BTDT
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2006
- Messages
- 2,209
- Location
- North Texas
- Tractor
- IH M Farmall-propane powered, H Farmall (father-in-laws), Ford 1300 diesel
I'm jealous. You're going to have a blast with that. Post lot's of pics.
Should i pursue this Excavator.
- Thread starter mike69440
- Start date
mike69440 said:
I do not know. I'm new to the excavator business.
What are the best websites for price comparison? I started up the aviongoo.com website to provide an index that crosses vendor listings for aircraft.
And, I'm working on a similar aggregate index listing excavators at http://www.excavargoo.com
So far it looks like similar companies are involved. But, it also looks like catused.com might be another aspect of the price comparison arena.
Any suggestions?
OP
mike69440
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
- Messages
- 3,093
- Location
- Central NH (God's Country)
- Tractor
- 1984 Kubota B7200D (Sold 2015,) 2005 L39 Kubota, 2006 RTV 900 1997 Komatsu PC75UU2E w/ Thumb & Blade, 2013 Mahindra Max28XL Shuttle
Stuff is just more expensive in the NE.
Labor is way more expensive as labor is overtaxed and over regulated. There is also the hack factor. Too much grease is applied to everything to get anything done. Medical and insurance costs are stupid.
The type of soil and the winter take their toll on equipment, and not being able to work year round means the businessmen have to charge more per hour.
So All in all I think I made out well and paid a fair price.
RC Hazelton in Montpelier VT treated me quite well on servicing the machine and the thumb install.
I'll be getting a ready to work machine on site for $26 k or so. I am not complaining.
The machine is scheduled for delivery Tuesday.
PS Good luck with the website.
Labor is way more expensive as labor is overtaxed and over regulated. There is also the hack factor. Too much grease is applied to everything to get anything done. Medical and insurance costs are stupid.
The type of soil and the winter take their toll on equipment, and not being able to work year round means the businessmen have to charge more per hour.
So All in all I think I made out well and paid a fair price.
RC Hazelton in Montpelier VT treated me quite well on servicing the machine and the thumb install.
I'll be getting a ready to work machine on site for $26 k or so. I am not complaining.
The machine is scheduled for delivery Tuesday.
PS Good luck with the website.
OP
mike69440
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
- Messages
- 3,093
- Location
- Central NH (God's Country)
- Tractor
- 1984 Kubota B7200D (Sold 2015,) 2005 L39 Kubota, 2006 RTV 900 1997 Komatsu PC75UU2E w/ Thumb & Blade, 2013 Mahindra Max28XL Shuttle
Yes and no.
PC-75 is size of Cat 307. The PC-50 = Cat 305 = KX-161 (approx)
You should be able to pluck a 6" or maybe 8" stump but fiqure an hour of hard work to pull a +20" stump. Do that often you will kill the 305.
To pluck a 20" stump you need a Cat 315!
My little Kubota L39 continues to amaze me that it is almost as strong but much slower than say a Cat 304!
PC-75 is size of Cat 307. The PC-50 = Cat 305 = KX-161 (approx)
You should be able to pluck a 6" or maybe 8" stump but fiqure an hour of hard work to pull a +20" stump. Do that often you will kill the 305.
To pluck a 20" stump you need a Cat 315!
My little Kubota L39 continues to amaze me that it is almost as strong but much slower than say a Cat 304!
OP
mike69440
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
- Messages
- 3,093
- Location
- Central NH (God's Country)
- Tractor
- 1984 Kubota B7200D (Sold 2015,) 2005 L39 Kubota, 2006 RTV 900 1997 Komatsu PC75UU2E w/ Thumb & Blade, 2013 Mahindra Max28XL Shuttle
Well my $22K excavator is up to near $29,000 and counting. This time hopefully everything is fixed. The spool valve remote for the thumb casting cracked. and there was an internal problem with the valving on the right drive. I believe this was just bad luck, as my demo of the machine and the dealers check out did not uncover the problems. It does not take much to run up a bill.
I guess this is the chance you take buying used. Of the $7 grand difference about $4,500 is the new thumb and bucket, including installation.
I was figuring about $26,500 to get it on site. I'm overbudget at this point. I sure hope it earns finally it's keep!
Additionally I own a L39, additionly beefed, weighted, and reinforced to do as much as can be asked of a wheeled +8,000 lb 37 net BHP beefed up farm tractor can be expected.
If I were doing medium landscape projects, I would be all set. I bought the 18,000 Lb used Komatsu PC-75 excavator to help the L39, but all this seems to acomplish so far is overload the L39 as a rock/dirt transporter. As the excavator has broken down twice, I have yet to determine it's full capabilities. It is basically a good machine and I expect not to get rid of it anytime soon. My project list is very long.
With just the L39 on hand, I hired out having the 1/4 mile road roughed in. The road bed has is 5 feet of material in spots, about 1800-2000 yards total material being moved from the house site blast area. I did at least 25% of the material moving and just about all of the fine work with the L39. Between clearing, blasting, Wetland Studies & permits, excvator, dozer, Loader, and Dump truck hireouts, and many Tri axale loads of processed material used in the upper layers, this road has run about $40K. It is a heck of a road.
Add another $15,000 for other hired site work and you can hopefully understand the excavator purchase.
I still have work to appease the wetland people and I want to line the length of both sides of the road with boulders. The PC75 will help.
The house plans are just as grand. I have about 800 yds of additional blast spoils to move, plus about 100 yds. of organic material. Then to have a "backyard" I want to level a 100 x 150' area to have a walkout basement and a real backyard. This involves maybe 1000-1500 yards of material.
The blasted area for the house served as a gravel pit for the road, and a basement hole is started. The hole is about 40% completed so far as total regarding material left to move.
