Cat 310 or KX 080

[HomeGamer]

Looking for information regarding these two excavators. I've narrowed my selection down based on what I can afford, current purchase incentives, distance to dealer, and the capabilities of the equipment. If I've missed a great competitor that would be good info too, I've got JCB and Deere/Hitachi dealers nearby but between financing and price they don't seem competitive.

I'm a homeowner with 100 acres in NH. A lot of boulders, 99% forested, the ground is chock full of rocks of all sizes. I'm planning to build roads and trails, clear areas for small scale agriculture (gardening, apples, maybe chickens), and expand our lawn and landscaping.

There are a lot of positive reviews on the Kubota all over the internet, a lot of youtube videos demonstrating its capabilities. The Cat is a newer machine, there aren't a lot of reviews out there or youtube videos. I don't see that I will ever need a swing boom, and it looks like it puts a lot of weight forward of center of gravity compared to a conventional boom. The Cat costs about 30% more, and most of the specs are about 30% higher than the Kubota (at least on paper). I got a ballpark price of 105 for the Kubota and 135 for the Cat - does that sound right? Standard blade, 1 bucket, thumb, ripper tooth, steel tracks for both.

Anybody with first or secondhand experience with the Cat? Anybody been disappointed with the Kubota? Any must have attachments given my situation? Any recommendations on what size bucket for digging in rough ground? Any other information I should know?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[PeterG]

Both machines would be great! These brand new machines would be great if you like to baby the machine, keep it clean and well maintained, operate it carefully not trying to abuse it much, and have a nice enclosed building to store it. On the other hand you have a huge budget, and could certainly go bigger. So I might suggest a full size 140-200 machine with under 4000 hours and and at cost of $80,000 or so and where you can put in $20,000 to get it right if needed. This size machine can push down trees, remove the stumps much more easily, lift and pull out large rocks, and if it's a bit older you might not have to worry as much about accidently swinging into something or getting it scratched and dirty. if you plan on keeping the machine for many, many years, the new machine might be good. But I find that one of the hardest abuse you can do is try and yank out stumps. It's a good way to break the thumb pin. I would go bigger with a used machine, do the work around your place, and then sell it for more than you bought it! Then I would by a new mini to keep for maintenance.

 

[Gbarz]

Wow sounds just like my situation. I went with a Sany 80u, for the Price, Yanmar engine and 5 year bumper to bumper warranty. I would look at the Sy95c it's a conventional boom and has plenty of power for the boulders we deal with in our neck of the woods. Pm me I can hook you up with a dealer that has one in stock you can look at. Sany's not the popular choice in US (at the moment) but they are 3rd largest equipment company in the world, way bigger than Kubota could ever hope to be.

 

[Monkeywithawrench]

Homegamer.......so did you pull the trigger on a machine?? Or are you still looking??
As PeterG mentioned, pulling stumps is hard on a machine. Alot of the smaller machines have a cast iron joint welded to regular steel at the tip of the boom where the stick articulates the boom. Have had a few customers with cracked welds where the cast meets the steel. One of the things I always look at is how the dealer is setup for parts and availability. Nothing says fun like trying to get information regarding price and availablity of parts. The Komatsu dealers around here really try my patience regarding looking up parts, finding out whether they have them or where they are, and price. My personal feeling is that Milton CAT here in NH has it right. They seem to have just about everything in stock or a day away. They will set you up with online parts lookup using CAT SIS (Service Information System) which also has price and availablity built into it. You can see exactly where a part may be for your machine (in stock or not) and how much it is. Komatsu won't do that for you. Kubota has online parts look up but doesn't tell you who has it. I think you'll find the CAT is a better machine than Kubota or the others mentioned........just personal opinion. I don't own any of the machines mentioned, just work on them. If I need a machine, then one phone call and its at the house when I need it. After all..........who better to loan a machine too than the mechanic who fixes them!!