be of much benefit to me but seems 180/280fr machines are more common around here. No tb260's with cabs currently and one tb290 for sale that isn't overpriced. I won't really need to haul it but I don't know if I want to entirely cut off the option to be able to.
Are you looking for new or used? United Rentals has a lot of low Hr. cabbed 260's for sale.
Used, I've checked united rentals a few times and nothing in my area. Also a little hesitant about buying a rental unit. I'm actually going to look at a cat 305.5 on Monday. Cat was my first choice as my dad used to work for a dealer. the taks looked a lot better on paper, but I found a newer cat in my price range and they have better flow then the older ones.
The TB 260 I just purchased was a rental unit from a small mom and pop rental yard it is in excellent shape, tight as new 2300 hrs. and full-service history. 30 k for an open station with a tag thumb. I couldn't be happier.