Thinking of buying a new Mini question on Digging forces

[mrdenial]

I'm thinking of replacing my 01 302.5 with something bigger. I've been reading a lot of specs on different machines. The things I've been looking at are: Size of machine, zero tail swing or not, bucket digging force, stick digging force, GPM of auxilary flow.

I've noticed that some machines do very well as var as bucket digging force. Such as the Takeuchi TB135 which is a 7600lb machine with a 8400 digging force. The Terex I tested had a digging force of 8000lbs and weighed about the same. Now, when I look at the 05 304CR by Caterpillar I see that it's a 9500lb machine with a digging force of 8200lbs. Does this mean that the Takeuchi will be just as good as the 304CR as a digger? I want to make sure I'm reading the numbers right.

I was also looking at the specs of the Terex HR18 which is a bigger machine with more horsepower but the digging force of the stick and bucket was less. I can't see how that is possible. The dealer also couldn't see that and thought that it must be a misprint as he's tested the HR18 and it was a stronger machine in his eyes.

Thanks for any advice you guys can give on my above thoughts.

-Daniel

[Squizzy246B]

Welcome, Forget the figures, they are theoretical and the Manufacturer's have all different ways of skewing them. Get the "C" series 304CR out for a test and you'll bury the Takeyourhoochie. Try and get the machines side by side for the test and you will see what I mean. Base your decision on how the machine performs in the real world.

[mrdenial]

I would sure hope that the C CR would beat the TB135...it's about 3k lbs heavier. I do like the idea of a 304, but they are pretty wide... Then again zero tail swing sounds nice.

-Daniel

[Squizzy246B]

I would sure hope that the C CR would beat the TB135...it's about 3k lbs heavier. I do like the idea of a 304, but they are pretty wide... Then again zero tail swing sounds nice.

-Daniel

The TB53 is in the same class as the 304 but wider, a little more expensive (reportedly) and has sort of side shifting boom that may be handy.

Anyways, point being, manufacturer's use all sorts of different theoretical methods to produce some of these specs...not the least of factors affecting these is legal considerations.

The specs obviously help you narrow the field but; the only way to know wether you are going to be really happy is to try them out in real work conditions.

[Tommjr]

How big of a machine do you need?

I bought an 05' Yanmar VIO 50 about 15 months ago.

I tested Cat, Bobcat, Scherff, John Deere and Komatsu.

All machines were 11,500# and had cab and heat.

Out of all the machines I tested, the Yanmar was the best!

I've logged about 7,000 hrs on a mini, and hands down the Yanmar was the best machine.

It even has a three year warranty. (No bull)

Good Luck.:)

[tylermckee]

I put a couple hundred hours on a brand new VIO 35 yanmar, it was a good machine, a little tippsy when you get a full bucket of material out over the side, but thats to be expected on a ZTS machine thats only 5 feet wide. I liked it more than the grey market kx91 kubota equivilant that i use sometimes now.

[mrdenial]

Sorry for the late response. I wanted something bigger than I have (302.5). The 302.5 seems a little underpowered for how much rock we have in this area. Plus I wanted something that handled a larger bucket so I could get more done in the same amount of time. I don't have a lot of options around here for testing equipment, but the Cat dealer here is quite large and I've heard it has good support. Support is tops on my list as I don't want to struggle when things break or I need help. I'm hoping the 304CR turns out to be a powerful machine for it's weight as I got the biggest machine that I could haul with my truck/trailer combo. I was looking at the Takeuchi, the kubota and the Komatsu. Both the Takeuchi and the Komatsu had nice specs, but I was drawn to the Cat based on the name and support.

We'll see if I made the right choice.