Looks great! Congrats on the purchase. Tell us the particulars on your importation.
Did you also get hydraulic oil return filtration?
Yours is the first I have seen that properly ducts the gas engine flywheel fan air from the outside, as they do with the 1-cyl diesels, and I did with mine.
I also like the reversed boom cylinder and guard. The plastic console with all the gauges, as used in the latest Rhino machines, is an improvement, too. Getting the hyd thumb from the factory is a good idea as well.
The import process was surprisingly uneventful. I used the suppliers recommended customs broker in California that handled all forms for me. The supplier provided LCL CIF shipping to my inland port of Atlanta. I used the suppliers freight forwarding services, Vanguard Logistics, which handled the crate all the way to my local CFS warehouse. I did not have to interact with the freight forwarder with exception of a phone call to acknowledge the arrival notice and provide an email address. The supplier handled everything.
The crate was dispatched from Shandong on time and I tracked the boat from Qingdao to New York. That journey took about 1 month. Once the vessel arrived in NYC, the crate was processed by US Customs and released in about 10 days. The crate was then transported via rail to Atlanta, where I received it about 3 days later.
I rented a 6x12 U-Haul utility trailer (without the gate) and the forklift operators loaded the crate, no problem. I used a couple 3,000lbs straps to secure the crate and I was driving home! My local CFS warehouse was excellent. I was in, loaded, and out in 45 minutes.
It looks like I did not get any hydraulic filtration, but I vaguely remember asking the supplier about it. I just reviewed the contract from Alibaba and it just says hydraulic oil cooler. I guess I missed the filtration part. I suppose I can add an inline filter?
So far, I've been impressed with this little digger. They used lock washers, everywhere, hard hydraulic lines on the boom and all soft lines were spiral wrapped in either metal or polyethylene. They used actual hinge pins instead of bolts.
The console looks modern with two nice digital back lit instruments. There are two rocker switches on the console, one for the oil cooler fan and one for the boom light. I noticed the rocker switches did not illuminate when in the ON position. I disassemble the switches to find a resistor and LED inside each rocker switch, but the supplier did not wire the LED prongs. Another project for another day.
As mentioned, I was also impressed to see the supplier had ducted the fly wheel air out of the chassis.
I really like this body style of 1 ton. It has a single latch to unlock the "hood" and I can then rotate it back to gain access to the engine bay. No screws or body panels to remove and realign. The ROPS system is the most robust one I've seen. This body style can be configured for 2 or 4 post. The supplier provided parts for both configurations.
