What is a good used tried and true mini excavator to buy ?

[bill fold]

Location: between Atlanta/Knoxville/Asheville/Chattanooga/Greenville.

- I am studying the idea of purchasing a good used tried and true mini excavator that can be towed behind a 7.3 diesel dually truck with 2 axle trailer. The upper limits in size.

- needs to be able to pull a 3 foot bucket for field line when doing septic and sewer systems as well as dig the hole for the tank.

- should be able to reasonably dig stumps on a house site. I have rubber tire backhoe loader and larger excavators for the really big stumps. Would like to drift away from rubber tire backhoe loaders as its getting hard to find operators to run them in the mountains terrain.



- Should at least be able to load a smaller dump truck. I have a few ten wheeler dump trucks and can use large excavator for that.

- not sure if I should risk messing with EGR and DEF engines as I have no experience with them. I do a lot of repair myself unless it’s crazy technical such as transmissions or complex engines. But, if it’s worth the risk to buy something newer to gain something, I may try it.

- looking to keep as low of payment and insurance as possible. 30% work in winter and 80% in summer.

- would “like” to have an EROPS cab as the bees are becoming insane as well as summer heat. If the EROPS is a huge deal breaker in price, I’d skip it at a sacrifice.

- I wouldn’t mind having the ability to one day install a tilt rotator but that may asking too much of a mini Ex. I generally tend to baby my machines and use operating techniques that minimize abuse. 3 point turns, no bucket slamming in ditch and no bucket slapping (as if it’s always full of mud when it is not). Etc... A robust hydraulic pump and setup would be ideal. But, I do not use a hammer.

- I am familiar with renting mini excavators such as Kubota, Cat, and Tach. I am not opposed to Yanmarr or IHI as I know they are solid machines and supply engines and platforms for other brands.

- I have good access to Caterpillar parts through Yancey as well as aftermarket such as Heavyquip etc.... I suppose that the IHI-Kato dealer in Kentucky isn’t out of the question...but it’s a haul. I have a Tach dealer 40 miles from me. I have a Kubota dealer in my town (and surrounding towns) but they really charge upper dealership prices. Yanmarr headquarters is about 70 miles from me(I think this means parts are easily accessible or is it just an office building?).

- I prefer Cat when it comes to dozers and large equipment. I’m not as brand specific when it comes to mini machines. Although...I’ve enjoyed my Cat CTL and the toughness and quality.

- I want the option of buying parts from dealer, or aftermarket, as well as lots of eBay and Amazon. Standard stuff such as starter, pumps, electronics, hose fittings, bucket teeth, a/c compressor, alternators, etc......

- I would like for it to have a hand pattern changer. I run backhoe controls. Some of my part time helpers run Cat excavator controls.



-I like to be smart in purchases. Used is ok with me. I am not trying to do production contracting. I do lots of work through word or mouth, repeat customers, and relationships.

-Psychologically: I think along the lines of: Ford Crown Victoria Car, Mercedes 240d or 300d, Ford or Chevy trucks, lots of manual transmissions when it comes to automobiles. I like common, tried and true products.

- I like good resell. A machine that is widely known and regarded as quality and proven.

- What is the scale in hours for a used purchase? At what hour level would it be time for a new hydraulic pump-engine rebuild-final drive hydraulic replacement- re pin of the boom- etc? If I buy one at 3500 hours, is it a common time for a pump replacement? If it’s been replaced, do I get another 3500 hours? I can gauge this type of thing based on condition when it comes to old fashioned stuff like Cat d6 dozers but on a mini...it’s not my strong point.

