who makes the BEST excavator

[Ford LT-9000]

Most contractors will keep their machines for 5 years or so the machine has usually paid for itself couple times over. The thing that costs money to repair is undercarriage as we are on steep slopes its hard on final drives,tracks and the rollers etc.

The operator makes or breaks the machines life if the operator is hard on the machine its going to wear out faster than a operator that is smoother.

One contractor here had the boom break off of their excavator from over working the machine (200 size) the machine was abused a little bit. The other contractors I worked for had the booms crack. Welding up cracks in buckets is a monthly chore and rebuilding buckets ever 6 months or so.

 

[Squizzy246B]

I really don't know what your guys fear of Hitachi machines if they were that bad why is there so many of them on jobsites.

I actually believe they are one of the best machines just haven't the experience with maintaining them day in day out to offer a well balanced opinion.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Hitachi machines are cheap to repair the Isuzu engines are almost flawless great on fuel start in any conditions and they are quiet. You grease the machine dailly and change the engine oil every 500 hours or so the machine should last you for ever.

If your buying the machine brandnew then you know what you got and you keep up the regular maintenance like greasing.

I imagine the expensive part is importing a machine to the island that must add to the cost to the machine.

 

[LaLaMan]

I do some trucking & hauling for a big time Demo contractor & i'm friends with one of his operators & buys nothing but Hitachi's !! You don't do any tougher work then demo & they hold up great!! this guy has the $$ to buy any kind of machine he wants & he buys hitachi's!!! That tells me something!!

Mazzocchi Wrecking in NJ?

 

[dayexco]

Yesterday 04:03 PM
Ford LT-9000 The problem with the Hyundai they are are really cheap just from the salt air here on the West Coast the body panels rust off the machinrey

really cheap? in what respect? my family has been in th excavating biz since 1947. i've got tens of thousands of seat time hours. the new hitachi 200 i bought back in 93 had to have the boom mounts and cab side repainted after delivery because of the effects of the salt air while it was being shipped over from japan. i'll put this hyundai up against any same sized hitachi throwing dirt day in day out....as i've said earlier, we attempt to calculate at the time of purchase what our overall operating expense for that life of the machine will be before we purchase it. this particular purchase, the ball was in hyundai's court. the hitachi i had was great, except that when it was brand new, hitachi wouldn't allow isuzu to cross-over oil filter numbers for the first 18 months....so i was at the hitachi dealer's mercy when it came to buying them...the hitachi we had the 6-BD1T.....to purchase both filters from the hitachi dealer was $99.00....after they released the numbers, $31.00. from the NAPA store. this hyundai has the 5.9 cummins, i can get those filters anywhere. if you've got some extra time, price a new windshield for the size hitachi you run, and call the deere dealer and ask them what that same windshield would cost for the deere equivalent....it'll wake you up

 

[Ford LT-9000]

The Hyundai's I looked at was one a excavation contractor I worked with on one job his machine was junky it didn't look very well built. Then I looked at another Hyundai at a auction the side panels were rusted holes through them the rest of the machine was beat to crap. The machine didn't have that many hours on it.

With windows on excavators the machines around here have cab gaurding its over the cab with bars over the front and door windows. Its pretty rare to break a window if a window is broke it gets replaced with lexan or the local glass company cuts a new window.

When you have forestry contractors that buy Hitachi machines for one reason because they are tough. I seriously doubt your machines dig blasted rock 10 hours a day there is no such thing as dirt building logging roads. The forest industry proves the toughness of machines Hitachi and Deere are on the top of the list for road building excavators.

The local excavation contractors dig blast rock too but not as much but they are still digging rock building driveways and general landclearing. Most of the area is dirt with loose boulders that range from 6"s to 6' diameter to solid rock that needs blasting.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Cat has posted the 324D and 325D on its web site (under hydraulic excavators). Squizzy, you have seen this already as the D-series have been listed on the Cat AU site for quite some time now.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Cat has posted the 324D and 325D on its web site (under hydraulic excavators). Squizzy, you have seen this already as the D-series have been listed on the Cat AU site for quite some time now.

