Thread: Excavators

You've got me interested now

I have talked to guys that brought brand new gear from China and by the time they have gone through and replaced all the hydraulic hoses, changed and serviced the hydraulic setup a couple of times to get it working right, beaten the electrical glitches into submission and fought with non-standard sizing on some things they haven't saved as much as they thought...

I hear about getting contacted gear in as well, but when you aren't close to town and it's a mission to get gear in sometimes getting contractors isn't as advantageous as the financials look if the same equation is worked out with the operator living a few minutes down the road.

The unfortunate thing with this, is that it makes no difference if you own the gear or contract (or even rent) the gear in, breakdowns will still happen and the time-loss costs still apply even though you might not own the gear.

If I was in that position (considering purchasing a machine) I would be letting my fingers do the majority of the work and seeing what is available around the bazaars. I have known guys overlook a smaller machine with a lot of attachments for a bigger unit that looks cheaper and find it hasn't been the right choice - and also the other way around so a very good assessment of what you want the machine to do and a chat with someone who supplies the things might help guide the size you actually need.

A large part of this equation is the status of the machine, it's health, how good and gentle the usual operator(s) were, what sort of work it was used for, how many hours it has done vs how well it's service and repair history is documented, and the general feeling you get when you start it from cold and park your bum in it and set it in motion for the first time. If the thing walks in circles its a sign haha. Possibly a terrifying $$$$ amount bill incoming!

In this case if purchasing a machine the actual type of machine doesn't really matter and I tend to run the same exercise when purchasing everything from vehicles to engineering equipment to commercial boats and marine gear.

Originally Posted by XR500

I know exactly where you are coming from, the accountant (my wife) and I have discussed this in detail for quite some time.

But at a conservative charge out rate (90/hr) our $22K dozer plus 5K of track splitting, rebuilt starter motor, new batteries, oils filters, plus 14 grand of diesel over the last 10 years has saved us 67 grand. Yes, we value our time at nil$, cause that's what farmers just have to do.

And as others have said, getting jobs done when you want to do them, making something yourself from scratch (that's not just me, my wife gets almost more satisfaction out of doing development work on the dozer.

Some people shout themselves a new car every 10 years, something I couldn't bring myself to do. We'll buy ourselves a digger instead

So as long as we get the 'right' digger, we should be winners all round

Ok fair enough you are set on it.
My suggestion is to look for one with a blade on it. If doing any steep work, they really come into their own. I have seen fence lines cut that a digger without a blade could not look at. You may find it's good enough to sell the dozer and just have one machine.

Top speed for the dozer is 9.5kph. Gets from one end of the farm to the other a hell of a lot quicker than any tracked digger. It'll be worth bugger all now. 45 years old so will be hardly worth selling

Originally Posted by XR500

I have to walk the dozer through very slowly as it is: approach at an angle, get one blade cutting tip through then slew slightly and get the other side through. The last thing I need to be doing is fixing gates and fences

Sounds like your place has a lot of fun toys.

Originally Posted by XR500

Top speed for the dozer is 9.5kph. Gets from one end of the farm to the other a hell of a lot quicker than any tracked digger. It'll be worth bugger all now. 45 years old so will be hardly worth selling

45 years old? Just run in!

Mate I have been doing a fair bit of research on this topic and I suggest you give this book a read.

The fellah on the cover even looks a bit like you. Ha ha ha ha

Originally Posted by Rushy

Mate I have been doing a fair bit of research on this topic and I suggest you give this book a read.
Attachment 272849
The fellah on the cover even looks a bit like you. Ha ha ha ha

Looks like they bought their hat from the same big green shed.....

Shit if you want big there is a good 30t Doosan for sale on Turners for approx $120k with 5000 hours on the clock, that would pull some stumps and move some dirt.

Originally Posted by Ross Nolan

Looks like they bought their hat from the same big green shed.....

It is funny how stuff from that shed falls into the hands of some people. I have a modest collection of useful thingamies.

Originally Posted by 300winmag

Shit if you want big there is a good 30t Doosan for sale on Turners for approx $120k with 5000 hours on the clock, that would pull some stumps and move some dirt.

Herein lies the very reason we all congregate around this pub……

A normal fella leans over and asks about a 223 for hunting, and after a hearty discussion (usually between post #40 and #100 we have him entertaining a 50 cal

Just think of the fun you will have making and using the new duck pond!!! I cannot think of a single reason you shouldn't buy a digger even if only to build one....or two....or three. Oh the joy and satisfaction you have ahead of you.happy hours spent quietly puttering around doing whatever the hell you want in digger,just because you can.with dozer as well you can double the fun and do what each does best. A five way blade for front of wheel tractor isn't silly thing for farm track maintainence.amazing what you can do with them and zipping out to back paddock is oh so much quicker.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Herein lies the very reason we all congregate around this pub……

A normal fella leans over and asks about a 223 for hunting, and after a hearty discussion (usually between post #40 and #100 we have him entertaining a 50 cal

It all boils down to "No substitute for cubic inches"

Originally Posted by 300winmag

Shit if you want big there is a good 30t Doosan for sale on Turners for approx $120k with 5000 hours on the clock, that would pull some stumps and move some dirt.

Yeah, I suppose if I wanted to move the entire farm one km to the West, that would be the digger to buy

I did see a doozy of a digger down south. Parked up having done quite a bit of riverbank protection work on the Wanganui river. Spoke to the locals at the pub about it as the river had eaten into the bank its parked on, and was only one or two more floods away from joining the rest of the rocks at the bottom of the river. Its a 70 tonner, and had done in a final drive. I suspect the owner is waiting for the river to take it, then hit up his insurer.....

I'm not so sure about 20T diggers for farm work... I have a cat 308 and sure it doesn't shift as much dirt but it causes nowhere the damage getting out the back to sort a culvert or some such and you can work all afternoon for 12 litres of diesel. good for awkward jobs too. on hill country tracking you can put in a useful farm track without having to go too wide. The convenience of having your own digger onsite is a real plus - a while back we had a physcho heifer that was trying to kill her new calf every time it moved... bravery on my part wasn't working so i grabbed the digger and scooped the calf up , transferred it to the ute and off we went. The cat cost 60k +gst with 4700 hrs on it.