- In the used market, what would be a good choice for a mini excavator based on what I’ve explained?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Tags]

As has been said before on other places on this site, dealer support is going to be your main consideration I would think. After that I think it all comes down to what you like better. I personally had a Kubota 161-3 and ran it up to about 6000 hours and change, I think I had only replaced the bushings at the end of the stick for the bucket, one or two hydraulic lines, and the tail pipe from the muffler out, and that was it. A strong machine for its size. I just serviced it regularly for the operators manual, and that machine didn't know me a dime when I sold it. I have operated a Yanmar 55 for the better part of the day, it seemed like a nice machine. I've never run a cat 304 or a 305 so I can't answer to that. The 161 is about a 12,000 pound machine with a cab. That would just be at the tipping point of uncomfortable towing it with your truck if you're using a pintle hook setup and if you're trailer brakes are working 100% IMHO. I think the biggest problem you'll find is that since the 161 was not an emissions equipped unit,plus it's an older unit, they are hard to find and fairly pricey to buy used if they have relatively low hours with good maintenance.

 

[KSSS]

Well pulling a 36" bucket in my view would be best in a 5 ton machine. Even though septic lines are shallow, that can be a lot of bucket for a 3.5 ton machine in hard or really wet conditions. A 5 ton machine would be more effective on stumps. I agree that size machine may start to tax a 7.3 but if everything works it would do that. A steady diet off that on an older pickup may increase mobilization costs down the road. A 5 ton would easily dump into a full size truck.

You don't to worry about DEF in any mini ex. You may have a DPF depending on year and model.

I would plan for a quick coupler (at least a manual type, pin grabber) and a good thumb. Pulling stumps works better with a 1' bucket on a mini ex in my opinion and hammering pins is stupid. A 5 ton with a longer stick may allow you to go with a progressive link thumb which are handy for forestry work.

I would find a couple and demo them. Bucket breakout is important in pulling stumps as well as lift capacity. Most of these specs can be found online. Remember if you put a coupler on you may lose some breakout depending on design.

There certainly are machines that will perform better than others, but like mentioned before, I dont think there are any current machines that wont get a job done. Buying used of course, much depends on how they were taken care of.

Personally I think the CAT 305 is the least productive machines I have run in that weight class. My opinion, your opinion may vary. Poor lift capacity, struggle running attachments that require good flow (mowers/mulchers). The new CAT 306 I think could really be an excellent mini excavator. I look forward to running one, but the 305 is a dog in my opinion. CAT is everywhere, and service would be easy, but in my view performance does matter.

Find a couple machines that you can demo and see what works best for you. Try to get the machines with equal sized buckets for easier comparison.

So machines that are about 5 ton that would fit. BC 45 and 50, JD/Hitachi 50, CASE CX55, CAT 305, Yanmar VIO 50 or 55. IHI 55, WN EZ53, Taki 260. There are others as well.

 

[PeterG]

Do you have a CDL? If not, you're limited to pulling just 10,000 lbs including the 10GVW trailer. What's the gvw of your two axle trailer and the weight of the trailer? That will tell us how much weight you can tow and size of the mini excavator. Reach of the excavator arm may be a factor. All brands seem pretty good. What color do you fancy?

 

[bill fold]

Do you have a CDL? If not, you're limited to pulling just 10,000 lbs including the 10GVW trailer. What's the gvw of your two axle trailer and the weight of the trailer? That will tell us how much weight you can tow and size of the mini excavator. Reach of the excavator arm may be a factor. All brands seem pretty good. What color do you fancy?

hi. Yes. I have class A cdl with hazmat, triples, doubles, tankers etc... - I have a lowboy as well as a 10 wheel dump truck. But for a mini...I’d like to tow with my diesel service truck f-350.
The trailer is just a 2 axle they I haul my Cat CTL on. My CTL is pretty heavy. Cat 268b with the bolt on loegering VTS track system.

 

[f311fr1]

Look at a CAT 304C CR or 305C CR. The 304C CR is a 10K machine.

 

[CM1995]

Do you have a CDL? If not, you're limited to pulling just 10,000 lbs including the 10GVW trailer. What's the gvw of your two axle trailer and the weight of the trailer? That will tell us how much weight you can tow and size of the mini excavator. Reach of the excavator arm may be a factor. All brands seem pretty good. What color do you fancy?