I'll have to give a political response to that one...I can't recall....but maybe. In the mid sized machines its just so rare to see a Cat these days.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Given your previous posts here, do you see Hitachi and Komatsu the most? Or are mid-size excavators not too popular in general?

 

[Squizzy246B]

Given your previous posts here, do you see Hitachi and Komatsu the most? Or are mid-size excavators not too popular in general?

Hitachi...everywhere you look in the mid size stuff. We have a couple of PC 1000's in local quarrys and Komatsu mini's are becoming more popular. Out the mines its a different story...Cat Cat Cat.

 

[Dozerboy]

You don't see anything but Cats and Linkbelts out here. I'm missing my Deere's and Hitachi's.

 

[coopers]

Out here in WA it's Cat Deere and Hitatchi for the most part (at least on the west side). Pape Machinery is a dominant business here in WA with multiple stores and generally speaking where ever these stores are (one in the north end and one in the south end with a few here and there inbetween) there's a lot of these machines running around. There's a few Kobelco dealers here and there and those you see around more and more now especially those bladerunner models and that's about it. Komatsu and Link-Belt aren't too common but they are around.

Blake
WA

 

[tylermckee]

Out here in WA it's Cat Deere and Hitatchi for the most part (at least on the west side). Pape Machinery is a dominant business here in WA with multiple stores and generally speaking where ever these stores are (one in the north end and one in the south end with a few here and there inbetween) there's a lot of these machines running around. There's a few Kobelco dealers here and there and those you see around more and more now especially those bladerunner models and that's about it. Komatsu and Link-Belt aren't too common but they are around.

Blake
WA

yup around here all you see is cat, hitachi, and deere. i see a komatsu or kobelco every once in a while. Although the outfit i work for just bought 2 brand new hyundai's. a 140 and a 160 and i'm very impressed with them so far.

 

[CascadeScaper]

Pape out of Wenatchee blows, I refuse to do business with them. I imagine their westside counterparts are much better, but the guys in Wenatchee are getting their asses stomped on by NC Machinery. I guess the Wenatchee branch of NC leads the state in rentals and for good reason, the Chelan area is EXPLODING.

95% Cat and Deere here, one guy runs an old Sumitomo, which is basically Case. Most of the loggers up north are running Kobelcos in Colville but that's because they have a dealer in Spokane, nothing here in centrail WA for Kobelco, Link Belt, Komatsu, Case, nothing, just Deere and Cat.

Tyler, where are you located?

 

[tylermckee]

Anacortes, about an hour and change drive north of seattle.

 

[coopers]

That's interesting that Pape blows out east. I was kind of wondering how well they do. I pass them every summer on my way to Chelan. We buy our Deere equipment from the Pape in Mt. Vernon. They treat us pretty well, good service. I'm not sure how NC does in Mt. Vernon. We just had Western Power and Equipment move up in the Arlington area, it'll be interesting to see how they do. We have Case backhoes but no dozers or anything else they make.

Blake
WA

 

[tylermckee]

That's interesting that Pape blows out east. I was kind of wondering how well they do. I pass them every summer on my way to Chelan. We buy our Deere equipment from the Pape in Mt. Vernon. They treat us pretty well, good service. I'm not sure how NC does in Mt. Vernon. We just had Western Power and Equipment move up in the Arlington area, it'll be interesting to see how they do. We have Case backhoes but no dozers or anything else they make.

Blake
WA

mt. vernon is only about 20 minutes from here, where are you located?

 

[CascadeScaper]

That's right, you told me Anacortes before, duh. LOL. My bad.

Coopers - Do you mean Machinery Power and Equipment? If so, that's MP&E, that's basically our Wenatchee store. I think they're the family company of NC Machinery and they stretch all the way to Oregon. NC was just a WA state company years ago, much like Smith Tractor before Pape bought them out. MP&E = NC Machinery = Cat, kinda weird.

 

[coopers]

No, Western Power and Equipment is a case dealer.

Blake
WA

 

[Mr HMK]

Hitachi

I think that Hitachi is the best one you can find in States. Hitachi is sold by JD with JD name. Checkout if they started to import ZAXIS-3 series for JD on OEM basis.

-reason?? they are excavator specialist..