best reliability?

[PeytonM]

I am new to the whole excavators and moving dirt my self. My dad ran larger stuff with a tri axle dump truck and they had deere and cat for stuff to run back then.

I currently work in a sand mine and run a loader they have a 980H 980K and a Volvo l220F and they more than likely will be getting a new one shortly due to issues and break downs they have been having. I ran a 330 volvo hoe the other day making room so we didn't have to move a convar and really liked that.

I'm looking way out right now and I don't know that I will be living where I'm at right now and Im thinking I'll be living about 3-4 hours north ( WAY north woods WI)

I have been reading "what the best mini exc...." I know there are plenty of them on here. I know that from the last I've read more and more factories have updated.

I've read that bobcats are a little under powered. I'm not really sure what I'd get for a rig yet I know it would be used and I want a cab I would like to only spend around 20K for one if I can.

so when it comes down to it I know that the comment DEERE CAT Volvo and the other big boys have all kinds of field service rigs and stuff. and stores for you to get parts for them. I personally do all my own work. If hoses break or anything like that I'd more than likely have the stuff to build and replace my own, or know someone who can.

I want to know what ones can be ran hard and left out cold, any one have auto grease opt? I haven't really looked in to this but how many have quick tach? I know I have deere cat and kubota dealers close by terrex is north of me a little ways.

I was watching some stuff on Tak's and I really liked the log/ brush grapple they had on the one rig, I dont know what size it was..

I get all in all I want to know if any are know to have bad items that are known to keep going out because of poor design or poor quality.

Thanks for the help.

 

[pafarmer]

I have owned deere, CAT , bobcat and yanmar machines. All great machines IMHO....go with the dealer that wants to earn your business and has the best after the sale service. Ask for quotes from all your local dealers, the one that works the hardest to earn your business in the first sale is 9 times out of ten the one to choose. Just my 2 cents on the subject. Again , I don't think you can go too wrong with any of the machines currently on the market regardless of what others may have to say about it...35 years of movin dirt for a living gives me the option to comment without bias...good luck in your quest my friend....

 

[Allgood]

I started out with a few Bobcats for mini-excavators as well as compact track loaders. I discovered that I really didn't care for their excavators. They had great Kubota engines, but it seemed that once the ones I had passed about 1000 hours, I always had to work on something before using the machine. I like their track loaders better, but I twisted the loader on the two I had. Obviously, I'm sure you know this is very subjective and debatable subject. However, after about 15 years or so I'd rate my top choices for a mini-ex as 1)Takeuchi, 2)Kubota, 3)Case (appears mostly built by Yanmar?), 4)John Deere and 5)Cat. IMHO, if you buy a low hour machine from one of those manufacturers and it has been maintained, I doubt you'll have any issues.

As many here know, I've become a Tak guy and own 4 of them. I'd be just as happy if all of them were Kubota machines to be honest. Again, IMHO, I feel that Yanmar, Kubota and Isuzu make some of the best small diesel engines available for any price. My only reason for picking Tak units over Kubota is that it seems that since Kubota came to the dance a bit later, there are less choices in looking for late model/low hour used machines. I'd love to have a new machine, but a new mid sized 10 ton excavator like my Tak 175 would cost me well over $100k with a cab and the options I want. The same goes for the other brands I mentioned.

If you can find any of the brands I mentioned where you know it has been properly serviced and maintained, I doubt you'll have any reliability issues. This is certainly NOT to say that brands I did not mention are not great machines; I'm only speaking about machines I've personally operated and worked on or have owned. Even with over 4500 hours on one of my Tak excavators, it has yet to have to go to the shop for any work. I've been able to simply order the best priced parts from Tak dealers over the internet (my local Tak dealer sells parts for OVER retail) and make my few repairs myself with relative ease. I've all but quit using a backhoe. In my experience, you can easily out work a full sized, 20k lb 4X4 backhoe, with a 10k lb rubber tracked mini excavator. Good luck with whatever brand you end up buying!

 

[413wedge]

I was in the same boat as you . i was looking for a machine in the 5- 6000 lbs and want to spend less than 20k. i looked at lots of machines and at under 15k most were junk. it would take about 25k to find a machine that appeared to be well maintained. so i ended up buying a brand new kubota u25. kubota is offering 0% financing for 60 months. kubota worked hard to put my deal together i got the machine with 4 buckets, thumb, work lights, and insurance out the door for just under 36k. it was way more than i wanted to spend but if it runs for one day a month it pays for itself. reliability was my main reason for going new as i have to be ready to work with little notice. i bought this machine to get into spots i cant get to with my cat 420. this is my first excavator and i couldnt be happier with it.

 

[PeytonM]

I was watching a new demo on YouTube on the tak and I was sold on the unit it self they had a log grapple I really liked and their attach system you didn't have to get out of the unit. I know this will vary but how many hours can these motors get before they need a rebuild? A friend of mine has a jd lawnmower with a 17hp yanmar diesel and it blew up but it a failure with the oil cooler, the Deere dealer was shocked cause they had mowers like that with 10k hours never touched and this one had 4500.

