JPSouth
Well-Known Member
So after making noise for years that I'd never want anything all that new, I ran across a guy who wants to sell his 2012 Cat 308e CR SB, pre-emissions. I've run a Cat or two here and there, don't know what the suffix letters mean. I've been thinking of moving up one notch in size from my Kubota KX161-2 for awhile, need more reach for irrigation work, loading the 16' box on the L8000, and making addition/foundation digging, brush clearing, light demo more efficient. I also have a reclamation job this year, some road building included, where that extra 50" of reach would come in real handy. Irrigation work I would run a 48" cleanout, tough digging a 24" toothed, dirt/light material 36" smooth lip, stumping a 12" toothed or frost pick, maybe a 36" brush rake.
My time in hoes runs from a 316 Cat on down to a tiny Kubota KX008, but I've never run a long stick before. The one I'm looking at has one, and a bare-bones thumb which isn't ideal for what I'm doing but certainly tolerable. With a little strategic welding, will work fine. It has a 24" trenching bucket with a mechanical quick connect, 18" hybrid tracks and blade. No optional counterweight, unfortunately. He claims the total machine weight is 18,200 pounds.
I'm wondering about over-the-side and general stability with that stick sans counterweight, and how much one of those might cost (what little I've found, think they're about 550 pounds, not sure whether there's any special mounting hardware needed to bolt one up). Guy claims it'll hoist about 4 tons over the blade out to about 12' or so, and says he's never been in a situation where when digging, he thought it felt any more unstable over the tracks than anything else. Which really doesn't say anything, but ...
The hours are right, condition right, price not a screamer but very fair for what's there. Could use opinions about the long stick option. On the surface, I'd love to have it for the reach, but I do work in the mountains, some dicey spots here and there, I'm spoiled with what I have now, 6.5 ton with 24" steel tracks, you can't do much to make it tip over the side unless you're being ignorant. Heard good and bad about the 308, guy I occasionally work with runs a 304 and a 313 and he doesn't have any complaints. I'm not sold on any one color, this one happens to be local and outfitted with 90% of what I'm looking for, and no emissions to worry about. Got a local dealer who's established, but biz is good enough they're lukewarm on small-timers. Which is unfortunately true of most all the dealerships around here - I've been waiting nearly two weeks for a quote on a used ECR88D.
My time in hoes runs from a 316 Cat on down to a tiny Kubota KX008, but I've never run a long stick before. The one I'm looking at has one, and a bare-bones thumb which isn't ideal for what I'm doing but certainly tolerable. With a little strategic welding, will work fine. It has a 24" trenching bucket with a mechanical quick connect, 18" hybrid tracks and blade. No optional counterweight, unfortunately. He claims the total machine weight is 18,200 pounds.
I'm wondering about over-the-side and general stability with that stick sans counterweight, and how much one of those might cost (what little I've found, think they're about 550 pounds, not sure whether there's any special mounting hardware needed to bolt one up). Guy claims it'll hoist about 4 tons over the blade out to about 12' or so, and says he's never been in a situation where when digging, he thought it felt any more unstable over the tracks than anything else. Which really doesn't say anything, but ...
The hours are right, condition right, price not a screamer but very fair for what's there. Could use opinions about the long stick option. On the surface, I'd love to have it for the reach, but I do work in the mountains, some dicey spots here and there, I'm spoiled with what I have now, 6.5 ton with 24" steel tracks, you can't do much to make it tip over the side unless you're being ignorant. Heard good and bad about the 308, guy I occasionally work with runs a 304 and a 313 and he doesn't have any complaints. I'm not sold on any one color, this one happens to be local and outfitted with 90% of what I'm looking for, and no emissions to worry about. Got a local dealer who's established, but biz is good enough they're lukewarm on small-timers. Which is unfortunately true of most all the dealerships around here - I've been waiting nearly two weeks for a quote on a used ECR88D.