Bobcat E35 Long Arm (2014 model)

[diga]

Hi there guys I will keep it brief.
In the market for a new digger,I have a 2012 ZX35 Hitachi (3.5ton),860hrs machine,looking for something with a bit more power without going up a class.
I have had a Takeuchi TB138fr as well,about same power as you would expect,same motor (27hp Yanmar).

Have just test driven for 2 to 3hrs a new Bobcat E35 side by side,getting of the Hitachi and on the Bobcat,wow what a difference 6 or 7hp makes (Bobcat is 33.5hp).
Does anyone know off many problems with the bobcat range of excavators as thing just blew my Hitachi away an all digging aspects?

Diga.

 

[shadow2]

had a bobcat e35 2011 had to trade it for a cat .

the arm had 4 new sets of cylinders still would not stop leaking. 2 fuel tanks. 5-6 new wiring harness.

i would look at a cat 304

 

[diga]

Hi shadow
Sounds like you didnt have a good run with the Bobcat.
Like I said I had a Takeuchi first,air-con problems,leaking hoses,electrical switch failures.
Then went to the hitachi,860hrs it now showing signs of wear in the slew/swing bearing and of course its out of warranty despite only 860hrs of use.

 

[pondo]

Hey guys
I have a 2012 e32 and touch wood have not had any major issues. And I am tough on them, concrete demo and heavy lifts etc.
It is basically loaded with all feature hydraulic quick attach love that the most. I swear it's has saved days of Labour changing from buckets to hammer and back in seconds. Dual aux hydraulics. A/c and heat, much more productive when u are comfortable.
2012 tracks were not good...I replace one track at 950hrs
But overall I would recommend bobcat. But have no experience with cat etc....

 

[diga]

Hi pondo

That's encouraging info,I have been busy making a few calls to owners and one earth moving company that has 2 current model bobcat excavators in their fleet of several diggers,they were very impressed to say the least with their Bobcat diggers (E45 & E55).
Have yet to speak to an E35 owner but the Bobcat sales rep said he would arrange that for me.

 

[grk82]

I Bought a new Kubota U55 in 2012 and have around 1000 tough hours on the machine with zero issues and the tracks are still in great shape, Ive only done regular maintenance. I also have a Cat 305.5 and had a Bobcat 331 and E45. The Kubota has been a far better machine than the Cat and Bobcat, its worth taking a look at before you make a purchase.

 

[bigsmoke]

In the dealership at which I work, we've not had any major issues with the E32, 35, 42 and 45 excavators. The only mentionable issue is hoses that are too short for attachments like breakers, and operators breaking thumb cylinders for which the auxiliary port relief hasn't been adjusted.

Sean

 

[diga]

Hi there guys,just an update to this thread that I started a few weeks back.
Well I ended up buying a brand new 2014 Bobcat E35 long arm,well I must say that it has "blown me away" so far compared to both of my previous machines that I bought from new, 2012 Hitachi ZX35 (860hrs) and the 2008 Takeuchi TB138fr (2500hrs) .
The digging power of the E35 due to the 33.5hp Kubota engine opposed to everybody elses 27-28hp is unbelievable,that is 22% more power at the end of the day.
Apart from the noticeable power difference then there is the fuel economy,I dig mostly sewer/storm-water drains and foundations on new houses,a big day on both other machines were using about 30litres or better of fuel,the Bobcat E35 is using just over a 1/4 of a tank (53 lit tank) to do the same work,the bobcat has an 1800cc Kubota (D1803) as opposed to the 1600cc Yanmar (VTN88) motor that nearly all other manufacturers use,the Kubota is a much smoother running and quieter motor.
I guess its early days yet but its pretty impressive with it "freezing cold" air-conditioning and extra power,and very well appointed cab.
The only downsides I have found so far is the mud bucket does not reach the dozer blade for cleaning up rubbish or picking up the last few shovels of bedding sand/gravel,slewing to either side does solve this problem though,it would have been nice to be able to do it straight on but its not the end of the world. Second thing is there is no "safety lockout" switch on the front windscreen wiper,you can have the front windscreen in the raised position and bump the wiper switch and it will jump of its stop and come through the open cab and start trying to wipe the windscreen that's not there,both previous machines had a micro switch that made the wiper switch inactive when the windscreen was in the raised position.
I have shifted the wiper switch away from my hydraulic quick hitch switch and have not bumped it since.

diga

 

[bigsmoke]

Good for you, those 1803's are a smooth little engine when spooled up and have plenty of grunt to run that big pump. They are far and away our biggest selling excavator, I'm looking forward to trying the Kubota model against the T4 Doosan model and seeing if there are any noticeable differences in performance. You must have the forward mounted screen? They are a huge improvement over the side mounted dash controller.

