Do I need an excavator for my property?

[aighead]

Over 4 years later

Crap, got me again! Good catch, I thought it was new!

 

[Legdoc]

PaulLind, there is a lot of good advice here. My advice comes as a former auto mechanic, Cat mechanic and machinist prior to a life change and now a degreed and licensed 61 year old medical professional with back and knee problems. I downsized from a 234 to a 111 acre cattle ranch with a 3/4 mile private limestone road. What type equipment you need may be much different than what you want. Additionally, what is the condition of your place, what you want to do with it and how well do you realistically plan to maintain it. You could spend a king's ransom and then some and still not have everything you need or want. If you have to call a dealer for every time a piece of equipment burps or has a hiccup you may wish you didn't have that machine. 25 years ago I started with a 70 hp 4x4 open cab tractor with FEL. It would pull a 6' disc reasonably in moderate soil, handle round bales, pull a fertilizer spreader, sprayer, 15' batwing in low height pastures. Then came 4 serious encounters with Africanized bees. Solution, a cab 95 hp 4x4 tractor. It does everything the smaller tractor does just better and in comfort. Then came construction work. A home, barn, loading dirt, digging trenches. Well I purchased a TLB which became the most used machine on the place. Well it's not efficient to haul soil in a 1.25 yard bucket very far so I purchased a POS single axle gas dump truck which really sped things up. The old place had a 1.5 mile red gravel road that had heavy traffic with a horrible easement that was abused by a neighbor and row crop farmers that needed maintenance. Well I purchased an old grader that fixed that in short order. Also quickly knocked down thousands of up to 1.5' tall fire ant mounds and smoothed the fields allowing a reasonable speed with other machines in the fields. Well for some reason I needed a CTL so I purchased one. That became the most universal machine on the place. Than came attachments, multiple buckets, hydraulic concrete auger bucket... Prior to the current political environment I all but purchased a 4 ton mini excavator which I still have plenty work for. I am not a wealthy man. For 20 years I worked 80 hour weeks and made good money. Time was precious and still is. Like an other member said being able to go out, turn a key and get the job done without waiting for a rental to be available or delivered is a big deal. I have a incredibly high pressure job and seat time has been the best therapy I know! I have no sons for help and everything I purchased saved time and reduced the physical burden on me. My medical career is rapidly winding down due to changes in healthcare beyond my control. Good income is gone. Degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, knee issues have taken their toll. Do I have any regrets over my decisions, absolutely not. That mini excavator sure it tempting. But I will do my best to fight off the urge. This has been a long post. I hope it helps.

 

[Legdoc]

It's called getting old. Considering the alternative I will march on!

 

[Willie B]

I was de

 

[Willie B]

I'll voice my opinion, worth two cents less inflation
Unless I have a bunch of ongoing tree removal and hoeing in my future, I would opt for a tractor loader with a PTO for most acreages. I would then rent a nice new mini now and again when the *infrequent* digging jobs came up. Note the emphasis on infrequent.
I'd value a big brush hog over dang near anything. The tractor loader will take care of general scoopy things, and a back blade with turntable and angle frankly kicks a backhoe bucket to the ditch, LOL.
In other words, I am not a good TLB advocate because of the no PTO thing.

Who said one tractor?

 

[Aceofspades]

If you were thinking about buying new, you can probably forget about it for the near future, at least that's been my experience.

 

[skyking1]

Who said one tractor?

you have to set some boundaries Willie
I'd like a 135 blade runner on rubber shoes please

 

[Willie B]

Tractor/Loader/Backhoe is my large Swiss Army Knife. It does such a large variety of chores! Mine weighs about 18,000 LBS. It doesn't dig as fast as a similar weight excavator, but I feel it does better at managing huge rocks. Otherwise, it's more versatile than an excavator, & my land three miles away can be reached in minutes. In the time it would take to hitch the truck to the trailer, I'm at the land with the hoe.