How new of a rig would you need to have a 2 speed I'm gonna go to a Deere dealer and see if I could demo one and then a local bobcat dealer also. I'm not in any sort of rush...

Thanks for the help

 

[PeytonM]

heres the TAK demo vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeMFrikw5Hg I dont know how much this thing cost but I thought it was pretty sanny.

 

[PeytonM]

another thing I thought of, are buckets brand to brand or can you swap them out from one to the other like a skid steer? how much should a cab add on vs an open station? I really want a cab because where I live it gets cold early fall heat would be nice and I hate the heat in the summer time... AC is my friend I'll work in it but I'm not a fan of the heat

 

[413wedge]

I was watching a new demo on YouTube on the tak and I was sold on the unit it self they had a log grapple I really liked and their attach system you didn't have to get out of the unit. I know this will vary but how many hours can these motors get before they need a rebuild? A friend of mine has a jd lawnmower with a 17hp yanmar diesel and it blew up but it a failure with the oil cooler, the Deere dealer was shocked cause they had mowers like that with 10k hours never touched and this one had 4500.

How new of a rig would you need to have a 2 speed I'm gonna go to a Deere dealer and see if I could demo one and then a local bobcat dealer also. I'm not in any sort of rush...

Thanks for the help

i demoed the 27dzts and the bobcat before i went with the kubota. i thought the deere was the nicest but when it came down to cutting deal the dealer wanted almost 10k more for the deere. the kubota was my second choice and kubota was willing to work for it. im totally happy with my purchase

 

[PeytonM]

I went online to see where my nearest dealer for Tak's are and the closest one is almost 2 hours away with a truck and trailer. could go their fast if I was in a car because its in the Twin Citys in MN. the other one is closer to 4 hours north in Duluth MN.

I drove by a local kubota dealer and they had everything but mini excavators there, I was kind of depressed to be honest I know the tractor deere dealer has a 35G with a cab, dont know what the price tag is. I also have an construction deere dealer near by but I haven't drove by or stopped in to see what they have.

I have been really looking in to a Tak tb 235. I just wish I could find more under 30K


what kubota did you end up getting?

 

[413wedge]

I went online to see where my nearest dealer for Tak's are and the closest one is almost 2 hours away with a truck and trailer. could go their fast if I was in a car because its in the Twin Citys in MN. the other one is closer to 4 hours north in Duluth MN.

I drove by a local kubota dealer and they had everything but mini excavators there, I was kind of depressed to be honest I know the tractor deere dealer has a 35G with a cab, dont know what the price tag is. I also have an construction deere dealer near by but I haven't drove by or stopped in to see what they have.

I have been really looking in to a Tak tb 235. I just wish I could find more under 30K


what kubota did you end up getting?

i went with the u25 which is 5500lbs zero tail swing. sounds like youre looking for something a little bigger than what i was in the market for. i wanted to keep my trailer and machine under 10k so i could tow it with my one ton p/u. i would just talk to the kubota dealer theyll more than likely bring a machine up for you to demo. kubota is offering big money off and 0% financing. from what i was looking at in the under 6k lbs class kubota was the best value. having zero tail swing was an absolute must for what i use this machine for

 

[PeytonM]

You get a strait or angle blade that 6 way blade looks sweet but I'm sure it's $$$$$

 

[JGibson]

Whoever told you that bobcat was a bad machine is insane. I have a bobcat 335 with 1500 hours. Best mini excavator Ive had. Tons of power, very smooth and reliable. The only issue I have is the kubota engine sucks fuel. Ive had 2 takeuchi tb135's. Good machines, but not very smooth. The Jcb 804 that my friend has and I use sometimes is a good machine. Very fuel efficient, just takes a while to start up.

 

[PeytonM]

I have read good and bad things about bobcat I personally am not crazy over their skid steers place I use to work has 5 s150 2 650 a 135? 3 nh 170 I preferred to run a nh. Only bobcat I liked was the newest 650 because not many were allowed to use it and it stayed clean and had a radio

 

[413wedge]

You get a strait or angle blade that 6 way blade looks sweet but I'm sure it's $$$$$

angle blade wasnt an option on the kubota but if it was i would have went for it

 

[Colorado Digger]

I am not going to get involved.We run bobat 435's with 8000 hours. All good


Regards, CD

 

[KSSS]

When it comes to excavators, I don't know that reliability is an issue with any of them (main player machines). My experience is they just don't break very often if they are maintained.

 

[PeytonM]

Ok, thanks I just want to know how many had known issues with something always going out

 

[Deeretracks]

We have a bunch of Cat minis and they have great reliability but I swear they make the bushings out of bacon fat because the boom, bucket get loose very quickly even with good greasing practices. I have run quite a few Kubotas and really like them. They are always one of the 1st to make new options standard. They had 4way blades before cat/jd. Now even have 6way blades avail. Also, one of the 1st to have aux controls on the handle.

 

[PeytonM]

What are warrentys like? Are some pains to deal with or is it dealer

 

[Deeretracks]

All depends on the dealer.