Not necessarily. Here in AL I can tow a 14K GVW trailer behind a 11,999 GVW single rear wheel F350 and be under the class A requirement. Now put that same trailer behind our RAM 3550 dually and it's a CDL rig in Alabama.

States rules vary on commercial drivers licenses. States can be more restrictive than the Federal rules if they choose to.

 

[monster76]

I use to pull my 60 deere behind my 7.3 its not going to win a race but it did just fine. it had a hydraulic thumb and we has 12 24 30 and 36 buckets and it handled them all just fine

 

[strykerakamack]

Federal regs are as long as combined weight is under 26,000 LBS your good to go .
So a 10K GVWR truck can haul a 16k GVWR Trailer as long as truck is rated to tow that weight .
Where they {Your State} catch you out is how your state defines it classifications .
In PA a basic registration will let you drive your truck and tow around 2000 LBS
Now if you want to legally tow some real weight you need a combination registration .
So you basically have to pay the state for the privilege of actually using what your truck is capable of doing .
And believe me they look to see if I've got a class 8 sticker in the window when I'm towing .
That's how all the landscapers get caught out , They think as long as their trailer is under 10k their ok
But nope they are driving out of classification according to combination weight .
They're towing 10k but driving with only a 10k registration where as they need a 20k combination registration to legally go down the road .

 

[.RC.]

What about an RB1? They are tried and true. Cheap to run and seldom break down, and if they do, cheap to replace.

 

[damnescavator]

Old thread but great subject. I bought a 2001 IHI 80NX with about 5800 hours on it earlier this year. It was in working order but had a pretty fast leak in the main hydraulic reservoir. I did the work myself and the rebuild of the tank came to about $500 after the welding guys were done. I also did a host of other fixups like paintwork, new seat, work light, fluid and oil changes, a very long list. All it needs now is some bucket pins and bushings at around $700, will get to it in a few months.

So my thought about what size and brand to buy is your decision should be mainly who are you going to be getting lots of parts from. The IHI dealer network is pretty sparse, but they do have access to lots of parts at reasonable prices and are more than happy to quote parts and sell them to you. Occasionally some part will need to come form Japan but not most. Your relationship to the factory parts dealer is essential in any heavy equipment acquisition and you are marrying your dealer.

The 80NX is the largest of the IHI range and at around 9 tons. In my opinion this is about the smallest general purpose mini excavator anyone who is doing general purpose work with one needs. You need more power to really lift stuff with the boom, dig out medium stumps, push dirt piles around, move decent yardages of dirt, etc. The 80NX I bought is more or less equivalent in weight to Caterpillar 308, Komatsu PC78, Hitachi ZX85, Kubota KX080, Yanmar ViO80, and the Bobcat E80. I would advise against buying smaller excavators unless you really know what you are going to be doing with it, say small trenches for example. I have seen smaller units hit their limits too many times to think they are all that useful. Seems like a good balance is around 9 tons. I bought an IHI because it is Japanese and let's face it, the Japs build better stuff. Kubota, Yanmar, and a few others are Japanese too and I would certainly give preference to them over say, Bobcat. I have had too many Bobcats break down to trust the brand. I would buy a Bobcat but not at a high price because I know it is going to need a lot of work.

There was some discussion above about CDLs. Once you get above about 5 tons for a piece of compact power equipment you are into CDL territory. I live in Georgia like the original poster where it matters what CDL you have. I currently only have a class B. The original poster says he has a class A CDL so he should be good to go. But for those with less like me, you can only tow 10,000# trailers behind a class 8 dump truck, before you need a class A CDL to do it with. I plan to get another class A CDL soon. The good news is you can take the CDL road test using your own rig and it can be a pickup truck with a trailer that pushes the combo over 26,000 lbs. So take your F-450 and hitch it to a 16k trailer and you are eligible to go take the class road test with it.

My excavator has cab but the air conditioning is broken and I do not plan to fix it. Older units with cabs tend to leak water, dust, and the HVAC systems tend not to work well. My thought is an OROPS is fine and I run mine with the door open anyway. Enclosed cabs are one of the first things not to work right on older units.