Is A 315L Big Enough

RDJ1966 · Feb 2, 2011

Hi everyone. We are looking at a 315L and wondered if it would be big enough aound a farm. Main use would be cleaning and making drainage ditches and taking out trees. We have always had a dozer on the farm but know little about excavators. It says it is around 36,000 lbs and 100 HP. The weight seems OK but the 100 HP to a farmer sounds small compared to the weight. What can you tell me about them and what would you expect one to cost that looks like its had a new paint job and seems to have a like new undercarriage? It also has a 36 inch bucket with Hyd. thumb but we would like to have a wider bucket.

Thanks for any help.

pkdemo · Feb 2, 2011

315 cat

I have a 315 cl that I use for demolition work digging up 24" concrete house beams with no problems. Should handle a 36" bucket digging with no problem. Depends on what kind of dirt your in and how big of a hurry.

ronthedozerman · Feb 2, 2011

Rdj--i've had/have a couple of trackhoes.....and they are great machines! A dozer and a trackhoe complement each other very well. Having a hydraulic thumb is a major plus in my opinion(i won't buy a hoe that doesn't have one or at least be plumbed to run one). They are great for clearing and piling trees and brush (just be careful not to damage the hydraulic lines on the boom and stick).they are usually better on fuel than a dozer. The h.p. Is not as critical as the size/quality of the hydraulic pump. I'd get the year ,serial number and hours on the hoe that you're interested in then look at some comparable machines online to get your machine's approx. Value. Also,have someone who is familiar with trackhoes check out the one you're looking at.

JTL · Feb 3, 2011

We use 312's for ALOT of work! A 315 is just a little bigger.
We typically run 24" buckets with a thumb, but we also have 48" swivel buckets that see a ton of use. A 36" will be just fine on a 315. This size machine fills a nice void for us. Alot of time a 320, or a 200 is just to big.
I wouldn't worry about the H.P. to weight ratio. The hydro's do all the work on an excavator.

CRAFT · Feb 3, 2011

I too have a 312 ..... there's not to much work it won't do, especially if as you say, around the farm ... the 315 is like the 312 on steroids, so it'll be that much better .... if it's what you are looking to buy to buy then we'll need alot more info to give an impression of if it's worth what they are asking.
My 312 uses a 36" dig/trenching bucket and has also a 54" clean-up bucket (I use that the most) it has a struck capacity of 34 cu.ft, (27cu.ft to a yd) and wet heavy soil boomed/stick'd all the way out is no problem, so again the 315 will be that much better cause it's heavier ........... JUST REMEMBER if you are doing standing big trees you should have a guarding package installed, especially if you are learning on it, you don't want one of those puppies coming backwards

onto the machine where you are sitting without protection ...

ointhead ... keep us informed ..

RDJ1966 · Feb 3, 2011

Thanks for the help. Its listed as a 1995 with 3057 hours on it which seems low for that year of machine. The only serial number he gave us was 6YM and he didn't have the rest of it handy. This somewhat concerned dad, you would think he would have the number handy if trying to sell but maybe knows we can call Cat and get all the history on it if we had the full serial number. They are asking 29,500 for it.

RDJ1966 · Feb 3, 2011

Here is a link to it. If its a good buy please tell me and don't buy it yourself

http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=7601661

ronthedozerman · Feb 3, 2011

RDJ IT LOOKS LIKE A NICE HOE. YOU SAID IN THE START OF YOUR THREAD THAT IT HAS A 36" BUCKET... I BELIEVE IT IS A 24". FIRST I WOULD GO BACK TO MACHINERY TRADER AND COMPARE IT TO OTHER 315s WITH APPROX THE SAME YEAR AND HOURS,THEN I'D SEE WHAT THE DEALERS BOTTOM DOLLAR IS ON THE HOE YOUR INTERESTED IN. IF ALL THAT WORKS OUT THEN I WOULD HIRE YOUR LOCAL CAT DEALER OR A REALLY GOOD MECHANIC TO DO A GOOD MACHINE EVALUATION (ESP. THE HYDRAULIC PUMP PRESSURE). I DID NOT NOTICE IF THIS MACHINE HAS AIR COND. OR NOT. IF NOT YOU BETTER FIGURE THAT IN TOO AS WELL AS THE TRUCKING TO GET IT TO YOU FARM. YOU GET PRACTICALLY NO VENTILATION AS YOU CANNOT OPEN WINDOWS ALL THE WAY AROUND YOU...IT GETS DARN HOT DURING THE SUMMER WITHOUT A/C !! (NOT TO MENTION WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TAKE DOWN A "BEE" TREE...OUCH,OUCH,OUCH!!)

ronthedozerman · Feb 3, 2011

Rdl also fyi-- the 315 will have a 6 cyl engine versus a 312 which has a 4 cyl. So the 315 may not be quite as good on fuel but will probably have more power if all is in good working order. Unless you are assaulting some really big timber a 312 sized machine will work for you also.

watglen · Feb 3, 2011

I would want to give it a thorough exam. 3000 hrs is low for the age (187 hrs/year???) The fresh paint makes it look nice, maybe too nice.

It could be a great find.

tootalltimmy · Feb 3, 2011

Is that an auction house 5 gallon paint job? You need to know the history of it and have a mechanic familiar with excavators look at it with you. Repairs are expensive.

CBS · Feb 3, 2011

315 is not bad were looking to go bigger i run a 60inch cleanup bucket with a serrated edge and a 36inch tooth bucket for trenching and ripping frost ours has 5000 hours on it and has run flawless since new

tang867 · Feb 5, 2011

I have a 215 Cat with a 6 foot shop built bucket that is a material loading machine!! The swing gear box is the weakest thing I have found on the 215. Got mine off now for rebuild. But the old machine has done an
unbelieveable amount of work and still has a lot of life in it.

mitch504 · Feb 5, 2011

tang867 said:
I have a 215 Cat with a 6 foot shop built bucket that is a material loading machine!! The swing gear box is the weakest thing I have found on the 215. Got mine off now for rebuild. But the old machine has done an
unbelieveable amount of work and still has a lot of life in it.

A 215 is much bigger than a 315, it is roughly equal to a 320. I agree abiout the swing gear being the weakest part, also check and make sure the bottom of the gearbox fits snugly in the frame, they had so much trouble w/ wear in this area that cat offers a larger lower section, so you can bore the frame to match.

LSchulz · Feb 8, 2011

Mismatched drive sprockets... try to get the whole history on the undercarriage (not to mention the rest of the machine).

Xcavating · Feb 8, 2011

Given that you are using the machine on your own farm, I would assume you wouldn't being moving the machine much on a lowboy, therefore, I would go bigger. I have a Deere 160LC and a Deere 200LC and the two are two completely different beasts. The 36000# machines are made 8'6" wide for moves and therefore are much less stable than the larger excavators. Given the choice with no moves, I would always go bigger... Also, the bigger excavators get less $ now because most people want the 8'6" wide, no permit move machines. Both of mine are 1999 models for sale and the 200 isn't worth nearly as much as the 160...

Is A 315L Big Enough

RDJ1966

Member

pkdemo

Member

ronthedozerman

Member

JTL

Senior Member

CRAFT

Senior Member

RDJ1966

Member

RDJ1966

Member

ronthedozerman

Member

ronthedozerman

Member

watglen

Senior Member

tootalltimmy

Senior Member

CBS

Well-Known Member

tang867

New Member

mitch504

Senior Member

LSchulz

Member

Xcavating

Active Member