Do I need a excavator?

I have 100 acres of lakeview property that I want to develop. I need roads, water lines and trees removed for lake view. I have a TD15-C dozer. I found a Case 280b excavator with a manual thumb and 36 inch bucket for sale for 20K. I know nothing about excavators and very little about dozers. I have paths and firebreaks around the property now with the dozer. I hear that the excavator is amazing at tree removal and road building. The terrain is steep(at least for me) and big rocks. Will the excavator do the water and underground electric lines effieciently or do I need some type of saw or a more narrow bucket? Is the excavator fairly easy to operate on the hill sides safely? I know this is grade school stuff for you guys but us newbies need advice as to which machines is most effiecient for the investment. Thanks in advance for any advice and have a very happy and blessed holiday season.

Sounds like to me you would be better off hiring it done.

If you get to far out of your skill level / comfort zone you may have problems bigger than you thought down the road.

No offense...

I will hire a operator for at least a while and maybe for the entire project. I have ran a lot of different machinery and I think I cought on to the dozer pretty fast. I did hire a guy that says he has opeated a lot and I felt that I did as good or better than him on the dozer. I can get a operator for the equipment, I just need to know what I really need.

Go for the excavator

An excavator is priceless for the work you describe but think carefully about your end goals,
Will they require a gravel truck? A packer? A skidsteer for smoothing things out after?
Only after you sit down and run the numbers and cost out what you will pay a local contractor vs what you will invest in your own machine plus an operator plus insurance and material can you make an informed decision.

Dont forget about possible repairs that 20k machine will need (just look thru this forum and you will soon descover many people buy headaches instead of money savers).

I am also new to excavators(this what I'm doing) watch a pro work/do research /rent a machine/ talk to mechanic about the excavator you want. And ask a lot of questions.Good luck

Sounds like you got a lot of work there. If you were to complete all this work primarily by yours self and successfully you will be a competent operator. It generally takes years to be skilled at plant operating. Reading between the lines you sound like you are the type of man that could do this work. Just seek some advice from trusted pros.

The main advice I would give you would be to buy a excavator as this will be able to virtually do most of the work you've got. With the slopes you've got and they do not need to be that steep before an inexperienced operator can get trouble pretty quick is to buy a 360 with a blade on her. Work the machine up the steep slopes park that blade below you and that machines going no where. You will also be able to do some light dozing work with her as well.

Not sure what options you have got in terms of excavators in Oklahoma , but I'm sure a 13/14 tonner would do just fine.

All ways remember it's safety that comes first when operating machinery.

Good luck

Robo

p.s. get a good selection of buckets to suit the work rather than make do, you will complete the jobs quicker. You can always sell them after you've completed the work

iam not an exspert but you think it will be easyer to rent a machines instead of buying on i mean it makes sence to me if all your doing is work for yourself and not making a profit with the machine. just my thought

if you havn't put a machine on its' side yet i'd caution you about working hill sides. A excavator on a hill side is pretty akward and you can get in trouble without a chance to recover....not like a dozer.
if your trees are less than 6-8'' diameter stick with the dozer and mabey you could get by with a backhoe for half the cost on the rest?

I bought an excavator about 8 years ago with zero hours experience to clear 5 acres and dig foundations for a new house, build the road in, water supply ect, knocked the track off in the first minute of using it (actually less than a minute if you want the truth ) BUT i caught on to it very quickly and now I own three of them... If you are somewhat handy and learn quickly and have luck with getting a good used machine then I would say go for it... You will have tons of fun and learn a new skill too... and I bet you can save a ton of money too by doing it yourself...

landsalesman said:

I have 100 acres of lakeview property that I want to develop. I need roads, water lines and trees removed for lake view.

Click to expand...

If you are asking this question "Do I need a excavator". It makes me think you are in over your head. Which can be O.K. if you are willing to pay to learn. Just keep in mind that it might "probably" will end up costing you more then having it done. Unless you plan on hiring a good superintendent with lots of experience and you let him do his thing.

If you end up operating the excavator on a hill side you want to travel with your tracks facing up and down hill. No side tracking on steep hillsides. You will need to build a flat "road" if you want to travel across a steep hill.

Digger Dan said:

I bought an excavator about 8 years ago with zero hours experience to clear 5 acres and dig foundations for a new house, build the road in, water supply ect, knocked the track off in the first minute of using it (actually less than a minute if you want the truth ) BUT i caught on to it very quickly and now I own three of them... If you are somewhat handy and learn quickly and have luck with getting a good used machine then I would say go for it... You will have tons of fun and learn a new skill too... and I bet you can save a ton of money too by doing it yourself...

Click to expand...

Thats too funny, Me and 2 of my neighbors rolled the track off soon after buying each of ours. Mine went 1st so I helped the other 2 when theirs did. I own 10 acres and bought a used excavator 2 years ago. There are 15 -10 acres parcels next to mine, I paid the machine off this year by doing work for the other lots. Safety is #1!!!!. Slopes can be dangerous but if you take your time and dont get over your head youll be fine. I recommend that you watch a lot of Youtube videos to show yourself the dangers and proper way to operate in those situations. When in doubt ask someone who knows what the best way to tackle the area is.

Back to them slopes again SRE is right never track across slopes always approach your work with the tracks facing down the hill. I will say again having a blade on your excavator for this type of work will turn your excavator into a different animal. You will find yourself not having to dig as many flatter road access to work and saving yourself time and money.

I could not be without a blade for the vast majority of agricultural work I do here in Wales. I'm often on wet steep ground yanking out trees , drainage,hedgework ,etc. I just would not be able to do the work.

Also for general work on the flat when say your ripping out tree roots, when you position your blade the excavator anchors it's self and your able to get stuck in to your work instead of constantly repositioning yourself for a better purchase.You will find that you can get away with using a lighter machine ,normally it's weight that will keep you rooted to your work. Digging ditches with the blade trailing you you can level the machine to help create the perfect bottom in the ditch.

The excavator with a blade will give you a lot more confidence to tackle the more trickier work, the stability will also be much better than a standard excavator.