in the market for a mini or a backhoe

[Omega Woods]

I have a hoe on my Branson tractor. I bought an Bobcat E50 today because of all the things my I wanted my BH to do but really won't.

 

[Fixastuff]

I have a hoe on my Branson tractor. I bought an Bobcat E50 today because of all the things my I wanted my BH to do but really won't.

Nice, congratulations! I've been renting a e50 all year. Just returned it and bought a Tb260 cab today.

 

[Omega Woods]

Nice, congratulations! I've been renting a e50 all year. Just returned it and bought a Tb260 cab today.

Congrats to you! The Tak looks like a good machine for sure. How did you like the E50? Not enough to buy one, apparently?

 

[ovrszd]

Dredging a 2000ft drainage ditch is going to require reach.

If you go for a TLB get extendable boom.

An Excavator is a much quicker digging machine if equal sized to a TLB. But you pay a high price for that.

I've got $8,500 in this machine. Bought it 7 years ago. Have put hundreds of hours on it.

 

[Fixastuff]

Congrats to you! The Tak looks like a good machine for sure. How did you like the E50? Not enough to buy one, apparently?

I liked the bobcat it was a fine machine! My other machine is a Takeuchi and I like the local Takeuchi dealer better than the local Bobcat dealer.

 

[sd455dan]

No kidding. 6k mini though, what do you think about its usefulness for the tasks described. I know I really don't want anything too much smaller. I have some equipment background but not in Exs and Backhoes. large man lifts, large Hydraulic winches, cranes up to 60 ton, Oil rig equipment.

backhoe I can drive between a couple locations where it will get used no problem. Going to look at a ford 575e tomorrow morning to at least get a better idea of it sizes, capabilities, etc.

The 575E weighs a LOT more @14-16K lbs. Impressive FEL lift of 7000 lb and strong backhoe hydraulics even with the
extend a hoe bucket force of almost 12k lbs.

Nice jack of All trades, since It can also plow and that FEL lifting power can be very nice to have as well.

 

[ovrszd]

The 575E weighs a LOT more @14-16K lbs. Impressive FEL lift of 7000 lb and strong backhoe hydraulics even with the
extend a hoe of almost 12k lbs.

Nice jack of All trades, but It can also plow and that FEL can be very nice to have as well.

A 575 is a beast. Gonna have to spend a LOT of money to get an Excavator that can compete with it's capabilities.

 

[sd455dan]

A 575 is a beast. Gonna have to spend a LOT of money to get an Excavator that can compete with it's capabilities.

I Think you Got a Great deal on that 555A Looks like you got the clam shell bucket and the extend a hoe.

ps I could see a big advantage for the mini on that long cleanout trench job if you can't straddle the width with a regular backhoe. that 360 degree rotation of the mini will pay off when advancing while cleaning out the 2000 feet.

 

[herm0016]

I Think you Got a Great deal on that 555A Looks like you got the clam shell bucket and the extend a hoe.

ps I could see a big advantage for the mini on that long cleanout trench job if you can't straddle the width with a regular backhoe. that 360 degree rotation of the mini will pay off when advancing while cleaning out the 2000 feet.

On that job an offset boom like the older komatsu minis would be fantastic. Would be afraid I would collapse what is there if I straddle with a hoe.

 

[ovrszd]

I Think you Got a Great deal on that 555A Looks like you got the clam shell bucket and the extend a hoe.

ps I could see a big advantage for the mini on that long cleanout trench job if you can't straddle the width with a regular backhoe. that 360 degree rotation of the mini will pay off when advancing while cleaning out the 2000 feet.

Absolutely!!! In my opinion the biggest advantage of an Excavator is the ability to better handle the removed material. For sure best choice for the cleanout job.