 

[Legdoc]

Willie B is spot on with the TLB. My 580M is just too big to get into some areas. But, it sure can move some dirt, lift, drill holes,load dump trucks...

 

[Willie B]

Willie B is spot on with the TLB. My 580M is just too big to get into some areas. But, it sure can move some dirt, lift, drill holes, load dump trucks...

Gee, mine is seven feet wide.

 

[Legdoc]

That's probably close to the width of my TLB also. Last year I rented a Bobcat mini ex and got into many tight places the 580 couldn't. Being able to swing 360 is a blessing and the blade was a bonus. I had better stop here or I might be over come with desire to go ahead with the Kubota U-35 that I almost purchased in 2020.

 

[Willie B]

That's probably close to the width of my TLB also. Last year I rented a Bobcat mini ex and got into many tight places the 580 couldn't. Being able to swing 360 is a blessing and the blade was a bonus. I had better stop here or I might be over come with desire to go ahead with the Kubota U-35 that I almost purchased in 2020.

Occasionally, I find myself on an excavator.
A customer bought a late model, low hour Kubota 8 ton. For reasons I can't explain he still hired a contractor with 7 ton John Deere to dig for new underground service. Like ALL vacation home owners, he NEEDED to have the generator FAR from the house where no one can see it.
A few weeks after the seed was germinated, the power company set a new pole 200 feet from the house, nowhere close to the original pole. At the same time, the landscape architect decided to build a road dead center through the generator. Clearly, we had put the generator in the wrong place.
This time, we used the Kubota to dig. First day, we found the 48" toothless bucket partially decoupled. Bucket, & coupler were both damaged. It was turned over to the Kubota mechanic to repair at a later date.
Weeks later, it was fixed & the owner was anxious. Found it at the other end of a mile long STEEP driveway. We spent time moving it to the house. Switching buckets was almost fun, hydraulic coupler & all.
We dug without incident, but on steep ground, I did not enjoy that there is no way to level the house & turntable on smaller excavators. I really don't like that! Working under tree limbs is a disadvantage with excavators.

On another job, the pool guy had hired a professional excavator, but forgot electrical conduits. He rented a mini & started to dig. Two hours into it, he hadn't made much progress. In the interest of finishing in one day, I took over. The machine was the nicest sandbox toy ever! A cross between a rocking horse & an excavator. I felt like I was sitting in a bowl instead of a digging machine. It tipped with every scoop. Brand new, I think 120 hours on it, a 3 ton Gehl. Soil was wet heavy clay like, each scoop involved a loud suction sound & with the tiny bucket, there were a LOT of scoops! By days end I dug & filled a ditch I'd have done before noon with my backhoe.

 

[673moto]

If you want an excavator and can handle the expense... go for it.
Personally I side with skyking, large tractor is best for land, rent excavator when needed.

 

[skyking1]

It is the idea of getting a brand new one each time that really makes me happy

 

[Legdoc]

What did stop you from not purchasing it?

Concerns over the results of the 2020 election.

 

[Willie B]

I stopped trying to make business sense a couple decades ago. I lusted for a digger & bought a "cheap" one maybe 2000?
I'm not tempted by an excavator, a hoe is more versatile.
If I had it to do again, I'd have started with a nice one...might still have it. I've upgraded again & again. I always sell for more than I pay, but I spend a lot to make them valuable.

 

[Legdoc]

I stopped trying to make business sense a couple decades ago. I lusted for a digger & bought a "cheap" one maybe 2000?
I'm not tempted by an excavator, a hoe is more versatile.
If I had it to do again, I'd have started with a nice one...might still have it. I've upgraded again & again. I always sell for more than I pay, but I spend a lot to make them valuable.

I'm with you. My first TLB was a 580L 4x2. A patient of mine informed me they were were trading it for a new machine and I was able to buy it for trade in value. It was in good condition. Several years later I traded it in for a 580M 4x4 with extend-a-hoe. They gave me more on trade than I paid for it as there was a shortage in their rental fleet and needed it. One of the few times I was able to come out on a deal.