 

[diga]

Hi bigsmoke,
Yeah this model E35 has the wiper motor mounted on the "lower fixed glass panel" unlike most diggers that are mounted on the swiveling glass. I haven't bumped the wiper switch since shifting it forward to one of the other blank switch positions. I am running a JB Autolock hydraulic hitch (cast steel built in New Zealand) not the genuine Bobcat brand,this allowed me to keep all my existing locally built buckets-(200mm,300,350,450,600,1200 mud bucket and ripper),that set will cost you around $5000-6000 built here in OZ if you dont get some cheapy's that are built in china which most of the dealers are now pushing here,this is the (third) machine they have been on,still good as new!
I am still having trouble getting my head around how good on fuel the E35 is,I did (two) sewer drains last week and didn't use a half tank of fuel,it will probably get even better with a few more hours on it.

diga

 

[diga]

Hi there guys,just thought I would post an update after purchasing and running my new Bobcat E35 for several weeks now (when the work is there).
Well I must say I am thrilled to bits with the Bobcats performance to date, as I wrote in my previous posts the fuel economy is outstanding and the digging power is closer to a 4-4.5ton class machine rather than a 3.5ton.
I would just about stake money on it that it will outperform ( digging speed and power) of any other machine in its class with EASE, after owning the Takeuchi TB-138fr and Hitachi ZX-35 in the same weight bracket there is just so much difference its like "night and day",so much so I use to struggle to get a chance to stop for a quick break during the day, now I am sitting around in the shade waiting for the drainers to catch up!!
Lifting capabilities are about the same according to SWL decal on the machine (385 kg/850lbs) with a "Long Arm".
It just had its first 50hr free service 2 weeks ago, the local dealer sent a service truck out to my home and they did it there, no surprises all went well.

diga

 

[Equip Junkie]

Awesome to hear. I have been contemplating a E63

 

[diga]

Hi there Equip Junkie,

I know its early days but its nice to jump on the machine each day and actually look forward to digging for a change.
Been operating backhoes,skidsteers and excavators for close on 30 years and the Bobcat E35 is like a breath of fresh air literally after niggling problems with the other two excavators.
I am guessing the Cat fans out there will be saying there probably a better machine, unfortunately the Cat's here in Australia are very expensive, I never got a quote this time around but last time I was in the market for a new digger Cat were a good $10,000 AUD more expensive than the Hitachi and everything else !!
I had initially made my mind up to get a Kubota this time around but the U35 Kubota (zero swing) was very disappointing with the amount of body work hanging over the track frame at various points of rotation, and still only 27hp as per my previous posts.

The Bobcat E35 (Long Arm) was $65,000 including GST (tax), DELIVERED TO MY DOOR,with a good quality aftermarket Hydraulic Hitch (JB /Autolock) made in New Zealand, its meets the new safety standards here and does not require a "safety pin" due to its design.
I have started to see more and more Bobcat excavators around lately, I guess the dealership is doing a good job, I took a drive past their yard last week and was surprised to see how many other brands they had recently traded since my purchase, there were 2/ Kubota KX121-3's, 2/ Cat 303.5's,1/Yanmar VIO 55,1/Kobelco (not sure what size) and my Hitachi ZX35u sitting in their used section,so I dont think it's just me "blinded by the light" !

Most of our machine dealers here are pretty slack to say the least, I waited 5 weeks for the Yanmar dealer (Rep) to even call me back with a trade, and that was after me trucking my machine over to their business for an appraisal, needless to say when he called back I was pretty short with him. Kubota took over a week with me chasing them,but they did come to my home for the appraisal,Clark (Bobcat Dealer) were good, they let me take my Hitachi out for a dig comparison and did the appraisal and took photos at the same time, it also took about a week.

I have spoken to a couple of other new Bobcat digger owners and they are all very happy with their machines so far.

 

[mudober]

Good to hear your happy with it. I hope it holds up well for your company. it is nice to run new isn't it. I would like to get a new kubota u55-4 myself machine with cab angle blade and 4 buckets was73900 yikes.