Best mini digger?

[Matthew Storrs]

Evening all, I'm considering packing up my agricultural work as there's a lot more coming in on the landscaping/gardening side again now, so thinking about selling the tractor and using some of the money to buy a 1.5 ton mini digger as have fair bit of work to do for myself to at the farm, have driven plenty over the years mostly bobcat and jcb, just wondered what other people's thoughts are on best makes and models, thanks Ed

 

Get yourself a tidy digger, and build up a collection of attachments, postdriver/auger/grab/rake/etc etc. and you can offer such a vast range of services all from 1 machine that i doubt you will ever be short of work for it.

Personally having done the calculations recently i'm convinced that diggers hold their value so well that it actually works out cheaper over the long term to buy new and get the good half of its life rather than the second half. Appriciate this its a new venture for you though so less output if you rjust finding out if it works for you

[IVECOKID]

A lot depends on your Budget, having operated/owned many different machines over many years I would lean towards the 2-2.5T machines , vastly more stable and more capable machine that will seriously be more profitable.Yes the Takeuchis are possibly the best 1.6 ton machine out there by far but the difference with the 2t plus is amazing.

Kubotas are the best choice in the 2t plus market

 

I agree with above , my last 2 diggers are still worth what I paid 7 years ago.

 

Ste

Edited June 21, 2016 by IVECOKID

[richy_B]

I agree with Matthew. Second hand diggers really hold their value (often unwarranted in my opinion). I bought my machine at 2 years old and 500 hours for £10k. I expect it'll still be worth £6k in 5 years. Buy new or nearly new if you can.

 

It came with a grader bucket. In addition I bought a tooth digging bucket, a narrow digging bucket, a fixed grab and a auger torque head with two flights. You can clear brambles and scrub, fencing, feeding chippers, drainage, etc, etc. As Matthew says one machine can do so much work.

Edited June 21, 2016 by richy_B

[Matthew Storrs]

A lot depends on your Budget, having operated/owned many different machines over many years I would lean towards the 2-2.5T machines , vastly more stable and more capable machine that will seriously be more profitable.Yes the Takeuchis are possibly the best 1.6 ton machine out there by far but the difference with the 2t plus is amazing.

Kubotas are the best choice in the 2t plus market

 

I agree with above , my last 2 diggers are still worth what I paid 7 years ago.

 

Ste

 

Yes, couldn't agree more, the differance between 1.5t and 2.5t is night and day. I have a 2.8t which i tow with my Landy, its great when you get it to the job but its an effort to tow it around particularly if your doing small jobs. The 1.5t is just so handy and to be fair i did some pretty impressive sized jobs with my old 1.5 Tak.

 

A new cabbed Takeuchi is 16k plus VAT, sounds alot but if you think that you could do 4000hrs on it then still sell it for 8k (assuming you keep it tidy) works out at £3 an hour. £3 an hour to do the work of 10 men, its a no brainer, as they say!

[Havelock]

Another vote for the solid and basic 1.5 tonne JCB 8014. Mine is a 2009 model bought two years old with 200 hours (10K plus VAT). Really hammered since often in atrocious conditions, especially mud, stones and boulders beyond what any vehicle, tracked or otherwise could be expected to endure. Faultless.

 

I do miss expanding tracks though. Safer if you’re likely to work on hillsides and also for bridging the gap over a slit trench e.g. I recently trenched for a power cable but went a bit shallow in the middle. Even with expanding tracks it would have needed great care to go along the trench to deepen it, but impossible without in the wet conditions last autumn.

 

If you can, compare the speed the tracks can go. A Takeuchi was recently on site and was quite a bit faster than my JCB.

[csservices]

Yes have heard good things on the Takeuchi, friend of mine was hiring them regularly through hire base after he sold his 3 tonne, he's now bought a 1.5 ton bobcat, nice machine but he didn't realise when he bought it that it was the base model and has a very short boom and no fast tracking, agree on 2.5/3 tonners being far better, I'm just weighing up which there would be more work for have driven larger kubotas 5 and 8 tonners they are nice machine, only driven one Volvo and really didn't get on with it, budget will depend what I get out of the tractor, other thought with going for 1.5 tonners is my folks are retiring and selling the farm so I'm potentially losing my yard so worst case scenario I could get a 1.5 tonners and trailer on the drive at home, thanks for the advice folks.

[Matthew Storrs]

Sorry to keep going on about them! but the Takeuchis have many feature as standard that are extras on other manufacturers such as long dipper arm and the dozer blade sticks out further which helps cleaning up contact with the bucket etc. The blade is also 10cm taller than most other brands, you can push more earth without it spilling over the top of the blade. The only thing i don't much like about them is a)not a great paint job and b) it doesn't have proper footpedals on the tracking. i use the pedals alot particularly if i pick up the front of the machine with the arm and spin the tracks 90 deg on their backs with the pedals- avoids making mess on grass etc.

[Haironyourchest]

Was just up on a hired micro digger for a day last week, 0.8 toner JCB. Gas craic altogether, but just not enough power and so slow to track. Felt very unsafe on and ground that wasn't perfectly level, but then realised at day's end the tracks had "retracted". A feller wouldn't out-dig it though....did a day on a 1.5 toner and it was vastly superior, but for narrow in between trees jobs, the micro was a gift. Id rather a micro skid steer though - they can take a backhoe attachment as well and more versatile.

[donnk]

go for a 2.7 tonner instead much much better tool and can still be towed by a landy. The 1.5 is ok but crap for proper jobs like footings, pulling stumps out etc. moneywise there wont be much difference but will make your life a lot easier if having to use it a lot.

 

The hydraulics on the 2.7 tonners is nowhere near as jerky, much smoother and of course it wont fall over as easy like the little 1.5 tonners.

 

You wont lose money on them if you get a lowish hours machine, our local plant hire firm says his 2.7 tonners although 4 years old are worth same now if not more than he paid for them!

[Andrew J C]

Depends on what work you have for it. If you are doing drives, then a bigger machine is good. I find myself in back gardens doing patios and ripping overgrown shrubs and pampas grass out and small machine is all that will get in their.

JCB od 2 micros one 3/4 ton one 1.1 ton. Mines the bigger one and it has the same breakout as the 11/2 ton digger, but less reach.

If I was replacing it I would have a good look at the Bobcat, looks good on paper.