New (toy) tool - Excavator

[scoutcub]

After much debating over size and shopping, the newest toy was delivered yesterday. A '01 312B with 42" & 24" buckets, quick coupler, and mechanical thumb.
Some initial observations....
1. at first I was overwhelmed by the size when driving it back to the home site....the trail was fairly narrow, and I see how it's easy to put some dings in it.
2. Someone had mentioned it might be "tippy", well that's correct depending on what you're doing... I was digging some stumps, and was thinking I would lift them up as high as possible, to drop em and knock the dirt off.....all a great idea, except i had rotated the turntable 90' and between the stump and the weighty thumb, she started tippin pretty good! That was a quick lesson in physics.
3. I had toyed with the idea of a bigger machine, and while it might not tip as much, to move it around thru the woods would be even more of a pain, banging into trees, and not fitting on the current trails on the property. I had to stop and remove a tree just to get it back to where I wanted it, and barely fit on the trail with the 312!
All in all, I'm very pleased with the machine thus far, and will be able to do a lot more work than the dozer alone. I'm still getting used to the controls, since they're different from my tractor's backhoe and dozer controls.

 

[ClearViewGroup]

very very nice machine...just a quick note that you more than likely already know...switch to the 24in bucket for stumping as it will save you alot on weight...between the weight of the bucket and the weight of the extra dirt that will get in the bucket...

 

[Oleozz]

Darn, I'm jealous.
That is a beast of an excavator, at least from the pics it looks big.
I gave some thought to buying a smaller one this fall for much needed drainage tile on our farm but have decided to have my neigbor put them in. He runs them for a living.
Good luck with your machine.

 

[EddieWalker]

Congratulations.

I've looked at quite a few 312 and 312B's in the past few months and really like them. Prices with 3,500 to 4,000 hours are all in the low to mid $20's, which I think is really good. Compared to my backhoe, I think that sized excavator would be a big improvement in speed and ability to clear land. It will also be more productive becuase of the tracks being able to move around on muddy days. Add a cab to it with heat and air, and I'd be getting work done right now, instead of waiting for the mud to dry up.

One of the many good things about Cat is that when you are done with it, you'll be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it. Hard to lose money on them!!!

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

I am yellow with envy...

 

[two_bit_score]

Yowzzza!

 

[Thomas]

Congrats.
Your one man crew w/that setup.

 

[tlbuser]

Hope the three of you have a long, productive time together.

 

[tlbuser]

It will also be more productive becuase of the tracks being able to move around on muddy days. Add a cab to it with heat and air, and I'd be getting work done right now, instead of waiting for the mud to dry up.

One of the many good things about Cat is that when you are done with it, you'll be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it. Hard to lose money on them!!!

Eddie

Mud is still mud when trying to get anything done. I've always made a bigger mess that had to be regraded once the mud dries

 

[EddieWalker]

Mud is still mud when trying to get anything done. I've always made a bigger mess that had to be regraded once the mud dries

I agree with you 100% when working the dirt, but I'm thinking that for tree removal, it would be ideal. Not getting them to the burn pile, or doing anything with them, but for getting them on the ground and ready to move when the ground dries up, I think the excavator with tracks would be very useful.

I'm off today. It was 24 degrees outside when I got up this morning. We had 2 1/4 inches of rain on Wednesday, then snow fluries on Thursday. Yesterday was dry, but it never got out of the 30's. Today is supposed to get into the 40's. With temps like that, and more rain predicted for Tuesday, I have a feeling it's going to be awhile until I can do anything with my wheeled tractors. I went and sat in my deer stand for a few hours, and I have stuff to do around the house, but when the holidays are over, and I'm off, I'd sure like to be doing something productive on the land. The only thing that I can think of that would do this is a tracked excavator.

Eddie