80 Class Excavator Comparison

[watglen]

I don't have much to add here.

I bought a Bobcat E80 last spring. On the plus side, its great on fuel, starts and runs great, even in the cold cold cold. Cab is decent. Smooth etc. Its as good as I expected.

Until I got a look at a buddies' Terex 8 tonne machine. Don't know the number, but its nearly new. 20 more HP. Longer tracks, bigger everywhere. Runs a 48" bucket all day long. Mine would even lift a 48" bucket. Huge difference. That Terex, whatever it is, is identical to Bobcats old 8 Tonne machine. He gets his parts at the bobcat dealer.

I don't know much about it, but I would say bobcat's older units are better than the newer ones.

 

[protouchgrounds]

I don't have much to add here.

I bought a Bobcat E80 last spring. On the plus side, its great on fuel, starts and runs great, even in the cold cold cold. Cab is decent. Smooth etc. Its as good as I expected.

Until I got a look at a buddies' Terex 8 tonne machine. Don't know the number, but its nearly new. 20 more HP. Longer tracks, bigger everywhere. Runs a 48" bucket all day long. Mine would even lift a 48" bucket. Huge difference. That Terex, whatever it is, is identical to Bobcats old 8 Tonne machine. He gets his parts at the bobcat dealer.

I don't know much about it, but I would say bobcat's older units are better than the newer ones.

Which model did he have, TC75? If so that is the old bobcat 442 I believe. Has the top mount cylinder? We rented a TC50 and didn't like it at all. I have heard that the Bobcat E85's were a big improvement over the 80's though.

 

[ZAXIS]

We bought a JD75G last fall. Had never owned anything smaller than a 20MT. The 75 has the Excavator style boom vs the Backhoe swing style. Looks heavier duty to me. Quick,Quiet,Fuel efficient,Super Comfortable. Will handle Pre cast manhole sections. Has coupler & aux hyd for Hoe Pac. Yanmar Diesel. Very pleased so far.

 

[ericscher]

First excavator I ever ran was a TB135.

Hey, me too!

I just bought one this past winter and I've been learning how to use it.


The first tracked vehicle I ever ran was an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and the Tak, with it's twin stick control, is very reminiscent of that.

No frills is right, although I think that's a good thing in this case. It also seems to be really sturdy and whenever I talk to people about it they always mention that they are a really tough machine than can take a lot of hard use. They really punch above their weight.

I also have a fondness for Kubota because that's the brand of Tractor/Loader I run and it's a tough little machine too. (L3130GST)

 

[zhuxaioha]

Your article describes in great detail

 

[tkoden]

Bringing this one back to the top with some comments on out Takeuchi TB290. We have had the machine for just over a year. So far we love the machine. Great power, crazy fast, and we'll balanced.

The only con that we have is that the top window on the cab is useless which makes it hard to see overhead obstacles.Because it is flat it very quickly gets covered with dust. The window is plastic so it can easily scratch when cleaned. I would much rather have a solid Hatch that can be opened to provide a clear view.

 

[mattynj1]

ive been studying these two machines on paper specs, (Cat 308 & Takeuchi tb290) and they seem very comparable to each other, i love my Takeuchi skid loaders, i feel they are the best on the market place however would love to hear pros and cons btwn these two excavators as i do not own any Caterpillar

From what ive read, the Tb290 is slightly lighter, but has a higher lift load and dig depth.

Would love to hear some feed back thanks.

specs for both units
https://www.takeuchi-us.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/TB290-Trifold-Optimized-July_2017.pdf

http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Caterpillar/CM20181002-32771-62524

 

[KSSS]

In my companion thread on 50 Class Excavators, https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?49469-50-Class-Excavator-Comparison, member KSSS writes that he had a chance to run a Tak TB290 recently, & he opines "that it is an animal".

So, KSSS, have you run any of the other 80 class machines in my comparison, so that we can gauge the context of your opinion??

I just saw this StumpWally, only 4 years later....sorry. I can chime in now though. I went to Austria by invitation and ran the TB290, Kubota 80, JCB 85, and the Wacker ET90 which was just releasing. Spent a couple days on them. My preference overall was the Taki, but the ET90 matched it in everyway in the dirt. I rated the Taki higher simply due to the cab layout which I preferred over the WN (Although I hated the Taki graphics on the display and still do, looks like it came from an Atari 2600 game system). However as far as operationally, the ET90 was just as fast and powerful as the Taki was, which is really a compliment, because that 290 is as I said "an animal" in my opinion. The Kubota was slower and did not dig as well in my opinion as the other two. The JCB embarrassed itself in this shootout. Great cab and very nice fit and finish, but as far as competing in the sling dirt portion, it could not compete. The European guys that were there (from all over the EU), most saw it the same way. As I understood they ranked them WN or Taki number 1, followed by Kubota and then JCB. That was a while ago and I am not sure where this weight class sits currently. The CAT salesman told me recently that they improved their 308 significantly with their latest release. I have not run a new one. I have not run a Hitachi/Deere in this class in years, so I don't have any current info on them.