Excavator/pond/thoughts?????

[Fuddyduddy1952]

So far...no one said I shouldn't buy one .
OK...let's all be 100% honest here. Just fun food for thought. Suppose someone says they'll give you either a brand new KXO80-5 OR a Porsche 911.
Choice?

 

[paulsharvey]

So far...no one said I shouldn't buy one .
OK...let's all be 100% honest here. Just fun food for thought. Suppose someone says they'll give you either a brand new KXO80-5 OR a Porsche 911.
Choice?

Id take the hoe over the Porsche. Really, there are a Lot of things id take over a Porsche.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Me too!

 

[anomad]

Even worse than a sports car would be a fancy boat! My Dad had two boats, not even very fancy ones. And we always joked that they were holes in the water into which he poured money.

 

[paulsharvey]

Id take a Mako Pro Skiff 15, with a 4 stroke Honda, 60hp, and bimini top, over the Porsche.

 

[jjeff]

Can a Porsche help you make firewood?

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Thanks guys! I'm showing all this to the missus!
Actually...she'd be fine with it as long as she could operate it! I can see the grin now!

 

[jjeff]

My teenage stepson and wife can operate mine/ours. Usually grinning I sometimes have a scowl cuz I'm usually doing all the.non mini x manual labor.

 

[garry1p]

Don't expect to push things around with the blade, it is not a bulldozer, I was disappointed when I thought I could plow a short driveway and the tracks just slipped.

However; having said that, GO FOR IT, they sure are handy to have around.

 

[gsganzer]

I talked the wife into a backhoe, when we bought our Kubota L3800. It's not an implement I use often, but it's sure the heck appreciated every time I use it. It has paid for itself, digging a hole for a tornado shelter (saved me $2500), buried 3 dogs, 2 horses and a donkey. I just used it the other week to dig some pipe-aways for some downspouts. I'm certainly too dang old to dig holes manually in our black clay soil.

I'll use it again at our new place for planting some trees, then I think I'm done with it.

 

[bigtiller]

I'm all for it. Good luck.

 

[ponytug]

Thanks guys! I'm showing all this to the missus!
Actually...she'd be fine with it as long as she could operate it! I can see the grin now!

LOL here.

A few years back, when we had some contractors in, they had an excavator on the property for a project. My wife got chatting with them said she'd never operated one. So, of course, one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, my wife was in it and operating it as if it was her day job. The crew said that if she ever wanted to change jobs, they'd hire her. I was blown away, as I'm not that great with hand eye coordination, and she is. I guess years of horse riding and motorcycle riding pays off. If we ever were to buy an excavator, I'm sure that she'd do 90+% of the work, and better than I would.

And, yes, there was a huge grin on her face after running it for a bit. (Mine too, watching her.) I might have a video somewhere around.

@Fuddyduddy1952 I hope that you both have a great time with it.

All the best,

Peter

 

[RayIN]

Even worse than a sports car would be a fancy boat! My Dad had two boats, not even very fancy ones. And we always joked that they were holes in the water into which he poured money.

A boat makes a hole in the water, into which you throw money. I used to own a 22' tri-hull ski boat.

 

[anomad]

A boat makes a hole in the water, into which you throw money. I used to own a 22' tri-hull ski boat.

That's the saying. And a little ski boat isn't even complicated.

 

[jjeff]

Boat is an acronym for bring out another thousand.

 

[paulsharvey]

Boats are another mission creep situation... You get a boat that does one thing, say gulf flats fishing, and it becomes too much for smaller lakes/rivers. Get something tailored for lakes/small river, and no good in any wind. Get a family cruiser/party barge, and its too much for 1 guy to take out after work. Can't ski behind a bass boat, can't fish off a ski boat; or not well. The Carolina skiff types are about as close as you get to a jack of all trades, master of none.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I don't need another boat since I already have a Rears & Sawbuck one.

 

[civilian]

You have to wonder when the wife can run an excavator or backhoe, and then the husband all of a sudden disappears. Mine does and I am still here. Jon

 

[jjeff]

Boats are another mission creep situation... You get a boat that does one thing, say gulf flats fishing, and it becomes too much for smaller lakes/rivers. Get something tailored for lakes/small river, and no good in any wind. Get a family cruiser/party barge, and its too much for 1 guy to take out after work. Can't ski behind a bass boat, can't fish off a ski boat; or not well. The Carolina skiff types are about as close as you get to a jack of all trades, master of none.

Or a pontoon or tritoon in bigger water. They are definitely the jack of all trades in my experience with kids especially. Plus aluminum so they seem less of a Headache then fiberglass especially in my experience over something with a fiberglass encapsulated wood cored transom or deck. provided its somewhat outfitted for occasional fishing. Ie half front gate, trolling motor etc.

 

[paulsharvey]

Or a pontoon or tritoon in bigger water. They are definitely the jack of all trades in my experience with kids especially. Plus aluminum so they seem less of a Headache then fiberglass especially in my experience over something with a fiberglass encapsulated wood cored transom or deck. provided its somewhat outfitted for occasional fishing. Ie half front gate, trolling motor etc.

Pontoon dont fish that we'll, but I think the biggest problem is, they are a pain to take out for a couple hours after work or similar. Not to side track the OPs thread, but this can be an issue with tractors and hoes too. You get an 8T midi ex, and although it Can do landscaping duties, you destroy the entire yard doing it. You basically eliminate dealer service, unless you have a 20,000lbs capacity trailer and a 1t truck. A rental gets dropped off and picked up, and a 2.5 or 3.5T mini hoe is transportable by a 1/2T truck and a twin axle trailer.

I dont know our OPs truck situation, and transport ability, and if he has a Ram 5500 and a 40,000 beaver tail, its a non factor.

Point being, you size a boat for a family of 5, it becomes a burden to just take out. You size a hoe for a one off job, and it becomes a burden. Rent or charter that off shore trip 1/year, and buy the pond hopper.