mini excavator

[timberland]

considering buying a mini excavator for the following projects:
put in a culvert, dig a trench about 200' long, 3' deep, dig up a couple stumps and build a food plot.

I can rent or buy, but for 4-5k i can do all that and still have the machine.

For those that have had or used one, are those cheaper mini's junk, or will it do the job? Have you been happy with yours, and any recommendations?

 

[KurtR]

If you have aot of time it will work but be slow. They dont have much power for pulling stumps

 

[tt_johnsclist]

I’ve had good luck with all the Yanmar units I’ve rented. I’d be looking for the larger sized “minis” if I was going to tackle very many stumps.

 

[boperleb]

The 1 ton mini's are too small and slow to handle stumps of any size. I'm presently going through the same decision making process myself and decided to go with renting a larger unit (4 tons) that has the capability to do stumps and large rocks. No maintenance problems, no storage issues. Use it and return it. If you do go chinese get one that is at least 2 tons, has side swing, a hydraulic thumb and the yanmar diesel. you'll be into it for $10,000 or so and have a useable piece of equipment with some resale value. That all being said... I still want one!

 

[Eleven]

If you’re doing stumps of any size or your soil is rocky at all I wouldn’t do it. We’re clearing land, we rent an excavator a few times a year. I also bought a used commercial grade backhoe (Kubota L39) that could do all of the work, just slower than an excavator at excavator type work. The tractor is way faster at hauling and moving stumps and rocks when they are out of the ground though. The tracker backhoe combo is invaluable for our projects though and wouldn’t get rid of it now. When we pull big stumps with the excavator I then haul them with the big tractor. Super fast and efficient.

 

[Wrench]

My buddy has a 2k # rig. He worked all day trying to get in the ground in hard clay and moved about 1 yard of dirt. I brought over my 8k volvo and moved 20 yds in 45 minutes.

8k is about as light as I'd spend a penny on.

 

[Wrench]

Ps....big dump trailers are awesome too. Mine is 8.5×16'.

 

[IDVortex]

Any mini worth thier weight start about 10k in weight. For pulling stumps, if its a few itll work. If its a day long thing. Rent a 15 ton machine for a week and have everything done.

Anything smaller than a 10k size machine is wasting time. Or theyre not powerful enough.

Id just rent a machine. Its cool to own them. Minus the maintenance and cost to buy. A cheap hoe ain't worth its weight.

 

[greyghostnw]

Decent mini will be 100k plus to buy. You should rent for minimal use. Make sure you get a few buckets with it and has a thumb.

 

[83cj-7]

If you actually want to do any ground work efficiently you don’t want one of those tiny Chinese machines. Rent a good machine or look for a deal on a used one from a reputable dealer. I stumbled on a deal from a JD dealer. John Deere 35G, only 1200 hours, hydraulic thumb, 2 bucket, extended arm and angled backfill blade for $30k. It’s just the right size that I can haul it with my truck. I have also purchased a 36” hydraulic angled bucket and a 36” brush hog for it. So many things a mini-ex can do on a piece of property.

 

[timberland]

Thanks for all the replies, convinced me to save my cash and rent when I need.

 

[riversidejeep]

If you actually want to do any ground work efficiently you don’t want one of those tiny Chinese machines. Rent a good machine or look for a deal on a used one from a reputable dealer. I stumbled on a deal from a JD dealer. John Deere 35G, only 1200 hours, hydraulic thumb, 2 bucket, extended arm and angled backfill blade for $30k. It’s just the right size that I can haul it with my truck. I have also purchased a 36” hydraulic angled bucket and a 36” brush hog for it. So many things a mini-ex can do on a piece of property.

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I bought a 3.5 ton from United Rentals when I was building my house. Demo the double wide that was on the lot, footings , septic , 100's feet of trenches, landscaping, firewooding and a million other things. How in the world did I do anything before that purchase! I've now added a 3.5 ton track skidsteer, loving it also.

 

[Wrench]

I paid 17k for mine with hvac cab and 3k hours. It's out on rent right now. I missed a few smoking deals....but if you have the $$ they're out there.

 

[MacJenkins]

As 83cj-7 said. A 3.5 Ton machine is the smallest I would want to try and knock out work if your time is worth anything. (Will actually weigh 8-10,000 lbs depending on configuration. At that they are not great at digging out stumps. The ocasional one will be fine.

 

[ReaptheHeat]

5k won't buy you anything worth it's salt. Do you have a tractor/backhoe yet?

 

[Golt199]

If your $4–5k budget is firm and you’re mechanically handy, I’d look for a used Japanese machine with higher hours rather than a new Chinese one. A Kubota K008, Yanmar VIO10, or IHI 10J with 2,000–3,000 hours that’s been maintained will outwork and outlast a new Chinese machine.