I started digging with the Excavator and L39.
I fiqure with 1500 L39 bucket loads, my wife and I could do the foundation hole in about 120 hours. We would place the material to build up an area for a fuel depot and metal building for the L39 and PC75, B7200, boat, camper etc. next to a curently unused unfenced outdoor riding rink.
I have decided I either need a 5-8 yard dump truck and lots of time or I'm going to hire the bsement out, at least to the extent I did the road.
Hire out wins! I also have hundreds of stumps and want to make a pasture, so along with hiring the roughing of the house site, hiring cleaning up and grading the cleared 5 acres will cost me about $20,000.
Even so, I will keep the PC-75 and L39 well excercised. (Septic, back fill foundation, grading, trenching for electric to the home site and existing barn, well pipe line trenches , drainage and culverts, a +1/4 Acre pond, trail, and wall building.)
I am using my retirement equity to build property equity. At least I will get to enjoy the place till the nursing home time comes many years from now I hope. Property may not be a liquid asset, but I will take the chance.
When i finally retire, I may very well get into earth work as a business hobby.
I guess this is the chance you take buying used. Of the $7 grand difference about $4,500 is the new thumb and bucket, including installation.
I was figuring about $26,500 to get it on site. I'm overbudget at this point. I sure hope it earns finally it's keep!
Additionally I own a L39, additionly beefed, weighted, and reinforced to do as much as can be asked of a wheeled +8,000 lb 37 net BHP beefed up farm tractor can be expected.
If I were doing medium landscape projects, I would be all set. I bought the 18,000 Lb used Komatsu PC-75 excavator to help the L39, but all this seems to acomplish so far is overload the L39 as a rock/dirt transporter. As the excavator has broken down twice, I have yet to determine it's full capabilities. It is basically a good machine and I expect not to get rid of it anytime soon. My project list is very long.
With just the L39 on hand, I hired out having the 1/4 mile road roughed in. The road bed has is 5 feet of material in spots, about 1800-2000 yards total material being moved from the house site blast area. I did at least 25% of the material moving and just about all of the fine work with the L39. Between clearing, blasting, Wetland Studies & permits, excvator, dozer, Loader, and Dump truck hireouts, and many Tri axale loads of processed material used in the upper layers, this road has run about $40K. It is a heck of a road.
Add another $15,000 for other hired site work and you can hopefully understand the excavator purchase.
I still have work to appease the wetland people and I want to line the length of both sides of the road with boulders. The PC75 will help.
The house plans are just as grand. I have about 800 yds of additional blast spoils to move, plus about 100 yds. of organic material. Then to have a "backyard" I want to level a 100 x 150' area to have a walkout basement and a real backyard. This involves maybe 1000-1500 yards of material.
The blasted area for the house served as a gravel pit for the road, and a basement hole is started. The hole is about 40% completed so far as total regarding material left to move.
I started digging with the Excavator and L39.
I fiqure with 1500 L39 bucket loads, my wife and I could do the foundation hole in about 120 hours. We would place the material to build up an area for a fuel depot and metal building for the L39 and PC75, B7200, boat, camper etc. next to a curently unused unfenced outdoor riding rink.
I have decided I either need a 5-8 yard dump truck and lots of time or I'm going to hire the bsement out, at least to the extent I did the road.
Hire out wins! I also have hundreds of stumps and want to make a pasture, so along with hiring the roughing of the house site, hiring cleaning up and grading the cleared 5 acres will cost me about $20,000.
Even so, I will keep the PC-75 and L39 well excercised. (Septic, back fill foundation, grading, trenching for electric to the home site and existing barn, well pipe line trenches , drainage and culverts, a +1/4 Acre pond, trail, and wall building.)
I am using my retirement equity to build property equity. At least I will get to enjoy the place till the nursing home time comes many years from now I hope. Property may not be a liquid asset, but I will take the chance.
When i finally retire, I may very well get into earth work as a business hobby.
Ductape
Elite Member
Mike,
Perhaps you could have picked an easier piece of property to build on ???
Nah ! What fun would that be !
Perhaps you could have picked an easier piece of property to build on ???
Nah ! What fun would that be !
OP
mike69440
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
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- 3,093
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- Central NH (God's Country)
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- 1984 Kubota B7200D (Sold 2015,) 2005 L39 Kubota, 2006 RTV 900 1997 Komatsu PC75UU2E w/ Thumb & Blade, 2013 Mahindra Max28XL Shuttle
Ductape said:
Sometimes I wonder.
For half a million, we could have gotten a decent farm. I was just over someone remodeling an older home. Man, that is some demolition project that they are living in!
I would not want to do that either, as any farm house would most likely be in need of a lot of work.
I will build from scratch and hope I plan it well.
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OP
mike69440
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2005
- Messages
- 3,093
- Location
- Central NH (God's Country)
- Tractor
- 1984 Kubota B7200D (Sold 2015,) 2005 L39 Kubota, 2006 RTV 900 1997 Komatsu PC75UU2E w/ Thumb & Blade, 2013 Mahindra Max28XL Shuttle
Bigger machine, bigger rocks.
Rather than try to stuff a near 4000 Lb rock in the bucket of the L39, this is how I've been carrying them. To gauge the size of the rock, the blade is 91" wide x 19 tall, the thumb pin to tip is 42" The Rock was about 8' long by 3' wided x 16" thick on average.
Rather than try to stuff a near 4000 Lb rock in the bucket of the L39, this is how I've been carrying them. To gauge the size of the rock, the blade is 91" wide x 19 tall, the thumb pin to tip is 42" The Rock was about 8' long by 3' wided x 16" thick on average.
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Ductape
Elite Member
Luckily, you have a helper with you !