Kubota M59

[bdog]

Looking at buying one. It is used with less than 50hrs. I know the current owner and has has seen very light use. Still has paint on buckets. Not sure what year it is probably 3-4 years old.

Questions are how do these machines hold up?

How do they stack up size wise/capability wise to what most contractors use?

Primarily I want the machine for my own projects but it is small enough to fit on my pickup and trailer (~9,000lb) so I was thinking I maybe could do some contracting with it from time to time. Just wondering if the average person who needs to hire a backhoe would think this machine was adequate or if it was too small.

I have a small business and no absolute need for the extra income but I work around one week on one week off and was thinking maybe I could pass the time on my time off doing some backhoe work. I already am a contractor of sorts and run some heavy equipment, have insurance, etc.

I figure regular backhoes charge out work around $50/hr. If I could just do a couple days of work per month I could pretty much pay for the machine in a few years. If not oh well. I am not depending on it or anything just trying to justify the purchase more than anything as I am kind of at a tipping point as to whether buying or just renting for my projects makes more sense.

 

[Sysop]

If the insurance covers ya, it would be fine for many jobs.

Customers a.k.a. the average person who hires a job to be generally has no idea what to expect is going to come rolling up on the day of the job, nor do they care. It is up to you to know the capabilities of you and your machine when you go to research and quote the job. If you go to quote a job too large for your machine, you can either pass, or calculate in a rental fee for a larger machine. Same as if the job is too tight quartered for a machine as large as the M59, you can either pass, or calculate in rental of a mini-ex or borrow someone's BX or some other small machine.

The customer sees a job that needs done and may have some ideas of how to accomplish it. Anyone can call the rental lot and have the equipment delivered, but they called a real live operator (you) in because they don't know for sure. That will be your job, picking the tool for the task and having the confidence in operation. That M59 would perform many wonderful tasks and earn a lot of greenbacks with a skilled operator.

Once you have a machine and are going out in your area to quote this type of work, it will not take long to identify what type of machine would make a great second addition, nor take long to earn the money to buy it with that M59. That M59 would be a well rounded first machine to start a small side business with. The biggest cost, concern, and threat to such an endeavor is typically the insurance.

 

[bdog]

Thanks for the reply. Pretty sure my insurance would cover it. We don't do excavation per se but have skid steers, do some hole drilling, etc.

I know many customers don't know or care but I just didn't want to get laughed at when someone hired a backhoe and I showed up with the M59. It is a capable machine but it is quite a bit smaller than full size cat or deere machines you commonly see on jobsites. It is definitely larger than some of the tiny ones you see but still is not a full blown machine.

Years ago I used to do some contract shredding and it was by the acre or job. They didn't care if I used a 20' batwing or scissors but when people are paying you by the hour they tend to get funny about the machine you are using.

 

[bdog]

Thanks for the reply. Pretty sure my insurance would cover it. We don't do excavation per se but have skid steers, do some hole drilling, etc.

I know many customers don't know or care but I just didn't want to get laughed at when someone hired a backhoe and I showed up with the M59. It is a capable machine but it is quite a bit smaller than full size cat or deere machines you commonly see on jobsites. It is definitely larger than some of the tiny ones you see but still is not a full blown machine.

Years ago I used to do some contract shredding and it was by the acre or job. They didn't care if I used a 20' batwing or scissors but when people are paying you by the hour they tend to get funny about the machine you are using.

 

[Sysop]

I think they will at most look at the bucket size and your ability to operate it smoothly and efficiently. As long as those are suited to the job, you're set. If you show up with a 24" bucket to dig a trench that only needs to be 12" or vice-versa, or are spending all your time trying to control the "herky-jerkys" of an inexperienced operator, you're going to make an enemy out of someone that would have otherwise been a valued customer. I don't see anything to be concerned about as it is all easily mitigated by inspecting and choosing your jobs based on the tools you have or can acquire within a reasonable cost and can operate efficiently. Biggest hurdle is to not take on more than you can handle.

 

[TSO]

FYI, backhoe operators charge more like $100-125/hr around here. Regarding the machine, I think it's a great choice! If it came with a cab option, I would probably try to find a way to afford it. Regarding the insurance, not sure what yours covers, just make sure it covers excavating (if you plan to do it) ... My insurance carrier asks me every couple months if I do excavating. I don't, but they charge more to insure excavating so they keep up with their audits.

That's a great machine tho...

 

[RDrancher]

FYI, backhoe operators charge more like $100-125/hr around here. Regarding the machine, I think it's a great choice! If it came with a cab option, I would probably try to find a way to afford it. Regarding the insurance, not sure what yours covers, just make sure it covers excavating (if you plan to do it) ... My insurance carrier asks me every couple months if I do excavating. I don't, but they charge more to insure excavating so they keep up with their audits.

That's a great machine tho...

I agree...that $50 an hour thing sounds more like 1980's pricing. As TSO mentioned, make sure your covered under your insurance. Even most excavation policies have a "depth of dig" clause in there, or something like it.

 

[bdog]

I will admit that I am not totally up on backhoe pricing but I do contract out bulldozers on a fairly regular basis. Last one I hired was a D6T which was only a year or two old and is a 300k machine. We paid $135 an hour for it. It is a huge machine that shows up on a oversized load semi, etc and figured if it can be had for $135hr a 50k kubota that you can haul around with a pickup really can't be much more than $50 but I know that is comparing apples and oranges.

 

[LD1]

Agree with others that $50/hr is too low. Thats what I shoot for with my kubota doing bushhogging or light grading/FEL work.

If you want the machine for personal reasons thats fine. But if one of the big deciding factors is working for hire, get ahold of the insurance company first. Lots more liability with digging in the ground vs just playing on top of the ground. Risk of hitting underground utilities. Not sure how things are where you are, but around here when we call for things to be marked, they dont normally mark the homeowners stuff. IE: if the owner has electric burried to a shop, or to their house...not marked. Water isnt marked from the tap to the house. Septic systems, well water, sprinkler systems, landscape lighting, etc. Not marked and if you damage, you fix.

As to the rest of the questions, what do you plan on doing to make money? Installing utilities and tile? Digging footers? Septic systems (which I think requires a license), grading and leveling areas? Digging basements or crawl spaces?

Hard to answer if it is the right machine without knowing how you want to put it to use.

And the only time I like a 12" bucket is utilities. For doing tile or anything else, I like 18" or 24" buckets. There is no elbow room to work down in the trench if needed with a 12" bucket. And if the backhoe has the power, a 24" bucket will dig just as fast as a 12" bucket.

 

[bdog]

Primary reason for purchase would be for personal use. I have a lot of little things I could use it for. What is tripping me up is I am guessing I could rent one for $500 a day or less. To make the math simple I could rent for 100 days for what he machine costs. I am not even sure I have 100 days of stuff to do. Then again a machine is so much handier if it is sitting there and available when ever you need it vs scheduling a rental. Bottom line is I can afford the machine and just go pay cash for it but I am thinking it would be good if it it could earn its keep so to speak.