Where does a rubber tired excavator fit?

[lockhart76]

A rubber tired excavator seems to strike me as being more mobile than an excavator (on large jobsites or even travelling a short distance between jobsites no need for trailer) and more capable at digging than a backhoe, especially if a loader bucket is not needed. Is this true or does it just do the tasks of each machine poorly? Keep in mind the trenching I am doing is on a flat surface and excessive mud is not an issue. It is not in or around a city either. Is a rubber tired excavator worth considering for long runs of 8' trenching? Or would a person be disappointed?

 

[Mobiltech]

As far as Ive seen with the cities that use them they will dig just like an equal sized excavator. You lose a little time when trenching because you have to pick up the outriggers everytime you move the machine but if you're not in a big hurry that wouldn't matter.
They have poor mobility in soft or really rough ground. Ok on the level though.

 

[Maxfab]

Common on road maintenence as they can travel faster and dont damage the tarmac,
and more often used as material handlers, in scrap metal yards and as log high stackers on the wharf, we have very few backhoes in NZ

 

[Sirthor1881]

Material handlers-scrap yards or wood yards. I work on a lot of Liebherr rubber tire material handlers.

 

[bigshow]

Use them all the time for all sorts of projects, fine grade, dig for mainline pipe, set jersey barrier, pick Efco forms for carpenter crews, worked general excavation, load trucks, make cuts, lay blacktop, lay concrete, spread topsoil, and set rock all off of rubber. No wasted time with outriggers, anything that can be done with a tracked machine can be done with a rubber tired machine. They can pick themselves up and hop all around, push/pull and drag yourself up/down 2:1/steep slopes, through mud holes, walk off of cliffs up to 8' tall, the possibilities are endless. BUT like I said in your other thread, they are not as forgiving as tracked machines, I have many years of experience with these machines, I have one for personal use, I learned about these hoes from highly experienced hands, a lot of guys say you can't do this and you can't do that with them, I show them you CAN. However, the 200 series Cat is about the only I would stay away from, the one you inquired about previously. Deere makes a nice 595, Case 1085s work well(which I have) I love Cat 300 M series, and Volvo makes a nice hoe too.

 

[Lee (MN)]

As Bigshow has said they will do most everything. We had a 212 Cat for years at work, a very tough machine but hard to get parts for, was ran up to 16,000 hrs, that was sold and replaced with a 316C Cat, that was a royal POS, Cat mechanics threw there hands up with it, constant electrical problems, that was sold and a JD replaced it, I cant think of the model but 180 is in my head, anyway the operators LOVE this one, and from a mechanics standpoint much easier to service than the Cat. Very handy machines!.

Lee

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . I know bugger all about modern excavators but on a recent stay in the big smoke I saw a fair lump of a Hyundai wheel excavator getting around pulling a trailer full of buckets and attachments and a big lump of a Honda trail bike . . . looked like a good one man show.

Cheers.

 

[Graham1]

Rubber tyre excavators do most things a tracked excavator will do, apart from driving through really deep mud or up extreme slopes (you can always push with the boom if necessary).
They are better in a few areas. Firstly they don't tear up tarmac, paving. Secondly, you can drive between jobs, if they are not too far apart, saving on haulage costs (we drive our up to about 40 miles each way). Thirdly they are fast round site, so with a set of forks they can be used as a 360 degree telehandler. You also tend to sit a lot higher up, so have a better view loading trucks etc.
But, they are rocky without the stabilisers down. Not really suited to hard bulk excavation because of this, and more expensive to purchase.
Graham

 

[seohhdny]

I've run a Case 1085 rubber tired excavator and find that digging in hard clay, blacktop or concrete that the stabilizers on the machine are not very useful at all. The high center of gravity causes the machine to put a lot of pressure on one or two stabilizers and on clay, fill or blacktop the stabilizer will just push into the ground causing a hole. At that point the machine will rock and roll loosing stability. I'd recommend using a Case CX-75 with rubber tracks or a Cat 307 with the rubber tracks. Also these machines are lower to the ground making them easier to use around cable,telephone and electric lines. Great for trenching!