Best mini Excavator for the money

[Junyacipo]

Hi,
Hi,

I am still looking for a 12,000 lb excavator. I am still do not know wich equipements are best for, easy to do work, better capacities & more reliable on a long term run. I am not a contractor to change equipement at every two or three years. I will keep this equipement for more than ten years.....For sure i need genuine parts components in ten years. I know JD, Case, Kubota will be there in ten years.
Some guys talk about Hyundai 60CR-9. Are they somebody know about Hyundai compact excavator?

Thx

 

[daddieboy]

Hello good night can you help me with an ex200-2 excavator

 

[Jlillie2]

How about Takeuchi, no dealers up there?

 

[mountian_logger]

hello I'd go for the tb 135, I've rented one for digging a house foundation,demoing standing houses and rock work<retaining walls> and road work it was an impressive piece of equipment, easy on fuel, fast and has enough power for the work I did, cats are a great machine too but i felt i can do more with the 135

 

[TB15]

Hi I have a takeuchi Tb15, it goes ok for its age i have had it for quite a while now, as it was my first vechicle.
It has 4090 hours. but the rain over the years has made everything worn.

 

[Jlillie2]

Hi I have a takeuchi Tb15, it goes ok for its age i have had it for quite a while now, as it was my first vechicle.
It has 4090 hours. but the rain over the years has made everything worn.

Do you mean rusty? The rain shouldn't wear anything.

 

[TB15]

Do you mean rusty? The rain shouldn't wear anything.

yes not so much rusty but worn linkages.

 

[Jlillie2]

yes not so much rusty but worn linkages.
View attachment 126793

Probably less rain, and more the 4090 hours. ;-) As long as you keep the grease to it, that machine will probably run forever. One word of caution I can give you though, change the oil in the main drive motors frequently. One of mine crapped out, and there are no replacements to be found anywhere. I was able to get mine going again, but lack of lubrication is a killer for the takeuchi.

 

[trekkar]

Lots of good info on the different brands. A bunch of years later how are all your minis holding up? I'm considering getting a 12k-18k pound machine. Seems like lots of votes for the taks and kubotas in here or wherever you have a good dealer which makes sense. My initial plan was to buy an old big excavator and clear my 6 acres of stumps then sell and buy another 10k-14k machine. How do these size machines do clearing acres of stumps and turning into a hay field? And for those that purchase new is there any chance of getting a decent amount off of your quoted price. Years ago I had a friend get something around 8k off a 303.5.

 

[rondig]

The Takeuchi machines I have heard so much hype on, I demo'd a tb175 this past week and it was the weakest and slowest excavator I have ever run. With a cat 304ccr I can honestly work circles around that tb175 which is pretty bad when you compare size.

I agree i tried one too...it is loud....it is simple....but to me that is not a plus...i like my kubota....everything is adjustable hydraulic aux wise....plus super quiet

 

[Bill Smith]

Kubota all the way . In my rental its all Kubota .Case uses what engine , John Deere uses what engine , Bob Cat uses what engine , and on and on . Kubota is all Kubota . One dealer one stop shop . Our kubota 007 had 7000hrs before we sold it from our fleet of rentals . Regular service and the odd hose and its still running today . I cant remember what year we bought this little machine , Just fact.

 

[rondig]

I agree with bill...kubota is my favorite and works well for me.

 

[BasketCase]

The Takeuchi machines I have heard so much hype on, I demo'd a tb175 this past week and it was the weakest and slowest excavator I have ever run. With a cat 304ccr I can honestly work circles around that tb175 which is pretty bad when you compare size.

I know this post is old but I feel ppl may read it as I stumbled upon it. I actually agree with this statement. The company I work for has a tb175 and I find it to leave a lot to be desired. It cannot easily grab 2’ concrete pipe whereas my similarly sized backhoe (older with more hours) can Rip it out of the mud.

 

[BasketCase]

I own a 2012 Komatsu pc40 mr-3 weighing 10500 open ROPS. Same class as a 305 Cat. The company I work for has Takeuchi, Hyundai, and Wacker Neuson. All their machines have a Wayne Roy coupler. My favorite was the Takeuchi. I really disliked anything Hyundai, but it’s really hard to put down the newest machines they make. I still wouldn’t buy one because I don’t like the electrical connectors and I feel build quality is still cheap. I have a mechanical spring loaded WB pin grabber and Hyd thumb. They have a Wacker and Hyundai in the same class as mine. The Komatsu eats theirs for lunch in almost every aspect. The only thing I would say isn’t amazing is turn table Speed against the Hyundai. Durability reliability the Komatsu has them beat. The pins and bushings are larger on the Komatsu. We have different rentals constantly I am impressed with the Caterpillar minis but I’ve only run relatively new ones. I am also impressed with the yanmar Minis but they have a horrible dealer network. If I was to buy another it would be between Cat or Komatsu. This is my personal experience the only issue I’ve had with the Komatsu was the suction hose leaking coming off the tank just need clamps tightened.

 

[rockfarm]

We run a cat 305 and it's pretty great. that thing has got enough power for something twice it's size

 

[CM1995]

We run a cat 305 and it's pretty great. that thing has got enough power for something twice it's size

Our '18 305E has been a great machine. Plenty of power.

 

[nicky 68a]

I’ve just read though all these pages as I’m in the market for something between 2-3 ton only to use around the yards etc.Can’t see it doing more than 100 hours per year,so a second hand one is the way I’ll need to go.
These Takeuchi and Kobotu’s seem to be well respected.

 

[CM1995]

I haven't owned one but ran several and I really like the Taks. Actually had the opportunity to meet Mr. Takeuchi at a Conexpo years back.

The only problem here is the dealer only has one physical location in the city and it's a 30-45 min drive one way with no traffic. Whereas the Cat dealer has a branch 10 mins away.

I think the Tak is built better than the Kommie.

 

[PeterP9]

I’ve just read though all these pages as I’m in the market for something between 2-3 ton only to use around the yards etc.Can’t see it doing more than 100 hours per year,so a second hand one is the way I’ll need to go.
These Takeuchi and Kobotu’s seem to be well respected.

Ive got no experience with Takeuchi, but I have been really impressed with my Kubota U27-4. Found that is has quite good power for it size, and it decently stable for a mini. Also everything on it is quite easy to access, and they seem to have a really good dealer network around here at least. Just my 2 cents.

 

[BC Placer gold]

Ive got no experience with Takeuchi, but I have been really impressed with my Kubota U27-4. Found that is has quite good power for it size, and it decently stable for a mini. Also everything on it is quite easy to access, and they seem to have a really good dealer network around here at least. Just my 2 cents.

We owned a Kubota kx-040 from new to about 700h. Really nice hydraulics; smooth, powerful, really fast. Great dealers here as well.

Just didn’t like the dpf….

So I think a U27-4 would be my pick, no emissions to worry about.

We have owned a couple of 27’s and have done a lot of work with them. Really easy to transport as well.

Takeuchi dealers here are extremely sparse. Have run almost every brand except Takeuchi: seem to hear a lot of really good things about them.