highlander 2
Member
Hey guys I got some questions. I am fixing to clear about 30 acres of cutover that I had cut 3 years ago. I have been back and forth on mulching versus excavating. I have decided to go ahead and excavate. I am sure that I will get opinions about other options but I think an excavator will be the best option for me. I have experience with an excavator as I own and old John Deere 70D(7 ton). I will also have a question about an issue I am having with this machine that I will post at the end of this. I have decided to rent an excavator to do this job and take time off and do this job myself. I am leaning toward renting a brand new cat 313f from a local rental place for a month and see how much I can get done. Some of you guys may think this is on the small side as its a 17 ton but its almost half the price of a 26 ton. It will have a thumb. I plan on doing all the stump pulling and making windrows with the stumps and then renting a medium size dozer when I am done to push into piles and burn.(still not sure if I want to dig pits for the burning or not, you guys tell me). I live in northeast Alabama and right now it is late winter/early spring and the ground is super soft and water logged. Let me know what you guys think. I have never taken on a job this size and I am unsure about what kind fuel costs I will have on this machine for 200 hours and other things to look out for.
So my final went out on my 70D. All the fluid leaked out without me knowing somehow and it ran dry for some time. I have taken it apart and all the gears are cracked and wore down. I have called around and its going to cost around $3500 for a used one. I believe an Hitachi ex60 uses the same parts but is there another final used on another piece of equipment like a small dozer or something more readily available? Does anybody have an idea about where I could get one for a reasonable price or I have even thought about having a machine shop making me some gears and replacement parts. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any help would be great. Thanks
So my final went out on my 70D. All the fluid leaked out without me knowing somehow and it ran dry for some time. I have taken it apart and all the gears are cracked and wore down. I have called around and its going to cost around $3500 for a used one. I believe an Hitachi ex60 uses the same parts but is there another final used on another piece of equipment like a small dozer or something more readily available? Does anybody have an idea about where I could get one for a reasonable price or I have even thought about having a machine shop making me some gears and replacement parts. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any help would be great. Thanks